Meet a few of our latest Sunflower Kids attending Step By Step Daycare! Please, please, take a look at these photos—they are pretty sweet! You will meet Christina and her mama, Novin and her gramma, Helen and mama, Gift and mama, Noela and her brother, Sarah and mama, Gideon and Abigael, and Dainess and mama. (All have given us permission to share). If you want to know more about a child, just ask.Our mission is to provide a safe, nurturing place where mamas who are unable to afford quality childcare can know their kids are getting great care. Nutritious meals and teachers, who have training in early childhood development, provide a solid foundation for future education. We are into nurturing brainpower!
Many mamas have to find day work to put food on the table. They are forced to leave younger kids with older kids who should be in school, rely on neighbors or family who are in no better position to care for an extra child, or carry the child to work. With your support we can provide a healthy alternative.
Please consider donating to put some food in these kids’ bellies and some power to their brains!
Many mamas have to find day work to put food on the table. They are forced to leave younger kids with older kids who should be in school, rely on neighbors or family who are in no better position to care for an extra child, or carry the child to work. With your support we can provide a healthy alternative.
Please consider donating to put some food in these kids’ bellies and some power to their brains!
ABOUT THE KIDS
Kadogo
Over 2 years ago, Kadogo was the recipient of bilateral club foot repair at Plaster House. She now lives at Hockey Hearts Orphanage and is an outstanding student at Haradali English Medium School. We don't get to see her much any more, but it is a special day when we do!
Over 2 years ago, Kadogo was the recipient of bilateral club foot repair at Plaster House. She now lives at Hockey Hearts Orphanage and is an outstanding student at Haradali English Medium School. We don't get to see her much any more, but it is a special day when we do!
Created and produced by Bara Jichova Tyson
Christmas day 2014, Kadogo showed up on the street near the center-she was staying with Mama Ombeni. Her mom left her there and, I think, her dad had just died. She didn't have a bed or any real place to land. Kadogo had backwards feet--truly--her bilateral club feet were twisted little stumpish appendages--with thick skin, like animal hide. She didn't complain, but it sure looked painful. She could walk and play--but kept to herself. She had one outfit. I think she was about 7. She had never been to school. Her face proudly bears traditional Maasai scars--I don't know much about them--I've heard different stories. She was hesitant to come inside. Her feet were filthy. I think that bothered her as all the other kids took their shoes off when entering. She didn't /couldn't wear shoes. Victoria, a volunteer, took Kadogo in her arms, lifted her to a low wall, and lovingly washed her feet. She ran warm water over and caressed her feet until they were spotless. Then, she carried her inside.(Cadoga, Hill Crest, Tanzania, 2014, www.thesunflowerids.org/newsletter.html) It didn't take long and Kadogo was showing up for meals. She was a quiet addition to the mayhem.
We heard of a miracle place, called Plaster House, where she was accepted for treatment. She joined almost 100 other kids living and awaiting all different types of orthopeadic surgeries. Preparing for surgery is not for the meek. Kadogo began with serial casting--it went on for months and months. Every week or so, new casts were applied to both feet. Each time, they opened her feet and moved them just a bit further forward --kind of like when a kid gets braces on their teeth. Highly skilled surgical teams come from many countries and provide life changing interventions. A day in September of 2015 was her much anticipated surgery. She was joined by dozens of friends--all having similar surgeries.
Mama Kadogo and I went to the hospital for a visit. Just imagine...we are walking down a wide, open to the outdoors, concrete hall. The hospital is very basic (the surgical team has to bring their entire theatre). Kids call to us as we pass-they know we are there for Kadogo. We find her in a drab, concrete block room filled with beds--more than one patient to a bed--probably, at least 30 kids-- all with casts! It was intense. I would have thought that kids would be in pain, but if they were, I couldn't tell it. They were all just so excited that Kadogo had company.
While at Plaster House, Kadogo attended school for the very first time. She flourished. It soon became very evident that she is academically inclined. She took to reading and math like a fish to water. Her type of brilliance isn't only academic, but spiritual. She is a very deep thinker. She asks very tough questions.
It became apparent that Kadogo couldn't return to live with her Mama, brother, and baby sister. She needed a clean, safe place to heal. She continued to live and heal at Plaster House for a couple months post surgery. When it was time to leave, Mama agreed to let her live at a very special place called Hockey Hearts. She needed safety, a place to heal, and she really deserved an education. Mama, sister, and brother lived in a cramped. leaking, mud building--maybe about 10 X 10 feet. Kadogo said that she was afraid to go home. She was afraid of the drunk men in the neighborhood.
