I want to save AIDS orphans in Tanzania
Date Published:
Last year I brought school supplies and donations to a small orphanage nestled in the foothills of Mount Kilimanjaro. There, I came to know the amazing women who have taken in 156 orphans (all of whom lost parents from AIDS), and are trying to give these children an education, love and a home.
I am deaf and I suffer from combat-related PTSD. I have not been able to work since 2011, but I volunteer at home and abroad, as much as my health will allow. It gives me purpose and fills my heart. Before losing my hearing I was a newspaper journalist. If I can get back to Moshi, Tanzania, I have been accepted as a volunteer with the orphanage, where I will teach journalism, English and visual media. The empowerment capabilities of the women and children learning how to create their own video documentaries, and tell their own stories in their own voices, cannot be overstated. The founder of the orphanage said it would be life changing for them all. I know it would be for me.
Keeping these orphans off the streets and educating the kids out of poverty is the best, greatest hope for children without a family in East Africa. The AIDS Epidemic has torn the fabric of Sub Saharan cultures, decimated families, and impoverished generations of people who aspire to have a productive place within their communities. I can't solve all of that in one trip, but after spending time there last year I know for certain I can make their lives better.
I am only in need of the basics; airfare & lodging. I have cameras, a laptop and cell phones I plan to donate to the orphanage schools (there are both primary and secondary schools, created and run by women who were orphans themselves). I also have amassed more than 300 pencils and other schools supplies.
What I get out of it goes beyond altruism. While I was there for 22 days last year, I did not have insomnia, night terrors, anxiety and a hyper sense of being "on guard." I felt normal - for the first tie since return from war decades ago - and I felt alive. Living with PTSD is a daily struggle, but I really don't want it (or my hearing loss) to define me. I am useful there, and those children truly need even a slightly broken version of me.
I am deaf and I suffer from combat-related PTSD. I have not been able to work since 2011, but I volunteer at home and abroad, as much as my health will allow. It gives me purpose and fills my heart. Before losing my hearing I was a newspaper journalist. If I can get back to Moshi, Tanzania, I have been accepted as a volunteer with the orphanage, where I will teach journalism, English and visual media. The empowerment capabilities of the women and children learning how to create their own video documentaries, and tell their own stories in their own voices, cannot be overstated. The founder of the orphanage said it would be life changing for them all. I know it would be for me.
Keeping these orphans off the streets and educating the kids out of poverty is the best, greatest hope for children without a family in East Africa. The AIDS Epidemic has torn the fabric of Sub Saharan cultures, decimated families, and impoverished generations of people who aspire to have a productive place within their communities. I can't solve all of that in one trip, but after spending time there last year I know for certain I can make their lives better.
I am only in need of the basics; airfare & lodging. I have cameras, a laptop and cell phones I plan to donate to the orphanage schools (there are both primary and secondary schools, created and run by women who were orphans themselves). I also have amassed more than 300 pencils and other schools supplies.
What I get out of it goes beyond altruism. While I was there for 22 days last year, I did not have insomnia, night terrors, anxiety and a hyper sense of being "on guard." I felt normal - for the first tie since return from war decades ago - and I felt alive. Living with PTSD is a daily struggle, but I really don't want it (or my hearing loss) to define me. I am useful there, and those children truly need even a slightly broken version of me.
