Wednesday, January 29, 2014

A little bit about where I'll be going: Angel House Orphanage and Secondary School



Angel House is located in Tarime, Tanzania about 30 minutes from the Kenyan border and an hour from Lake Victoria. Tanzania is a popular tourist destination to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, and go on world-class safaris and coastal vacations. Tourists are often surprised by stark poverty, orphan crisis, and poor quality education. 


Angel House Orphanage opened in 2005 to care for orphaned children in their community. Most of the time, children in our region are orphaned due to AIDS, malaria, and other diseases which may be curable, but clinics are far and medicine is expensive. Today Angel House has about 60 children from neighboring communities. 


In addition to the orphan crisis, Tanzania faces challenges in their education system. A little over 50 years ago, at the time of independence, the first president of Tanzania declared that the national language would be Kiswahili, in an effort to unify the 100+ tribes within Tanzania. It was an effort to promote peace and allow everyone to communicate in the same language. The Ministry of Education began to translate all primary-level textbooks to Swahili to help the children learn the new national language in school. To this day, children begin school with Kiswahlii up until secondary school. The task of translating secondary curriculum proved to be too great, so secondary school students are taught and tested in English. Most students go through a major and difficult stage of language acquisition when they enter secondary school, and because of this challenge, last year almost 2/3 of the country failed their national exam, which has everything to do with deciding what a student’s opportunities for further education are after school. To address this national issue within Angel House, the primary school children are enrolled in an English-speaking primary school so when they reach secondary school, they are able to focus on learning content rather than learning a new language. Angel House opened a secondary school in 2011 to fight the poor quality of secondary school education in the community. There are now about 250 students at Angel House Secondary School. 


Sunday, January 26, 2014

I'm going back!






Tanzania Summer 2014
Dear Friends and Family,            
            Happy New Year! I am so thankful for you and the way that you have impacted my life. As many of you may know, I spent this past summer in Tarime, Tanzania at Angel House Orphanage and Secondary School. For those of you that supported me, financially and through prayer, thank you so much! I graduate from Friends University in May with a degree in Business Administration and Christian Spiritual Formation. I’ve spent the months since my return trying to discern what comes next for me.
While in Tanzania this summer, I sat with the supervisor of the orphanage while she told the story of every child and their family. Those stories and an updated picture were sent out to the child sponsors. When I wasn’t typing stories, I tutored the kids in English and Math. I also learned how to do laundry by hand and cook from scratch over an open fire.
After much thinking, praying, and hoping I have decided to go back to Tanzania after I graduate in May. I absolutely love the Angel House community and cannot wait to be reunited with them! I hope to go for up to a year, depending on funding. This is a step of trust for me, but I have faith that God provides in the most wonderful ways.
I’m excited for this new adventure, but need your help to get there. First, I need prayer, for me and for the people of Tanzania. I will be blessed by your prayers daily, feeling supported and loved throughout my journey. The second way in which you can help is financially. Your love and your donation is an extension of me, reaching out to the people of Tanzania.  So I ask you as a friend to help participate in this ministry with me and send me back to Angel House. Round trip airline tickets cost about $2,000 and expenses are about $750/month.

I am also interested in speaking with others about my trip before I go. Let me know if you’d like me to share with your church, Sunday school class, small group, family, or just a group of friends. Call, text, or email me to setup at time. If you are interested in receiving updates while I am away, you can read my blog: faithhopeafrica.blogspot.com, or send me your email address to receive email updates. Thank you for taking time to read this letter. I am so excited, blessed beyond reason, and fortunate to have this opportunity.

Blessings, 
Samantha Skaggs
sam.skaggs99@gmail.com

If you wish to help financially:
You can donate online at http://grassrootsangelhouse.org 
Choose my name from the drop-down menu to designate your giving to me

OR

If you would like to donate by mail, send me an email at sam.skaggs99@gmail.com and I will 
send you my mailing address