Our volunteer Hannah gives us some background on the
orphans and their family situation:
Winn Tomasi Amani
Winn is 14 years old and is currently in Form 1 at Ndorwe Secondary School in Makademi Village, Usangi. Next year she will be in Form 2 which is a very important year as they are preparing for national exams at the end of the year. Winn has lost both parents and is being looked after by her sister, Margaret Tomas on her farm. Due to insufficient land in the Pare Mountains, farmers in Usangi do not make much money, in fact they sometimes don’t produce enough crops to feed their families as such the family will not be able to pay next year’s school fees for Winn.
George Jerume
George is living with his uncle Joseph Mziray as he lost both parents about 5 years ago to HIV. At the time there were no HIV treatments in use in the region therefore sufferers who could have lived longer healthier lives died prematurely, George’s parents included. Joseph is a farmer who is only able to produce enough crops to feed the family and not enough to make money for school fees etc.
Mwanamisi Salim Hamisi
Mwanamisi is 14 years old and is studying at Ndorwe secondary school. She is currently living with her grandmother who has the same name as her. She lost both parents to HIV. Her grandmother is now 75 years old and unable to make a living to support the family through school.
Aina S Shabani
Aina is 14 years old and has lost both of her parents to HIV. She now lives with her sister Rehema who runs a small farm to feed the family. Aina hopes to move into Form 2 next year at Ndorwe Secondary school.
Zaina H Iddi
Zaina is 14 years old and is studying at Ndorwe Secondary School. She will be in Form 2 next year. Zaina has lost both parents and is living with her Grandfather.
Hamisi Tabran Hamisi
Hamisi is currently studying in Form 1 at Ndorwe Secondary School and hopes to study Form 2 there next year. He is 14 years old.
Abdala Mohamed
Abdala will be in Form 2 at Ndorwe Secondary School next year. He is 14 years old. He is living with his grandmother having lost both of his parents to HIV.
Chakicha Juma Sekhoro
Chakicha is 14 years old and is studying Form 1 at Ndorwe. Chakicha lost his mother to HIV. His father, who is also infected, is now too unwell to look after Chakicha and therefore he now lives with his grandfather who is in his seventies and unable to raise enough money to pay for school fees.
Zainabu J Salehe
Zainabu is 14 years old and studying her Form 1 at Ndorwe. She has lost both of her parents to HIV and now lives with her brother.
Saumu Rajabu
Saumu is 14 years old and is studying Form 1 at Kighare Secondary School. Her father died about 8 years ago from HIV, her mother has been struggling with HIV ever since but is taking medication. She has suffered from Tuberculosis but is currently fit enough to have a job in a bar selling soft drinks and beer.
Halima Chediel Mchome
Halima is 15 years old and is studying Form 2 at Usangi Day school. She is about to sit her national exams and is hoping to get a study place for next year in Form 3. She has been orphaned and lives with her grandmother.
Mwezine Hasani Mkazi
Mwezine is 14 years old and will be studying Form 2 next year at Usangi Day school. Having lost her father to HIV she now lives with her mother, who is also infected, and is now very sick
Fatina Daudi Badi
14 yrs F2 next year – Usangi. Her mother, Mwanamisi Badi, has received a grant for 95,000 Tsh to run a small business, however her mother has since left Usangi because she is worried that her family will remove the capital for the company meaning that her new business would have failed. She has left Fatina in the care of her grandparents. Mwanamisi’s business is now doing well in Arusha, the capital has been raised to 120,000 Tsh, she has given her sister some of the profit so that she can start her own small business here in Usangi. Mwanamisi has also sent some of the profit back to Usangi to buy food and clothes for Fatina.
Halima Rajabu Sekiete
Halima finished standard 7 this year, the last year in Primary school. She was a promising student in primary school and is now hoping to go to secondary school. She lives near to Kighare school with her mother, she will probably go to Kighare next year, if she gets the fees. Her father died from Tuberculosis when she was only 6 years old, she is now 13 years old.
Mohamed Ali
Mohamed is 14 years old he is currently in Kighare secondary school in Form 2, and about to take his exams. He hopes to progress to Form 3, depending on his exam results and securing the fees for the forthcoming year.
Asha Saidi Ali
Asha is 14 years old. She lost her father due to what was at the time an undiagnosed Illness. After the death of her father her mother moved the family to Usangi from Tanga, on the coast so that she could be closer to her wider family. Since the death of her father, her mother has been diagnosed with HIV, thus explaining the unknown illness that her father suffered from. Her mother applied for a grant to start a business but was not allocated the money because she is partially paralysed and was therefore considered unable to maintain a business and therefore make the most of the grant.
Mwanaidi Shabani Hasam
Mwanaidi is in Form 2 at Usangi Day school and is about to sit for her national exams. Should these go well she will be offered a place in Form 3. She lost her father to HIV about 10 years ago, since then her mother has raised the young family on her own. Her mother maintains the family by running a small farm which supports food for the family but cannot stretch to school fees. It is a small miracle that her mother escaped HIV infection!
Mwanaidi Iddy
Mwanaidi has recently moved to Kighare secondary school. She is currently in Form 1 and will pass into Form 2 next year. Her father died 2 years ago from HIV. Mwanaidi lives with her mother, who has been unwell recently but has not been tested for HIV.
Neema Benjamin
Neema is in Form 2 at Shigatini secondary school. She is currently studying for her Form 2 national exams. She has lost her father and has been supported at school by her mother and aunt. Now her cousins have passed their exams and are about to start University. University fees are more expensive than school fees and her aunt can therefore no longer support both her own children at University and her niece at secondary school so Neema’s mother is trying to come up with the school fees on her own. She works at the local pottery in Usangi for her money but is struggling to come up with the school fees. Since Neema is a bright girl they have been sending her to Shigatini, which is a private school, therefore the fees are more expensive. Where possible families chose to send children to private schools because Government Schools here often have a lack of teachers, due to the lower salaries they offer.
Mariamu Rhamadhani
Mariamu is 13 years old and has just completed Standard 7, at Kivundu Primary School. She is hoping to start Usangi Day Secondary School next year. Her father has died from HIV and her mother has not yet been tested. Her mother, Zahara, was awarded a grant by Malezi HIV grants programme who distributed their first round of grants to 10 recipients in May 2007. Zahara is supporting her 5 children through selling firewood. The eldest daughter now has a young baby who also lives with them. The three brothers are younger and are all still studying at primary school. The seven of them live together in a small house, with only one room. They have divided the room with some small fences so that the 2 beds have separate areas. Since there is a lack of land in the Pare Mountains cows are not allowed to graze. Instead they are kept inside and the owners collect grass for them everyday. Mariamu’s family share their house with 2 cows.
Asha Ali
Father passed away from HIV, the mother is now infected and suffering. Her mother Mwajabu was a grant recipient from the Malezi programmed but is now too sick to run the business so Mwajabu’s mother is running rh business selling onions. Asha is the eldest of three, the younger ones are in primary school, one in Standard 4 and the youngest who is 7 years old does not currently attend school as he is also HIV positive and currently too sick to attend.
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