Tumaini is the Swahili word for Hope and we are a charity, seeking to alleviate the terrible suffering of the AIDS widows and orphans in Kagera, the North-West province of Tanzania. The average life expectancy there is 43 years, HIV carriage is thought to be 28% with, perhaps, 1 in 3 Mother’s delivering babies being HIV positive, a subsistence farmer will earn in the region of $100 each year, with which to support 6-8 family members. There may be 200,000 orphans in this region.

20,000 orphans are now supported by the Tumaini Fund and receiving this help, we employ 7 local workers in Kagera to carry out the project…monitored by the Anglican Diocese… with 70 local parish-workers, working in pairs – Kagera is about the size of Northern Ireland. We aim to find support for all the estimated 200,000 orphans.

Children are called AID’s orphans if one parent has died from Aids, as the other parent will, by definition, be becoming ill themselves. We work to keep AIDS widows and their children together and we support small families made up of orphan siblings. The Tumaini Fund supplies necessities for life such as food, blankets, mosquito nets and grain. We also rebuild derelict shelters and houses, strengthening families and communities so they can take care of their children.

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.