A serendipitous moment on a Mexican-resort vacation brought SABCO (small-action big change orphanage) and ROAM Humanitarian together. Lindsay (founder of ROAM) was struck up into a conversation with Milla (owner of SABCO) and within a few minutes, they realized that they were two women with big visions for improving conditions in the same region of Tanzania. As it turned out, this orphanage would be a perfect addition to ROAM’s expedition there, as Milla and her husband ran SABCO but needed more support. They had found Samson, a family and local man, to start the orphanage with them years prior, but it had quickly expanded from 10 children to 29 in a short amount of time. Their little property nearly bursting at the seams with kids ranging in age from infancy to adolescence. Thus, during our March 2022 expedition, Give Blockchain and ROAM donated and built two classrooms which doubled the school’s revenue and in turn, doubled the income to support these beautiful orphaned children.
One of the simplest but happiest things ROAM and GIVE provided with their time here was giving each of the orphans their own bag that was filled with necessary school supplies so that they could further their education. Each bag was theirs to keep, and Lindsay and Justin ensured that each one had the child’s name written on it. This was a significant gift because of the impoverished and rough conditions of the orphanage; these kids simply don’t have anything to claim as their own, not even the clothes they wear and so this became a highlight for everyone involved.
When ROAM returns in November, our hope is to upgrade how all the rooms are utilized, including sleeping arrangements, bedding, installing cubbies of some sort for the kids, and stocking the orphanage with toys and a possible play structure. We will also figure out a separate space for the chickens which currently occupy some of the usable space inside SABCO. Generous donations from Give Blockchain and its community make it all possible!
