February 1, 2014

I always wanted to go to Africa.

Shortly after submitting my Ph.D. dissertation, I finally buckled my good old backpack and moved to the northern coast of Tanzania, where I lived for two months in Casa della Gioia, an orphanage for HIV-positive kids. It was the experience of a lifetime, and I left a piece of my heart there.

At Casa della Gioia, I was helping in the fields, in the kitchen, and at home. I was teaching some English and computers. I certainly received more than I gave. Tanzanians never failed to smile, to open their hearts, and to welcome the mzungu (Swahili word for “white man”). Extremely poor people offered me all they had. Little orphans with HIV and malaria showed me happiness, joy of life, and love you can hardly find anywhere else.

During my time in Tanzania, I started several projects with the orphanage. One of them is the Water Project. Since the orphanage has no funding sources, we are currently looking for donations to build a well, which will provide water for irrigation, and will allow them to grow crops and fruit trees. In the long term, this will help greatly reduce the costs of the orphanage, since they won’t have to buy fruit and vegetables from the market.

You can help us fulfil this and other dreams by making a small donation that will contribute to one of the projects, or to simply buy flour, milk, or nappies. Otherwise, please just visit and share their webpage, the smile of the kids is contagious!

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