Friends....

As many of you know, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro has for a long time been a major objective of mine. But what many of you might not know is that I have also been spending time lately searching for organizations to which I could volunteer my time. Well, in a couple of weeks I will be traveling to Tanzania – and working toward reaching both goals.

I have learned of a very unique home for street children and AIDS orphans in Moshi, Tanzania and I am totally drawn to their cause. The Amani Children’s Home provides healthy food, education, counseling, and medical care for needy children who are alone and have nowhere else to go.

Amani isn’t just an orphanage but a place that’s focused on giving these children and teens the opportunity to become healthy, productive young adults. They are committed to reducing the number of children living on the streets in Tanzania (often abused and turning to crime just for food) by providing a safe, nurturing home in which they can heal, grow, and learn. In addition to providing long-term care, Amani aims to reunite children with family members when possible and to equip these relatives with the tools they need to be self-sustainable. I believe Amani is really dedicated to creating a path for each child that leads to a future filled with hope.

I thought of simply donating money to The Amani Children’s Home myself, as well as asking for contributions from friends who are also interested, but in my research I discovered their Ambassador program, which gives volunteers the chance to work with the staff and kids at the home in whatever capacity is needed at the time. So for two days during my trip, I am going to help at Amani! I have been corresponding with the Amani coordinator in Moshi, and right now, they are particularly in need of basic food supplies: rice, beans, sugar, and maize. One of the things I am going to do when I am there is visit the local marketplace with a staff member from the home to purchase and deliver these much needed basics. I am really excited about this part – how often do you get to actually see directly where your donation is going? Also, I plan to document the entire experience by taking pictures and video and posting them to this blog.

Just like you, I receive requests from friends to donate to various causes from time to time, and I know that in this economic climate it is not always easy to contribute as often as we’d like, so I’d like to first say – NO PRESSURE!!! – but if this story interests you as much as it has me, I’m asking you to consider joining me in offering support to these very worthy children who have so little. A dollar stretches farther there than you’d imagine, so ANY donation is greatly appreciated! The website for the home is www.amanikids.org. Check it out yourself – there are photos and stories about the organization and the individual children themselves. Their backgrounds, the conditions under which they came to need help… some of these kids are so amazing… it didn’t take long for me to both recognize how fortunate I am, and, that being able to help was going to meet my desire to start doing more service work when I can.

There are a couple of ways you can help. If you would like to contribute to the fund I'll be spending at the market, you can do that by donating through my PayPal site: Amani Children’s Home direct contribution via Tony Sanchez. Or if you would prefer to donate directly to the Amani Children's Home, please do so at their web site: www.amanikids.org/donate/usa. Please remember that I am not looking for large donations -- every dollar makes a difference -- AND donations are tax deductible.

My visit to Amani has given my climbing trip another dimension that is going to make it so much more meaningful, and I wanted to share this in case you’d like to help too. Thank you very much for your friendship and support and make sure to follow my journey through my blog.

Sincerely,
Tony