January really is the longest month of the year, right? Although now realising we are almost half way through February the rest of the year looks set to keep us on our toes! Roaming around the dusty dirt tracks of Arusha with a pack of Starbursts for a New Year treat, the 1st and 2nd of January were normal days for me filled with home visits and school planning. With the government giving us an extra week for preparations this year with schools opening on the 13th, I thought we were ahead of ourselves with buying school uniform, stationary and boarding school supplies but of course the week before was a controlled chaos of last minute shopping for those who still didn’t have an allocated school until three days before doors opened, but we did it!

Auntie Eden, our wonderful friend and Hope and Soul volunteer from the US visited again over the New Year period and donated two beautiful hand made quilts for Hope and Soul Daycare. Eden worked with us for three months last year with the daycare set up but unfortunately had to leave a few days before our opening day. It was wonderful to have her back with us to see the daycare up and running and the children that we had interviewed together during home visits already looking very different in a very good way. I can not talk about Hope and Soul Daycare enough! Considering it was no more than a dream this time last year but with prayer and faith we were  given an answer to prayer in the form of funding from Turbocam International to make our dream a reality and opened our doors in August 2025. Our faithful Hope and Soul sponsors and donors have additionally been beyond generous to make this a truly special place in just six months. The playground that we fundraised for at our Christmas event is 90% finished but in pure Tanzanian style there is always ‘something’ to hinder it being finished ‘on time’ - I look forward to sharing the final results with you very soon. I am above all proud of our staff who individually have very special qualities and together as a team are unstoppable. The patience and kindness they continually pour into such temperamental little lives is a true testimony to their gracious and long-suffering personalities. Their conscientious way of working is what keeps our daycare at its very best and they are mostly self-reliant which means I have more time to work on administration (even if I would much prefer to be singing and dancing with them).

On January 10th I took a group of our older boys swimming for an enjoyable day together before going back to school and other commitments. January in Tanzania is known for being one of the hottest months of the year and the swimming pool water is mild but our children and young people are not used to swimming or baths and so although they love a swimming day I am continually telling them to lay in the sun for a few minutes to reduce the shivering! But why would you want to sit still when you can bob around the pool on a blow up unicorn! Our boys, Michael - In his final year of Secondary school previously a street child. Edgar - Also in his final year of Secondary school previously a street child. Abdallah - Finished Secondary School in November  last year with very good grades and now wants to study to be a HGV driver. Ronald - Finished his accounting diploma last year and now has a job in a Primary school teaching economics and coaching the school football team. Salmini - Completed his driving course last year and continues to work at a local garage as a car mechanic apprentice. A group of very lovely boys who have overcome countless obstacles in their young lives and shown determination where others have given up and failed. We know it isn’t always easy to choose the narrow path but we continue to lift them up, encourage and nurture the focus that they have for a brighter future.

From January 12th to the 15th the days are a blur of countless school payment slips, pick ups and drop offs, new school sweaters and packed school bags, pocket money and hugs of reassurance. We have a number of our most vulnerable children in boarding school but some are very little and with Christmas holiday lasting for over a month the change of routine is always a little bit difficult. I am honoured to have a small part in trying to make the transition as easy as possible and give out as many hugs and reassuring words as I can. As soon as we knew everyone was safely where they needed to be, school fees paid and 2025 budget set and well on its way we started home visits to interview new families for our second Hope and Soul Daycare intake scheduled for February 2025!

We provide each family that we visit with a bag of rice, corn-flour, beans, sugar and a bar of laundry soap. We sit down with them in whatever situation we find them living in and we talk through a number of different topics to learn as much as we can about them before moving to the next house. Over two days we visited twenty houses, we met families sleeping on the floor, families sleeping in houses with only three walls, families living in houses filled with mosquitoes, families of six people sleeping in one bed, mothers who have been abused, mothers who are widowed and much more and within each house is a little glowing face of a precious child who can potentially become a member of our daycare. We have a criteria that we try to follow but we find generally all the families meet the criteria so it is then about evaluating further as a team. These children are like candles that we hope will burn bright in their families and in their communities as a result of this opportunity. We believe that through quality education they will one day have the power to change the poverty status of their own family. It is a big responsibility for someone who has just learnt to use the potty! But, we have already seen how much progress our little ‘OG’ group has made with the bountiful love, good nutrition, teaching, care, guidance and stimulation they receive at Hope and Soul daycare.

After spending hours working on the budget planning for this year we can humbly share that we currently support a total of 134 beneficiaries in Arusha, Tanzania. We also employ 7 Tanzanian members of staff and use a number of further local agencies, skilled professionals and our local NGO board, all of whom support us in our efforts to provide high quality services. As of this year we have 43 children in English medium schools. We have 15 children in our own daycare and support a further 10 in local daycares. We support 28 children with school contributions, uniform and scholastic materials in government Primary and Secondary schools across the city. Last year we funded 4 mothers to start their own small businesses that will ultimately provide them with financial independence from the charity in the spring of this year.  Every week we support 11 families with a weekly food shop and 7 families are supported with safe housing. We have 2 young people in University and by June of this year will be providing college education funding for 11 young people who have recently finished Secondary school. In all honesty the numbers will never be able to reflect the individual changes and progress we see each and everyday. The shining eyes, the reformed behaviour, the improved school results, the health miracles and the  gratitude said through tears of unbelief. There are so many children that if I pause and consider if this was all just for them would it be worth it? The answer is always yes - it isn’t about the number of children that we help, its about the quality of help that we give and our intention to stand by those who can not stand for themselves. We are the change we want to see in the world, thank you for standing with us. It is only possible with your support and the grace of God and I am continually humbled by the generosity we receive, thank you.