Delivering Real Help to Orphans and Vulnerable children around the Kilimanjaro

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Organizational Background:

OKOA MAISHA YA WATOTO (OMAWA), ‘Save Children’s Lives’ in Swahili, is an NGO established by a group of teachers in 2010 in  Moshi- rural, Kilimanjaro region, Tanzania. OMAWA was established to support and advocate for the needs and rights of orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs), regardless of their religious affiliation. As teachers the founding members recognized that children were not attending school due to lack of basic needs, school fees and supplies.

The organization’s main activity is to support Orphans and Vulnerable Children to attend school (primary, secondary and vocational training) with particular focus on young girls. OMAWA also provides education on HIV/AIDS, sexual matters, sexual reproductive health and life skill to OVC, caregivers and families of the OVCs through its monthly meetings and home visits done by OMAWA peer educators. The organization has strengthened the capacity of families and caregivers through the provision of IGA support. In addition to the provision of material support, OMAWA provides recreational and psychosocial support to orphans and vulnerable children. Through these various efforts, OMAWA has helped achieve increased enrolment of girls in school, reducing the number of girls who drop from school due to pregnancy, reduced employment rate among rural youth. Additionally, OMAWA has helped reduced HIV, stigma, and discrimination among people and children living with AIDS and lastly increased the capacity for caregivers to take care of the OVCs through the initiation of income generating activities (IGAs) to SHGs

Why support Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs)?

Since the 80’s when the HIV/AIDS was realized in Tanzania, it has claimed lives of millions of people and as a result, over 1.6 million children have been left orphaned in Tanzania. The distress and depression upon these children is so great that they are put in a position of rejection and self pity. They suffer from increasing displacement, marginalization, dissolution of family protection and segregation from the community making them feel they are an economic burden thus they fall behind educationally and even socially. This has tended to have lifelong effects on their development leading to a generation of no hope for tomorrow.

Commercial sexual exploitation of children is wide spread and a hidden form of child exploitation both in rural and urban areas in Tanzania and is growing at an alarming rate. Child prostitution is the most pronounced form of commercial sexual exploitation of children in Tanzania’s rural and semi-urban areas and is dominated by young girls/youths majority of whom are standard seven school dropouts who never attain secondary education and with no skill on their heads. Very young children, particularly those orphaned by HIV/AIDS are actively engaged in commercial sex as a means for survival. More still Tanzania is hit by wide spread street children practicing robbery and theft, marijuana smoking and alcoholism to mention a few.

Their involvement in commercial sex and other immoral behaviours has grave consequences on their health and lives and to the lives of others. Some of these have contraction of HIV/AIDS and STDs. They are victims of physical assault, defilement, rape, drug addiction, unwanted pregnancies, underage motherhood, torture and lack of self esteem trauma, thefts and robbery, crime, rejection and death among others.

The crisis has therefore, threatened development activities in past years and years to come as well. However, children and youths are the most vulnerable since many of them are orphaned or even infected by the disease. This has led to their rights violations since children and youths do not have a choice especially when they are orphaned. Therefore there is an urgent need to adopt mechanisms needed to support these OVCs and OVYs. We see these both as a valuable end in itself and a long term means to promote more cohesive considerate and creative individuals/societies with equal opportunities and rights for all.

Therefore in this respect, OMAWA as a development partner is involved in reducing literacy levels through provision of primary education, secondary education and vocational education support/care to orphan and underprivileged children and youths.

OMAWA organization is dedicated to bettering the lives of orphaned and vulnerable children through donations of concerned individuals, businesses, donors and organizations, we help feed, educate, and improve their lives. Our overall purpose is to elevate the well-being of orphans and empower them to succeed in whatever endeavor they choose. We have worked in several villages throughout Moshi rural district in the Kilimanjaro region, providing aid and school supplies for orphans and vulnerable children.