A Tanzanian Diaspora in the United States, Dr Lioba Moshi in collaboration with her friends and well-wishers has constructed residential homes for orphans and abandoned children in Moshi District, Kilimanjaro Region.

The idea is meant to improve the livelihood of the highly needy children in Kilimanjaro Region.

The facility that is meant to benefit Sustainable Service Learning for orphaned and abandoned children is named Upendo-One Kid at A Time (Upendo-OKAT).

Dr Moshi who is a Lecture at Georgia University in the US explained that her idea to establish that project came in 2007 when he visited with some students from the USA who arrived in Tanzania for a tour and volunteering issues at the Upendo Children’s Home owned by Catholic Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood located in Moshi Municipality.

“I’m a lecturer at Georgia University in the USA, and I always visit my Country Tanzania with a group of my students every June-July who come with me for tours and volunteering issues, I remember in 2007 we visited the Upendo Children’s Home by Catholic Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood located in Moshi Municipality, and we were interested with what they are doing,” Dr Moshi explained.

He added: “During our visit at the Upendo Children’s Home we learned that a total of the 60 orphaned and abandoned children who are taken care of in that centre were adopted after five years to different parts of the country to enable the center to take in others children in need.”

According to him, when he went back to the US, he managed to fundraise some money and construct a new facility with the idea of collaborating with the Upendo Children’s Home owned by Catholic Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood to take care of them, enrolling them in different schools from pre-primary, primary and secondary schools.

“Right now, children are living in a home together until they’re ready to go to school. Their brothers and sisters are the other children living there. Our project will let them stay with their pals until they’re ready for college or to start their vocation,” Dr Lioba Moshi further enlightened.

He added that the new home for homeless children, fully completed in 2022, was built to take care of 20 -40 orphaned and abandoned children and had a modern multipurpose room.

Sr. Deodora Mtagona, Upendo-OKAT executive director of the Catholic Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood explained that her organization has a total of 26 children now that most of them are nursery, primary, and secondary pupils.

“Apart from providing them with all full accommodation at our organization, we are also paying for their school fees and other necessities, many salutes to our matron and donor, Dr Lioba Moshi, and other well-wishers for their great support,” she explained.