In early 2020, we shared the exciting news that Mary & Martha is embarking on a new initiative with our longtime partner Compassion International to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name in Tanzania.
After much prayer and conversations with the wonderful team at Compassion, we made the decision to join Compassion and one of its local church partners in Tanzania to launch a child development center in the Arusha region of Tanzania. The center, Anglican Mang’ola, opened this spring and serves 149 children.
Funding for this new child development center was seeded from our amazing Bibles for Rwanda campaign in 2019 which exceeded its goal by $10,000. Mary and Martha also is donating 1% of all sales to this initiative.
Our phenomenal Mary & Martha consultants and customers are playing important and often very personal roles in the lives of the beautiful children from Arusha. More than 145 of our Mary & Martha consultants are now sponsoring children who attend Compassion child development centers in the Arusha region. There are many more children throughout Arusha and across Tanzania yet to be sponsored so if your heart is leading you to become a Compassion sponsor, we invite you to click here.
Choosing to become a Compassion sponsor is an amazing life decision. By bringing a child from the other side of the world into your heart and into your family, you are giving hope in the place of despair, light to the darkness, and encouragement for a brighter, better future.
Paulina’s Story
I’d like to share the story of 10-year-old Paulina who lives in Arusha with her mother Elizabeth and her older brother Elisha. Paulina’s father had been absent for several years when her mother decided to enroll Paulina and Elisha in school and also register them in the local Compassion child development center in Msitu wa Tempo.
When Paulina was about to start Kindergarten, her father returned and refused to let her continue with school. He wanted to arrange an early marriage for her as he had done for Paulina’s older sister. To Paulina’s father an early marriage and promise of a dowry took precedence over her education.
Paulina’s mother was unable to change his mind but fortunately a member of the Compassion center’s staff, Jackson Msuya, sprang into action. Conversations with Paulina’s father and the village elder proved fruitless so finally he enlisted the police and the decision was made to allow Paulina to continue her education.
Fortunately for girls like Paulina who attend a Compassion child development center, having an advocate like Jackson makes all the difference. She’s now entering first grade and hopes to become a Swahili language teacher in the city of Arusha.
At Mary & Martha, our hope is for many more children like Paulina to register with a Compassion child development center and be paired with a loving, encouraging sponsor who can support them, encourage them, and pray for them.
Supporting Children in Tanzania through Donations
In addition to sponsorship, there are other ways to support the children of Tanzania through the work of Mary & Martha. On our order forms and online, you can make a donation of any amount to Compassion. This donation will go directly to support our work with the children of Arusha. Prayer also is important and we encourage you and your family to include the children of Arusha and the staff members of the Anglican Mang’ola center in your prayers.
Stay Connected with our Sister Community of Arusha
Our work in Tanzania is for the long term and we’ll continue to share updates and stories like Paulina’s in the months ahead. We encourage everyone to follow our work as we minister to the children and families living in our “sister” community of Arusha.