Sadly in my memory August 2024 will be remembered as the month that my house was broken into. It was an incredible month for Hope and Soul but this seriously low blow personally was a tough one. I lost personal funds and every item of any value in my house including shoes. I work long days often six days a week and so time in my house is only a little more than sleeping but I love my little home. It has now felt incredibly different knowing that high secure walls and an electric fence will not stop those people who feel the need to enter. Of course stolen ‘things' can be replaced with time and my health and safety is of the upmost importance but it still hurts that in a community where I am known for living here to help others someone can still choose to forcibly take what is not theirs. Although incredibly frightening and violating this is not an event that I will allow to affect any Hope and Soul progress, no one deserves that power.

August 6th we officially opened Hope and Soul Daycare and have never looked back. It is an incredible place and I wish I could share every story and milestone already reached by our incredible fifteen children. We are teaching in English with the hope that we can sponsor the children through English Medium Primary School when they leave daycare at the age of five. Hearing a two year old respond to a question in English after just one month at daycare is incredible. I have had the joy of sharing donated clothing and shoes with all of them that they proudly carry out in their bags at the end of the day to show mamas. These children come from families where there is no guarantee that there will be a meal cooked at home, who sleep on the floor with four other siblings on a worn out piece of foam, who live in homes made of mud and sticks, who live with grandmothers and will never remember their mama, who have less possessions than the contents of your kitchen cupboards. To see the parents and carers so engaged with our service, supporting each other and the children glowing more and more each day we are so thankful and so blessed to have what can only be called a privilege to care for them.

Just two days after opening the daycare we had the delight of welcoming Claudia, Megan, Hennie and Rosie to volunteer with us for a number of weeks. This group of four from the UK and Mexico formed a close bond as they supported the daycare staff and activities, gave out clothing and shoes, spent time at the orphanage, experienced an authentic Tanzanian camping Safari, distributed food in the community, swam in waterfalls, organised craft and games time, bought beds and mattresses for families sleeping on the floor and cherished every single moment in the time that they had. It was a joy to have them as part of our Hope and Soul Team and we also look forward to organising another volunteer group next year. If you would like more information on volunteering with Hope and Soul please reach out to us through email or on social media.

Home visits is always a highlight for volunteers and on the 17th of August the girls and myself visited five homes of our current daycare children and five homes of potential new daycare children. These homes are like nothing you can describe and giving a brightly coloured bag of food supplies feels like a very small token when absorbing the stark poverty in front of you. The way the bag is received by the parent or carer as if it is a bag of gold and diamonds is what makes home visits so incredibly humbling. Followed by receiving the greatest genuine thanks, praise and blessings that will leave you speechless. I have the honour of attending home visits every time we have volunteers but this particular day was different for me returning to the homes of our daycare children and seeing the difference in their character after just two weeks at daycare. Our little Anna has a special place in my heart and during her very first meet and greet home visit to her and her single mama she was brave enough to greet me in the traditional way of laying her hand on the top of my head but her little eyes shone with fear. This second visit she came running out of the door and hugged each of us individually, wrapping her little arms around our legs and smiling up at us. ‘Hello Auntie’ she squealed as she pulled us into her home and proudly sat next to her mama, her tongue sticking out in pure excitement at taking a photo with her new teachers.

Rosie, Hennie and Megan left us on the 20th August and myself and Claudia spent a further week together. All of the girls generously fundraised before and during their trip which supported us with buying daycare furniture, a bed for a family in need, food parcels, a mattress, paying a years worth of rent on a new room for a family of five and so much more. They also brought over an entire suitcase of donations each which went to our Hope and Soul families, the orphanage and the daycare and also included a new wardrobe for our security guard Danny! Claudia and I attended the first graduation of the season on August 24th for our Blandina who finishes class seven this year. We have five Hope and Soul children finishing Primary School this year and eight Secondary School students which means in September they will all finish school for the year after sitting exams and then have a few months to prepare for the next stage in their education pathway starting January 2025. Emanuel who finished college in the Spring of this year didn’t get a graduation ceremony so we borrowed a cap and gown and had a little photo shoot for him whilst celebrating Blandina!

The 29th of August was another day to remember as we welcomed Mel and her team from Australia who regularly visit Tanzania to teach First Aid amongst support for a number of organisations in Arusha and surrounding communities. We invited all of our daycare mamas to attend and learn about the basics in treating burns, cuts and wounds, sprains and muscle injuries and also choking. After teaching and demonstrating the mamas got a chance to practice on each other and the team also gifted each mama her own small first aid kit and a larger kit for us at the daycare. We are so honoured to have people like those of Mel and her team as part of our larger Hope and Soul circle. We formed our parents committee on the same day and our daycare manager selected three mamas that had shown good initiative and commitment to supporting others to be leaders for the committee.

The month ended with a school pick up for the September half term, it is a little crazy to think this is our last half term before Christmas! Everyone dropped home safely to family or foster families. I spent the morning driving all over town, giving out colouring books and lollipops and hugs goodbye. In the afternoon I collected Mama Rajabu and her five children and we drove a little way out of town to her new house build! This house is sponsored by Baker Botts a global law firm who since the last fundraising event and consequent donation have provided Mama Rajabu with the funds to construct a roof, put in doors and window frames and plaster the whole house. It is nothing short of incredible!

July felt like a month of overcoming challenges to start our daycare but August has shown the glowing result and the consequent impact on our children, their families and even the community. Hope and Soul continues to stand strong in our commitment to supporting children in their own homes and targeting poverty at its source. May our small but mighty future generation continue to flourish.