House of the Sun
In Moshi town, Tanzania, there is a children’s prison called Mahabusu ya Watoto. There are about twenty children from 10 to 17 years of age In Mahabusu. Children have been put in jail for petty reasons like stealing food from the streets to survive. Tanzanian legal system, however, is complicated so children are often forced to spend a long time in Mahabusu while they are waiting for their trial.
Children are in prison with inadequate nourishment, poor health care and no possibility to go to school. In the Tanzanian culture it is considered a big shame if your child goes to jail, so parents often don’t want their children back home after the child has been released. That is why many children will end up living on the streets and crime easily becomes a way of life.
The purpose of the project is to establish and keep up a safety house for the kids who have been released from the jail and who have no other safe place to go. The name of the house is going to be “Aurinkotalo”. It is Finnish and means “House of the sun”.
The House of the sun is going to be large enough so that boys and girls do not have to share the rooms. There will be space for playing and studying. The house will offer a safe and home-like growth environment for the children. Together with people who have experience of social work we will make sure that children have enough good and healthy food, clearly defined rights and limits, health care and responsible adults who take care of them and who they can trust.
Children who are living in The House of the sun will take part in the household chores just like in an ordinary Tanzanian family. Children are also under obligation to go to school or to get trained in a profession while living in the house. If needed, we will hire a teacher in the house.
An important part of the project is family work. Employees will figure out the history of the children, investigate the possibilities of each child to return home and contact the parents. Together with the family, a plan will be made to get the child back home. We will also go through the requirements of a good growth environment with the family. Family work will continue after a child has been returned home. We want to ensure that no child gets abandoned and that they will all have good living conditions.
It is not always possible for children to go back living with their parents. In such cases, the children can stay in the House of the sun until they are old enough to live on their own. After that, employees will help them find a home and support them until they are able to get by on their own.
The project will also employ local people. Sama aurinko NGO will hire a social worker, a translator, a housekeeper and a guard to work in the house. The organization will also try to get volunteers to work in the house. Our goal is that in two years’ time the house will be self-sufficient and operated by local people.
The contact person of the project is Jenni Salmén who will graduate as a social worker on December 2011. Jenni has work experience of child protection, youth work and daycare centers. In the spring 2011 she was working in Mahabusu ya watoto in Tanzania.
The Project is carried out in cooperation with Tanzania Volunteers Ltd. Tanzania volunteers is a company that arranges voluntary work and practical training/internships. The contact person is Hanna Metso who is the marketing director of the company.