Scouts with Kind Hearts

This past week, the Girl Scouts and Leaders attending Winding River Camp participated in a unique project to reach out to the children of Tanzania.



The children and adults spent time writing letters of friendship and encouragement, making gifts of decorated bandana head scarves, and donating nearly 50 pounds of much needed school supplies to be given to the students and teachers of Seela Primary School located on Mt. Meru in northern Tanzania.

Hearts in Unity is truely grateful to be invited for a third year to this wonderful summer camp to offer the girls a unique service opportunity to connect them with Tanzanian orphans and at-risk children.

We invite you to view the video and see how much fun the girls had again this year.

If you are a part of a scout, school, church or community group, and you would like to participate in a similar service/partnerhip project, please let us know. We would be delighted help you to help the precious children of Tanzania. We welcome your email at hearts_in_unity@yahoo.com.

Stitches of Love

We are delighted to share with you an update from our Mioyo Pamoja (Hearts in Unity) sewing coop in the village of Mwika, Tanzania.

Thanks to the generosity and support of so many people, this sewing coop is thriving.

We started with 4 women in the sewing coop in early 2008, but 2 of the women are now suffering from the ravages of AIDS, and they are no longer able to come to the coop to sew. The sewing coop is currently equiped with 4 treadle sewing machines and 2 electric sewing machines (which they are able to use when there is electricity available). As their first project, the women finished sewing 54 school uniforms for Hearts in Unity to distribute to orphans in Seela. They have spent the last year growing their business by obtaining contracts from local schools to sew school uniforms, by expanding their tailoring services to the community, and by starting their own tailoring school.

They are so pleased that they now have their first two tailoring students... giving opportunities to others as they have been blessed by the opportunities given to them.

Roland writes...

"They are four women now. Two of them are well experienced teachers/trainers and two are students who are learning and will be employed after training. (After the initial opening of the sewing coop by Hearts in Unity in 2008) the women started by donating their shares to buy fabric and start sewing and they managed to pay the house rent, get their daily bread (daily wages/income), pay for electricity and buy new fabrics.

October to January is the best season for them because there are many orders and need of clothes for confirmation, weddings, Christmas presents and new school year starting on January so they make a lot of money around this time.

Please put your effort with them because they are real hard working people I have ever seen."

This business is their life blood, and it provides them with the means to help support their own families... to feed, clothe and educate their own children.

If you are interested in further supporting these women as they labor to raise themselves out of the poverty of life in Tanzania, please visit us at: www.heartsinunity.org

Dreams to Reality

Education... the hope and dream of children living in Tanzania, yet endless barriers limit their opportunities

Education... the true stepping stone out of poverty, yet out of reach of so many Tanzanian children

Education... the foundation to our mission, possible when we join together with our hearts in unity

We invite you to check out our newly updated "Education" web page at www.heartsinunity.org/educate.html where you can read stories about the struggles faced by school children in Tanzania -- from a lack of books and school supplies to a shortage of both classrooms and teachers.

You can also learn more about the ways that you and others can help these children through a donation to purchase books, school supplies or desks... or through volunteer opportunities to sew school bags or make simple textbooks for us to send to the children.

Asante sana! Thank you very much for opening your heart to these precious children!

A World of Priorities

The following Bible verse was shared again with me recently, and I am passing it along as it speaks so well to the world in which we live where priorities are often so different based on the possessions of one’s life.

When Jesus heard his answer, he said, "There is still one thing you haven't done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." But when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was very rich.
Luke 18:22-23, NLT

This man's wealth made his life comfortable and gave him power and prestige. When Jesus told him to sell everything he owned, Jesus was touching the very basis of his security and identity. The man did not understand that he would be even more secure if he followed Jesus than he was with all his wealth.

Jesus does not ask all believers to sell everything they have, although this may be his will for some. He does ask us all, however, to get rid of anything that has become more important than God. If your basis for security has shifted from God to what you own, consider how much better it would be for you to lighten the load of the possessions that weigh down your life.

Feeding a family for a week around the world...

The disparity in the amount of food available to families around the world is striking. Compare the amount of food eaten by each of these families per week...

Germany - Average food expenditure for one week:
375.39 Euros or $500.07


United States - Average food expenditure for one week
$341.98


Italy - Average food expenditure for one week
214.36 Euros or $260.10


Mexico - Average food expenditure for one week
1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09


Poland - Average food expenditure for one week
582.48 Zlotys or $151.27


Egypt - Average food expenditure for one week
387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53


Ecuador (South America) - Average food expenditure for one week
$31.55


Bhutan (near India) - Average food expenditure for one week
224.93 ngultrum or $5.03


Chad (Africa; refugee camp) - Average food expenditure for one week
685 CFA Francs or $1.23


The children of Tanzania, Africa come from families that struggle to survive on less than $1 a day to meet ALL of the needs of a family often with 6 or more children -- for their food, clothing, shelter, education.

