Tabora airport, a short flight from Dar es Salaam

This little boy is deaf from malaria. Malaria needs eradicating.

HAPO kids project ensures that its orphans and vulnerable children get a meal each day and a bit of tuition if possible.

The HAPO project started in 2006 with Volunteer Africa sending volunteers to HAPO. 54 came (see left). HAPO was run on the volunteers’ contributions. Volunteer Africa finished their programme in November Two ex volunteers set up a sponsorship programme to send some children to private day and boarding schools Some friends of the project mainly ex volunteers took over the funding of the meals when the Volunteer Africa funds finished.

We employ Adela to cook the lunches

Food is cooked on charcoal fires the children help dish up

The children sit anywhere to eat. Usually boys and girls sit separately. Every scrap is eaten.

Deus does the shopping for the meals, keeps track of supplies and s me the accounts weekly.

Tabora mains piped water is rationed. Taps have water flowing for 3 -5 hours in each 48 hours as a maximum. Some taps get no water for weeks. Tap water is not clean. 375,000 people live in urban Tabora, the water board has 10,000 customers for water and 200 for sewage. Most people share a communal tap in the street. Some areas have no mains pipes reaching them.

Our 11 year old twins seen left, are living in rented, multiple occupancy accommodation. 20 people live at their house and share the pit latrine. Their mother cooks and sells porridge for a living. Some of their water comes from a tap shared with over 100 other families. Water flows 3 hours in 48 maximun. There is also a milky pond 3 kilometers away. Mother and her sister carry 20 litre buckets on their heads, the children carry a smaller bucket each. Two of their buckets leak.

This bright little girl shares the latrine at home with 35 other people. She lives with her grandparents and brother. They use a communal tap along with 150 neighbours. The tap runs for 3 hours 3 days per week. On other days the grandparents hire space on a neighbour’s handcart as they are too weak to carry the water from the pond 3 kilometres away

A Catholic project – graduates of the Tabora school for the Blind who wish to learn to become potters stay at the pottery that makes these water filters. The clay liners are scientifically designed to filter the water and make it fit for human consumption. Our HAPO kids families each got one of these in 2008, some are in use a year later. We have just given new filter buckets to those who didn't receive them last time and are replacing and mending those that no longer work.

Tabora has 2 dams that supply the water. The smaller dam is silted badly and only functions for a short time after the rains. The pumps on the larger dam are old and frequently break down.

The Brio train set is very popular and if you have any rolling stock or track not in use, or simple games like ludo, snap, draughts, and connect 4, the children will enjoy using them