IMUMA: ACCESS and SRI launch partnership to bring Faith, Hope and Love to Tanzania project

GUELPH, ON - Two youth-run non-profit organizations have joined forces to support projects in Tanzania, Africa called IMUMA: Imani, Upendo na Matumaini (Faith, Hope and Love) Orphan and Vulnerable Children Centre.

Background on IMUMA: Imani, Upendo na Matumaini
Orphan and Vulnerable Children Centre in Tanzania

In 2006, members of a small community in Bagamoyo, Tanzania noticed the desperate need of support for young people in their community and opened the centre for orphans and vulnerable children. Now, with a small campus with housing space and classrooms, IMUMA supports and cares for over 45 children ages five to 15.

IMUMA is growing at a pace much quicker than anybody anticipated. The demand for support and care in the community is overwhelming. Many children suffer from malnourishment, have minimal opportunities for education, and are at high-risk for other diseases. The non-profit organization’s mission is to provide a safe and loving atmosphere for orphans and vulnerable children to grow, for education to be facilitated and for children to develop skills, knowledge and training that can be used to eliminate poverty.

ACCESS Charity and Student Reach International (SRI) hope to help support IMUMA in their mission and goals of further development. In the summer of 2009, SRI visited IMUMA to research ways to improve nutrition and enable the centre to provide a more diversified and balanced diet. With the support of SRI, IMUMA now has taps and filtered water. While supporting immediate necessities such as education, health and water, we still understand that the best methods to improve the conditions are to plan for income generation. While in Tanzania, SRI conducted research and provided IMUMA’s Board of Governors with a report of possible income generating projects.

Through a partnership with ACCESS, SRI has made it possible for you, your school or student group to support IMUMA!

Supporting IMUMA
Wear a necklace, support youth

Student Reach International and ACCESS Charity are offering necklaces that students can purchase for $10. The necklaces are hand made in Tanzania by Mtoto Mchoraji. Each necklace has a metal dogtag that reads, “IMUMA: faith, hope, love.” Half of the price is directly donated to IMUMA.

Mtoto Mchoraji is an art centre located in Bagamoyo, Tanzania that sells handcrafted art and provides outreach programs to support orphaned and vulnerable children in the community.
The centre was named Mtoto Mchoraji, which is Swahili for Drawing Children, to highlight drawing as the foundation of visual art and also signify that when taught the skills, children can be empowered to draw out their own lives.

By purchasing a necklace, you are not only supporting IMUMA, but Mtoto Mchoraji as well. If you are interested in assisting ACCESS in selling the necklaces or are interested in purchasing a necklace, please contact imuma@accesscharity.ca as soon as possible.