To learn more about how you can help to feed, clothe and educate the precious children of Tanzania, please visit our website at: www.heartsinunity.org

The Generosity Continues...

As hearts are opened to the needs of the precious children of Tanzania, we see more and more of the amazing work that can be done when we join together in this mission of hope.

A big thank you to the children and teachers of Amy Belle School for your donation of over 200 pounds of school supplies and for 120 jackets, hats, and other clothing items for us to distribute to the orphans and at-risk children in the villages of Seela and Mwika!

The kindness of your heart is a blessing to so many, and we look forward to helping you to nurture your sister school relationships with Seela Primary School and Maring'a Juu Primary School.

The students and teachers of Tanzanian are currently on a one-month holiday from school until mid-July. When they return again for classes, they will be so grateful to hear about this generous donation.

Thank you again for your continued generosity. We'll see you again in the fall. Enjoy your summer holiday!

Be our Facebook Friend!

We love to share the story of our mission to help feed, clothe and educate the orphan and at-risk children of Tanzania.

How can you help?

- Add us as one of your Facebook friends and tell others we'd like to be their Facebook friend too.

- Help us to promote our cause on Facebook. Join our "Cause" on Facebook and help us recruit others to join the cause in a visible stand in support of these precious children.

When we join together, with hearts in unity, we can truly make a difference.

Karibu! We warmly welcome you!

A Gift for You

On behalf of the orphan and at-risk children of Tanzania, we extend to you their warm greetings. They send wishes for blessings in your lives just as they have been blessed by so many kind-hearted people around the world.

We have accomplished so much by joining together with our hearts in unity to give these children a better life. We celebrate our successes, and we welcome your continued support in our mission to make a difference in the lives of these precious children of Tanzania.

As you give a gift from your heart to help feed, clothe and educate these children, we want also to give a gift back to you... a gift direct from Tanzania.

Visit our website at www.heartsinunity.org and click on the "Gift for You" link at the top of the page to learn more and to select your "thank you gift".

A Lesson from First Grade

If anyone would ever doubt the impact that a child can make in the world, they'd have to look no farther than the kids in Mrs. Otzelberger-Held’s first grade class at Amy Belle Elementary School.

In partnership with Hearts in Unity, the students at Amy Belle School recently learned about life in Tanzania.

They were captivated by the vivid photos and first-hand stories of the daily struggles faced by children living in third world countries. They saw how the daily lives of the children in Tanzania were different than their own, and yet similar in so many ways.

And in recognizing the great need of the children in Tanzania for even the most basic of items -- food, clothing and education -- a group of 19 amazing first-graders dedicated themselves to a goal of raising enough money to purchase a dairy cow as a way to help feed the orphan and at-risk children in Tanzania.

With the wonderful support and guidance of their teacher Mrs. Otzelberger-Held, they organized both a bake sale and used book sale. Rallying together their fellow students in this mission, not only did they raise $500 to purchase a dairy cow in Tanzania, they also raised an additional $200 which they dedicated to additional Hearts in Unity projects to help feed, clothe and educate the children in the villages of Seela and Mwika.

As we look at these first graders, we see a glimpse into our future. Even at this young age, they are already changing the world. It's amazing!

We could learn a lot from them, if we just take their lead and open our hearts, as they have, to others in need.

They've already shown us that it really is quite simple.

To learn more about helping to feed the children of Tanzania through a donation of a cow, goats or chickens, please visit our website at www.heartsinunity.org

Sharing the World

“To help all, especially the young, gain a greater understanding of the world and it’s people...”

With a common mission in mind, Hearts in Unity is pleased to announce a new partnership with the Madison Hostel in Wisconsin.

The Madison Hostel hosted a cultural sharing event this past weekend featuring a Hearts in Unity photo slide show and presentation about “Life in Tanzania.” We are thankful for their welcome and for the opportunity to share the story of our mission to help the children of Tanzania.

We are also appreciative that they have offered their Hostel facility to knitting groups in the Madison area who are interested in knitting hats for the children of Tanzania. In addition, they have graciously agreed to be our Madison area drop-off point for donations of the knitted hats and of hand sewn school bags for the children in our Tanzanian villages. And we look forward to working with them on future endeavors to help give children a greater understanding of the world.

As the doors of our mission at Hearts in Unity are open to all, so also are the doors to the Madison Hostel open to you.

Please visit their website at www.madisonhostel.org for a map to their facility for an overnight stay, or for dropping off your donations of knitted hats or school bags for the children of Tanzania.

To learn more about these and other Hearts in Unity projects, please visit us at www.heartsinunity.org