Kadogo thrived at Hocky Hearts and her primary school, Haradali. Kadogo worked hard. She learned to run. She plays football. She likes hip-hop. She was elected Head Girl at her school. She developed a passion for preaching and rapping. Mama moved into the neighborhood for a bit and was able to see her everyday. Her sister, BeBe, moved into Hockey Hearts and began attending school with Kadogo.
Today, she is a student at Haradali Winners Secondary School. She is sponsored by two women. One from Australia and one from the USA. She is forever grateful for their support, but expresses what I can only call "awe." Awe at just how all this happened to her. She has a deep belief in God. She worries about her mom and siblings. She is a leader, a kind person, a good student, and my friend.
When I saw her in October of 2024. She sat with me at a graduation, celebration feast (not her graduation, but some of our other students). Everyone around us was in a celebratory mood. She had tears in her eyes when she asked, "how did I get here?" I think she meant it in a couple of ways. One just being that she couldn't remember the details of how she came to meet all of us--the actual logistics of how it all happened. But more deeply, I believe she is trying to figure out her place in this world. She talks to God a lot. I know she questions her role in this life.
When Kadogo was younger, she thought about being the President of Tanzania. As she has matured, her goals have changed. When we last spoke, she was thinking of being an orthopaedic surgeon and helping kids like her.
Seriously, it is an honor to know her.
We heard of a miracle place, called Plaster House, where she was accepted for treatment. She joined almost 100 other kids living and awaiting all different types of orthopeadic surgeries. Preparing for surgery is not for the meek. Kadogo began with serial casting--it went on for months and months. Every week or so, new casts were applied to both feet. Each time, they opened her feet and moved them just a bit further forward --kind of like when a kid gets braces on their teeth. Highly skilled surgical teams come from many countries and provide life changing interventions. A day in September of 2015 was her much anticipated surgery. She was joined by dozens of friends--all having similar surgeries.
Mama Kadogo and I went to the hospital for a visit. Just imagine...we are walking down a wide, open to the outdoors, concrete hall. The hospital is very basic (the surgical team has to bring their entire theatre). Kids call to us as we pass-they know we are there for Kadogo. We find her in a drab, concrete block room filled with beds--more than one patient to a bed--probably, at least 30 kids-- all with casts! It was intense. I would have thought that kids would be in pain, but if they were, I couldn't tell it. They were all just so excited that Kadogo had company.
While at Plaster House, Kadogo attended school for the very first time. She flourished. It soon became very evident that she is academically inclined. She took to reading and math like a fish to water. Her type of brilliance isn't only academic, but spiritual. She is a very deep thinker. She asks very tough questions.
It became apparent that Kadogo couldn't return to live with her Mama, brother, and baby sister. She needed a clean, safe place to heal. She continued to live and heal at Plaster House for a couple months post surgery. When it was time to leave, Mama agreed to let her live at a very special place called Hockey Hearts. She needed safety, a place to heal, and she really deserved an education. Mama, sister, and brother lived in a cramped. leaking, mud building--maybe about 10 X 10 feet. Kadogo said that she was afraid to go home. She was afraid of the drunk men in the neighborhood.
Kadogo thrived at Hocky Hearts and her primary school, Haradali. Kadogo worked hard. She learned to run. She plays football. She likes hip-hop. She was elected Head Girl at her school. She developed a passion for preaching and rapping. Mama moved into the neighborhood for a bit and was able to see her everyday. Her sister, BeBe, moved into Hockey Hearts and began attending school with Kadogo.
Today, she is a student at Haradali Winners Secondary School. She is sponsored by two women. One from Australia and one from the USA. She is forever grateful for their support, but expresses what I can only call "awe." Awe at just how all this happened to her. She has a deep belief in God. She worries about her mom and siblings. She is a leader, a kind person, a good student, and my friend.
When I saw her in October of 2024. She sat with me at a graduation, celebration feast (not her graduation, but some of our other students). Everyone around us was in a celebratory mood. She had tears in her eyes when she asked, "how did I get here?" I think she meant it in a couple of ways. One just being that she couldn't remember the details of how she came to meet all of us--the actual logistics of how it all happened. But more deeply, I believe she is trying to figure out her place in this world. She talks to God a lot. I know she questions her role in this life.
When Kadogo was younger, she thought about being the President of Tanzania. As she has matured, her goals have changed. When we last spoke, she was thinking of being an orthopaedic surgeon and helping kids like her.
Seriously, it is an honor to know her.