Most African governments lack the resources to provide help for these stricken children. Some governments have tried to help their orphans with the financial assistance of large international agencies such as the United Nations. However, these efforts proved little more than stop-gap measures. Actions tended to be ad hoc rather than planned. Governments and agencies differed in their respective approaches to the problem. No long-term programs developed. There was little coordination between governments or between governments and agencies. Bureaucracy took its toll on effectiveness. Corruption drained resources and morale. Most of the efforts were city-oriented, leaving villages and remote areas in a state of neglect. There were small successes, but no real progress made toward dealing with the massive problems at hand. ^{2 3}

Some governments refuse to recognize the HIV/AIDS/Orphans problem due to stigmas attached to the disease and its results. In these countries, next to no action has been taken by governments or agencies. Normally, governments will ask funding agencies for grants or loans to solve specific problems. However, when a government does not recognize a problem, it cannot ask for financial help. This leaves the large agencies helpless to render support. ⁴

Until a short time ago, Tanzania was one of the countries that did not recognize their HIV/AIDS problem. Thankfully, the government has now grasped the situation and holds regular meetings to discuss the issue and make plans for a solution. However, bureaucracies do take time to get moving. It will surely take some time for the government to arrange for projects on the ground and the funding needed to complete the projects. In the meantime, there is an opportunity for the private sector to start projects that will help some orphans that now need assistance and to pave the way for the larger effort that the government intends launch in due course.

A day room at an under funded mission orphanage

Many citizens have started programs for orphans in their local areas. One example is the Fox family who have lived and worked in Tanzania's Mufindi District for over 40 years. The Foxes have long been active in community development in Mufindi as well as in other locations in Tanzania.

This family, together with their employees and some villagers, have been supporting Igoda village with water wells, village & ward administration buildings, village roads, bridges and have built schools including classrooms, headmaster`s house etc. One such effort was the Madissa High School recently built in Igoda village. The Foxes were also instrumental in the construction and maintenance of a Medical Dispensary in Chogo village which is also in Mufindi District. They provided support to Mdabulo Secondary School and Pande Primary School in Bagamoyo and several other schools, dispensaries, and other community services structures.

The Fox home lies on their Maganga Farm in the village of Igoda in the Mufindi District of Tanzania. When the Foxes discovered how drastically HIV/AIDS had invaded the Igoda village, they immediately took action to help their neighbors. They garnered the help of other private citizens in Mufindi and, together with local government, provided the leadership, expertise, and funds to help a number of Igoda’s orphans that were homeless or living in the homes of strangers or distant relatives.

It was then that the citizens of Igoda realized that an orphanage would be needed in order to help more than just the few fortunate children helped by the Foxes and friends. However, an orphanage capable of supporting all the orphans in Igoda would cost much more than the amount of money that could be raised locally. In order to build and maintain even a small orphanage, funds would have to be solicited from a much broader source than the few people who have contributed in the past. The solution to this dilemma lies in expanding the source of funding well outside the confines of Igoda, Mufindi, or even Tanzania.

At present, and for some time to come, private funding from foreign sources may be the only way to bring help and hope to the growing numbers of orphans in the District.

The Mufindi Highlands Orphans Project will raise funds from concerned citizens around the world and use the money to install and manage a small orphanage in Mufindi. The Project is designed to help up to 1,000 orphans by providing a small orphanage/medical clinic/school complex and reaching out to other through extension services. The Project will not cure the problem; but it is a positive start toward the solution.

The Project will be based on a needs assessment, a concrete plan, and a coordinated effort by all participants.

The most critical need is to provide homeless orphans with shelter and sustenance. Once housed, fed, and clothed, the children will then need to start the process of re-identifying with family and local social groups. It will then be necessary to provide schooling and vocational training in order to prepare orphans for becoming contributing members of society wherever they may end up in life. Lastly, but perhaps most important of all, is the need to educate village adults in HIV/AIDS awareness and measures for preventing further spread of the disease.

Due to the magnitude of the problem and the paucity of available funds, only the most critical needs can be met initially. However, even with a small amount of additional funding, it will be possible to dramatically improve the lives of a limited number of children using the experience and expertise now available in Mufindi.

Sleeping quarters at an under funded mission orphanage

The Plan for the Mufindi Highlands Orphanage Project is based on starting small and expanding the Program as resources become available. Activity will commence by improving what has already been done in Igoda village.

The Project will be implemented by a Tanzanian-registered NGO called "Foxes' Community & Wildlife Conservation" which has been set up by the Fox family and local affiliates.

The first activity will be construction of a 60 bed orphanage in Igoda village with attached school and medical clinic. At the same time, help will be provided for orphans living with overwhelmed relatives in Igoda and nearby villages. Schooling will be provided for basic education as well as vocational instruction. Current AIDS prevention programs will be evaluated, and the most practical modules used for adult education seminars. The school facilities and staff will be made available at off-school times to conduct these classes. In hiring orphanage supervisory staff, preference will be given to persons qualified to teach or to practice medicine at the clinic level.

The final Project activity will be assessment of ways and means to expand assistance to orphans in more remote Mufindi villages.

Throughout Project implementation, activity will be monitored for things that work and things that don't. Lessons learned will be documented and used to adjust plans and activities as the the need arises.

The Project will take three (3) years to complete. In this time period, all buildings will be constructed and the Orphanage will be fully operational. The Budget for completing planned activity is $330,000. It is envisioned that the Orphanage will be self-supporting by the time the Project ends. The financing for sustaining orphanage operations will come from farming, production and sales of native crafts, and local donations.

Results will be assessed and documented at the completion of the Project. Plans for future Projects may then be drafted using the experience gained in this Project. The idea is to create a tried and proved Model Program that, if replicated sufficiently, could eventually bring help to a greater number of orphans than is now thought possible..

In order to raise donations for funding the Mufindi Highlands Orphanage Project, a team of people familiar with the Mufindi District has been assembled. For fund-raising purposes, they have set up Mufindi Orphans, Inc., as a non-profit and tax-exempt corporation registered in Oregon. The main business of the corporation is to solicit tax-deductible donations from interested persons or parties and to transfer the funds to the implementing company in Tanzania. All funds will be applied directly to Project activity. No donations will be used for administrative costs.

In the near future, after infrastructure construction is underway, Mufindi Orphans intends to recruit volunteers who may wish to provide hands-on help in Mufindi during, and after, the Project period. Volunteers will be expected to donate their time and expenses to the Project, but will be aided in travel arrangements and local accommodation. Costs that volunteers incur while getting to and working on the Project are legally tax deductible expenses.

1 - UNAIDS: Report of the Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic, July, 2002
2 - Irin News: Malawi: More Action Needed to Support Orphans, October, 2002
3 - Saluseki, B. : Number of Orphans Will Rise Says King-Aker, AllAfrica.com, April 2003
4 - Fleshman, M. : AIDS Orphans: Facing Africa’s Silent Crisis, Africa Recovery, October 2001