is located in the Ugweno valley, Mwanga District, Kilimanjaro region, north east of The United Republic Tanzania in East Africa. We are committed in the care and provision both spiritually and physically of the children and community of the surrounding villages of Kwanyange, Kivisini and beyond.
The centre is nestled in the Ugweno valley of the Pare Mountains with a view of Mt Kilimanjaro to the west. It is 20 minutes drive from the little town of Kifaru and 45 minutes from the district town of Mwanga. The nearest large town is Moshi, 1 and a half hours away.
and the Bright and Morning Star." as revealed to Saint John. Rev 22:16
It began five years ago after, Elvida and Victor Hildyard visited the Ugweno valley nestled in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. This valley can be seen from her home village where she was born and grew up. The region looked so beautiful from the higher land that she wanted to take a trip there. What she found in the valley was distressing and did not reflect the beauty of the scenery from higher ground. The people were poor and desolate; many children were orphaned and there was a need for spiritual evangelism.
This really touched her heart, so much so that months later, back in the United Kingdom, she couldn't forget those people and what she had seen.
This provoked her to contact a friend and church pastor in Arusha Tanzania, who readily travelled to assess the problems and needs of that community. This resulted in a evangelical mission, where many people accepted the message of Jesus Christ. Subsequently 11 acres of land were acquired and a church was planted. Preliminary support was setup for orphans and children who currently live at home with their poor relatives. A Saturday morning club for the children was established and school uniforms were bought for poor children; a necessity so that they could attend state school. Concrete underground water tanks have been constructed facilitating water harvesting and much more. Most of the funding was met by Elvida sending her wages and working past her retirement age as a nurse. Converted to Tanzanian shillings, the british pound goes a long way. The priority at present is the provision of safe drinking water and applications have been made to the appropriate agencies.
As these children moved on and as we kept on helping, they grew up and the very poor ones and orphaned ones passed their exams to move on to Secondary School. Although Primary School is free in Tanzania for every child. Secondary School is fee paying and there are all the necessary items to be bought. Parents and guardians are poor and the Secondary School is not near the Centre and also boarding, needing more expensive items like beddings, mattresses, uniforms and more stationery.
There is no employment in the valley and the majority of the people are very poor relying on tilling their land for food and all necessities. Sometimes the land is very dry because it is semiarid there. We have just gone through a 3 year drought where the cattle died and people nearly starved. There is no public transport for the people to travel daily and regularly to town for work. The nearest town is only very small. The majority of the children under our care are under age 7 and have not yet started Primary School. We found it necessary 4 years ago to open a nursery school so that the little ones from as young as 2 and a half years old can come, Monday, to Friday for a nursery school. We have employed a salaried teacher trained for nursery school. These children come to learn basic reading and writing at this early age, but are also given a simple meal before they go home in the afternoon. Then on Saturday they all come together with the Primary School ones and meet for recreation and social activities. The Christian children receive Bible Study and they praise and worship God. We have a resident Pastor who lives in the premises and who takes care of the community church that is in operation at the Centre. Our children are multicultural and multi faith. All are treated equally and loved very much.
There is the Matron who lives with the children who are orphans and whose home is now at our Orphanage. Together with other children the Matron gives them health check and assessment of their home life. Some of the primary school children come from very poor homes. It is necessary to help them by providing them with uniforms and stationary every year. They come to the centre every saturday to join the nursery school childre for recreation and a meal together. The other group of children, who go to Primary School and are very poor at home, are provided with uniforms so that they do not miss school. Some of them wear Clothes that are tatty and are not replaced for years. This group of over 50 in number also comes in the school term, but only every Saturday to join the little ones. They share a simple meal and also are assessed for uniforms and health care. This is very basic care for them but has alleviated a lot of suffering and has given the parents hope. There are medical centres in every village but are quite basic. The valley could profit from a small hospital as the nearest hospital is over 40 miles away, and there is no public transport for any emergency. We are a community project that strives to give basic care and love to all in need, particularly the children, widows and the poor elderly.
We have up to 70 children who come to the Centre on Saturdays. They are from all around the valley up to over 25 kilometres away, and they walk there and back. We have simple play areas and a play field with swings and other games of ball etc. The orphans of the valley live at home with their guardians, but we have found that most of the guardians are very old and poor grandparents. Some live with their aunties and uncles or brothers and sisters. Widows are very poor and struggling to bring the children up; they live in mud huts which are dilapidated, with roofs that leak when it rains.