Our Children’s Stories
Our local co-ordinator, Hill Crest founder and director, recruits the poorest kids of the area of Arusha. We receive their stories and wanted to share them with you. These kids have hard lives and that's why we want to have them stay at school as long as we can, playing with their friends and being fed, instead of working.
Our triplets
Moises, Yussef and Karina are triplets, they live with their single mom and their other 4 brothers and sisters. Life can be harsh in Tanzania, having 3 babies at once represents a huge responsibility which the triplets' single mom cannot avoid. She has to work a full time job but can barely feed her 7 kids. This is why we recruited the triplets: so they are fed and their mom can go to her work whilst they are happy learning and playing with other kids.
Evan
Evan's mom has had a tough last years! It all started shortly after Evan was born, when, after months of not seeing, some men of the village brought her dead husband back to her. Evan's dad had caught HIV, and transmitted it to his wife, who's now also HIV positive. HIV is still not 100% understood in Tanzania, and regarded as a disease that only "bad people" catch. For that reason, Evan's mom is not given any work to pay for her 5 kid' foods.
Elisipha
Elisipha is one of 5 kids in her family. Her mom is the only parent at home, as her father often runs away for months at a time Elisipha is looked after by a sister, who therefore cannot go to school. We're happy to have Elisipha with us, as she's malnourished and will enjoy the meals we give at Hill Crest school. Having Elisipha at Hill Crest not only is great for Elisipha herself, but also for her sister who can go to school rather than look after her during the day!
William
William's story is among the hardest we had to read! William's mom has mental health issues, which is not really recognised nor treated in Tanzania. William's mom has been sleeping in the streets for years, and has had 3 kids through rape. William and his other brother and sister stay at their grandfather's home. The grandfather, crippled, struggles to make ends meet and called Hill Crest for help. We're very happy to have kids like William in our school!
Nadia
When the director first visited Nadia, she struggled to leave the house. Nadia was staying at home with his 4 other brothers and sisters, none of them had had breakfast or lunch and were waiting for their mom to come back from work with food. Nadia lives in a single room that a well wisher is allowing them to use for free, and doesn't have any toys to play with. We were very happy to welcome Nadia at our school!
Zayn
Zayn comes from a very poor family of 8 kids. All of them live with their parents in a single room. Zayn's mom is jobless and his father sells beans during the day, which doesn't cover their basic needs.
