Watoto Foundation Tanzania

Watoto Foundation, Tanzania

The Watoto Foundation is a privatie foundation, that aims to offer a better future to children living in the streets. The streetchildren have very different backgrounds. Only in Arusha around 500 children are living in the streets. Glue sniffing is a huge problem, and they need to steal and beg for money in order to stay alive.
At the Watoto Foundation they learn different skills that they can use to be able to build a better future. Besides giving education to the kids, one of the most important goals of Watoto is to reunite the children with their families ones they are ready for this.

The centre was build in 2003 on an old coffeefarm with almost 18 acres of fertile land. They are taught how to build houses, how to repair bikes and cars for example. There is a farm with cows, goats and chickens and they learn how to grow and harvest coffee, bananas and rice. The target group consists of children between 13 and 18 years old.

Please visit the website for more information: www.watotofoundation.nl

My father Ton van der Vegt is closely related to the Watoto Foundation, please read his story:

"In my position as a policeman I was sent to Africa in 1997 to research the Ruandese genocide for the tribunal. After a year I returned to the Netherlands, but by then Africa was in my DNA. The continent didn’t leave my mind and heart and I decided that my personal mission was to help develop people and especially children in Africa. Looking for possibilities to do so, I got in touch with an entrepreneurial couple from Uden: Noud and Truus van Hout. Noud and Truus moved to Arusha (Tanzania) in 2003 and founded a village for children there. With special projects and education they help children living in the dangerous streets of Tanzania finding their way back to their families and heading towards a positive future.
During my stay in Ruanda I had some very good experiences with the organization Piloten zonder Grenzen of KLM (pilots without borders) and with help from this organization I sent different goods that they are in need of to the Watoto foundation.
The boys in the village also received footballs, t-shirts, shorts and footballshoes. Together with my wife I was a guest at Watoto for two weeks in 2007. And the work that's been done by Noud and Truus is incredible and pays off for the children.

Without any support of you and me Truus and Noud will not be able to keep up their good work, so every contribution or donation is very welcome."