A project of the heart in Tanzania

"I've always wanted to get socially involved and now the time is ripe," assistant Sabrina Wölfle said to herself, and travelled to Tanzania for the first time in December 2020. Four weeks of voluntary commitment to environmental protection in Kitogani - that was the name of the mission. But it didn't stop at environmental protection. While talking to the families in the surrounding villages, Sabrina heard about another project: in the course of this project, an association is to be founded that is dedicated to the topic of health and supports children with disabilities. The aim is to provide wheelchairs, walking aids, splints and medication, care by doctors and physiotherapists and better integration in schools. "The impaired children should realise that they are just as important as all the other children in the village," Sabrina explains.

To found this association, a person with organisational skills was needed for administrative support - a role made for Sabrina. So she started her heart's project, talked to lawyers, authorities and banks to realise the foundation of the association. Since February 2021, the association "Organisation for disabled People of South Zanzibar", or "ODP - SoZa" for short, has been officially registered.

The vision of the association is big: In the future, a visitor centre is to be set up to advise and support families and children with disabilities. In the process, parents are to be given the opportunity to build up a network and exchange information with each other. "The mutual support in the villages is huge. Now we have to show the parents that they are not alone in their special situation ", explains Sabrina.

Sabrina travelled to Tanzania once more in May 2021, and the next trip is already scheduled for July. Now it's time to continue collecting money and donations in kind to move the association forward. So far, 70 children have already been accepted into the programme. In the last few months, Sabrina has already been able to see through videos and e-mails how the lives of the little ones have improved considerably. The joy about this is enormous.

To this day, Sabrina is heavily involved in the project and supports from Germany as much as she can. She is currently working on the website and social media channels. "A good internet presence is very important", Sabrina reports, "because a regular source of income is becoming more and more necessary". Through transparent communication and appealing content, the association's level of awareness should grow and possible cooperation partners and supporters should be won over.

Bird & Bird is happy to continue supporting Sabrina and her project. It is great to see how our Birds are committed to such a great cause. Thank you, Sabrina!