The Sunshine Nursery school was founded in January 2019. Inspired by the needs of children in my village I thought of how I could help them have a free education. I was ready to teach them, but I had no classroom. I realized there was a church in Nduruma Village with two vacant rooms, so I talked to the church pastor together with his officials and they agreed to let me use these  rooms as a classroom under the condition to renovate it.

Thanks to some donors, well-wishers and volunteers, we were able to put doors and windows in the building, paint the walls & cement the ground to make it level and waterproof. Thanks to a volunteer of StepAfrica (www.step-africa.com) I was also able to purchase safe drinking water containers for the school as well as playing materials and a slide for the playground. Other donations enabled to purchase tables and chairs for the classroom. The school currently accommodates approximately 50 children and has one volunteering assistant teacher and one cook.

A new building for the Sunshine Nursery School is currently under construction and is planned to be opened in September 2022. To see more details on the beginnings of this beautiful project and the current status, please see the Success Stories section.

Like Ndoto Nursery School, The School of Hope was founded after the call of the leaders of Moita Erangau village. At the time, a small building- normally used as the local church - was being used for the school lessons. One assistant teacher is supporting me here. In January 2022, approx. 90 students attending The School of Hope could move to a newly built building sponsored by the Austrian NGO Gemeinsam für Kinder der Welt (www.gemeinsamfuerkinder.org).

On a summer’s morning in Arusha 2022 a friend of mine called me and asked for urgent help. She planned to open a daycare centre close to the main market of Arusha. The women who are working at these markets everyday are not allowed to bring their children with them anymore. Because of this, the parents would have to leave them on their own at home or would need to stop working, which feels impossible as they need the income. With a daycare nearby, the women would be able to continue working and they would not be worrying about their children and their safety. As my friend had to move to a different city with her family, I decided to open Mzwano Daycare in May 2022. Mwanzo means a  ‘New beginning’ and it is a new beginning for many of these women, their children and me. The Daycare is a hidden green paradise surrounded by Avocado, Mango and Banana trees, in the middle of the busy rushing city centre of Arusha. It includes two main buildings for the children and staff and now thanks to two especially engaged and generous Volunteers from Step Africa - Marion and Annie - we have a little playground as well. The biggest attraction is our new chicken coop with more than 20 chickens. The children can step outside and collect their very own eggs for breakfast. At present, we can accommodate up to 30 kids at the daycare. It is open from 6 in the morning until 6 in the evening. Our in-house cook prepares three warm dishes per day for each child. We also have two teachers who are taking care of the children, playing games and educating them since the very first day. Volunteers from Step Africa have helped Mwanzo Daycare to become a reality for children. They have been so generous with their helping hands and donations that support us and allow our journey to continue. The daycare has now become an official partner project of Step Africa and Volunteers are very welcome to come visit and play with the children whenever they please and also to support and help the daycare in any way they may see that they can.