 |  |
For 14 years, the Nebraska Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has had a sister Synod in Tanzania, forming connections, friendships and partnerships. Recently, members of the international alliance IMPACT, including Rich Carman, Mosaic Senior Vice President
for Advocacy, were invited to Tanzania to determine how best to assist in providing services for people with disabilities.
The Bishop of the Northern Diocese of the Tanzanian Lutheran Church is seeking assistance to begin work supporting children with disabilities and their families. Rampant poverty, combined with the devastating effect of AIDS on families, is compounded when the family has a child with disabilities. Many children are being raised by siblings or relatives, and many are malnourished or left alone while mothers barter for food or work for substandard wages.
Mosaic, in partnership with IMPACT, is taking the lead to
change this. A project is being developed which supports children and families in Moshi while training mothers and
other women to become paraprofessionals. The paraprofessionals will support children in their family home or in foster care settings while earning a wage that will assist them to work out of poverty.
Children participating in this project are either orphans or are at risk of losing their family home due to poverty or AIDS. Managed by the Northern Diocese of the Tanzanian Lutheran Church, the project will build new community partnership opportunities.