Tumaini is the Swahili word for Hope – it is also the name of a charity that seeks to alleviate the terrible suffering of AIDS widows and orphans in Kagera, the most North-West province of Tanzania. HIV carriage soared from 2.8% to 28% following the attacks on women by Rwandan and Burundian soldiers in the late 1990s. There are now 200,000 orphans in the region. The Tumaini Fund supports these orphans as best we can, according to the support we receive.

 

Tanzania is one of the 10 poorest countries in the world as measured by most poverty indices. Most of the wealth is concentrated around the southeast of the country…the province of Kagera, being in the far northwest (bordering Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, and Lake Victoria, with Congo close by), is furthest from the source of wealth, so it is one of its poorest regions. The AIDS widows and orphans are the poorest section of this community…. the poorest of the poor.

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Subsistence Farming - Ninety percent of Kagea's population are subsistence farmers who consume what they grow and sell any surplus, anticipating to earn around $110 annually to support 6 to 8 family members. Subsistence farming is not a good way to survive, especially with climate change and unpredictable rains. Education is the only way to get out of this hand-to-mouth existence. Schooling is free in Tanzania, but children cannot enroll without school uniforms, books, and pencils. This prices education out of reach for a lot of subsistence farmers’ children and makes it impossible for sick widows’ children, or children in child-headed families.

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Water sources for most villages are filthy ponds often used by animals and humans alike. Typlaid and dysentery are common. Most deaths of children under 1 year of age are due to diarrheal illness. 

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Housing is basic wattle and daub with clay. The roofs, made of grass or banana leaves, cannot withstand the heavy rains that occur twice a year. Whole families share a single room, and cooking in the same house creates health and fire hazards. There are few facilities for the collection of seasonal rainwater.

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Children are called AIDS orphans if one parent has died from Aids, as the other parent will, by definition, be becoming ill themselves. Tumaini tries to lengthen their time with their children, by improving their health and life circumstances…the children just want to have their Mom or Dad with them for a bit longer and, as Tumaini works with the family, the parent will come to know that, after their death, their children will be supported… at the death of the parent we promote the children’s rights to their parents’ small-holding and support the family as a child-headed unit.

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