We were BLESSED recently to have Treasures of Africa featured on KSDW 88.9 FM radio station (San Diego CA). The morning show host - Jerry Langford - (who visited TOA last month) - enthusiastically shared about his experience with the kids and interviewed Executive Director Rita Langeland. Listen to these two 5 minute interviews:
Jessica is the newest "treasure" to join the TOA family. She arrived on June 18, 2014. Jessica's mother was a very young teenage girl who was living in a local center for "street kids". The father is unknown. When Jessica was born she was immediately placed in a "baby home" - an orphanage that specializes in caring for infants and young children, but only keeps them until they are five years old.
When Jessica turned five, she "aged out" of that orphanage. Her mother is still unable to care for her. The Welfare authorities were desperate to place her in an orphanage that cared for older children. They asked Treasures of Africa to take her and we could not turn her away. It is our deepest desire to make sure that little Jessica doesn't feel like she is being shifted from one institution to another - but instead that she has become part of a big family. Will you pray for her young heart to be healed of any sense of rejection or loss and pray for our staff and the other children that they will be able to provide the love that she desperately needs to feel safe and secure?
Since all the other TOA children are in school during the daytime hours (with the exception of our two infants) we have had to hire someone to work with Jessica on preschool prep to prepare her for entering first grade in January. This is an additional staff expense that we were not planning on. But it is vital to get her ready for school especially if we are going to send her to an English Medium school. There is A LOT of tutoring that will need to be done with little Jessica! If you would consider becoming a monthly sponsor for Jessica - it would be a tremendous help and an investment in giving Jessica a future and a hope! Thanks!
In many a third world country, birthdays are often not celebrated or even remembered. The addition of a child to a family in poverty is often not considered a reason for rejoicing. Such an attitude does not make a child feel welcomed in the world. And if a child is abandoned, the feeling of rejection is even more pronounced.
But at Treasures of Africa Children’s Home in Moshi, Tanzania, it has been our intentional practice to celebrate each child’s birthday. We want them to know they are valued and loved. Though our birthday celebrations are much humbler than a traditional birthday one might experience in the U.S., they are treasured by our kids because they mark the celebration of their birth. Here are some of our recent birthday celebrants - all who have lived with us here at Treasures of Africa for over 8 years. We delight in their maturation and rejoice over who they have become!
One of the main principles that we emphasize at Treasures of Africa Children's Home is the importance of each child having a DREAM and vision for their life. We encourage all our children to DREAM BIG, work hard and trust God for their futures. In this new video - you will get a sense of the dreams that our kids at TOA have for their lives and how you can help regardless of your current situation in life. Everyone can DO SOMETHING to help an orphan's dream come true! Please watch this new video called I HAVE A DREAM and SHARE it widely on Facebook!