The
"Village Tumaini" started its activities in 2002. The
name of the first girl was hosted Tumaini, which in the local language means
"hope".
Currently
99 visitors welcome: children from 0 to 18 years; most
orphans of parents who died as a result of AIDS, some HIV positive … There
are also some babies.
The
village consists of 9 foster homes; each
of them holds no more than 9 or 10 children of different age. Are
assisted by 2 or 3 "moms-girls" who spend the whole day with
children.
The
staff consists of 20/22 "moms", 5 workers and 5 sisters.
The
houses are run independently and are self-sufficient. Daily
vegetables is guaranteed from your garden. Community
food sufficiency is assured, instead, from the cultivation of a large plot
of farm land. All
guests, who are able to cultivate the garden, working on common field and
look after pets.
The
Community Manager is a nun who, with the qualification of professional nurse
provides health care necessities. The
other dealing with religious of agricultural activity, and nursery homes.
The
nursery school is attended by children from nearby villages.
Children,
school-age children, attend public schools. Relationships
with families and villages from which they come are constant: regular visits
and residence during school holidays.
Each
guest is accompanied by a booklet, with photo, documenting his educational
path, human and cultural maturation and the milestones of life in the
community.
Once
a month a psychologist meets mothers and older children. Teenagers
can expose their problems, and so helped to develop correctly the relations
with peers and with adults.
In
addition to the community, every year, three or four guys from the "civil
service". They
play various activities: educational assistance, guided visits to the local
dairy and the plantations and rice. The
boys, accompanied by volunteers, like to visit local dairy: take photographs,
make drawings and write interesting stories.
At
Christmas and in August the guys, with the help of volunteers, offer the
community an essay of their attitudes of acting and singing. Dining
& always very applauded.
Existing
homes can accommodate sick children, volunteers and guests.
The
new house under construction will be reserved particularly for teenagers. Those
who attend secondary school may first study undisturbed, then lend a helping
hand to children during lunch and play.
"Teacher"
Fausta has responsibility for the whole village and: also manages some forty
nursery schools in the district, updates the 80 "teachers",
distributes, provides pocket money for the sick meetings with experts …
In
particular takes care of the needs of about 200 HIV-positive people which
ensures food, trips to the hospital, the children's education and
microcredit.
Promiscuity,
the tribal culture, lack of education and confidence in the wizards, which
will enrich the skin of people sick, are the main causes of the increase in
the number of HIV-positive people and, of course, their premature deaths.