Tanzania
Our project is located in North-Western Tanzania. More precisely in the Kagera region. The administrative center of the region is the city of Bukoba, which is 1500 km away from the Tanzanian capital Dar es Salam. The headquarters of the St. Therese Sisters is based in Nyaigando which is a 20 minutes bus ride away from Bukoba. The entire project is being coordinated from Nyaigando which is further the central contact point for orphans.
Background
HIV/ AIDS has been greatly affecting Kagera region. Not only does HIV/ AIDS cause incredible emotional and physical suffering to the infected, but it also impacts on the lives of everybody else in the region. Since AIDS, in 1983, turned out to be a serious problem, the St. Therese Sisters decided to assist and help HIV- infected people. ‘Solidarity with Orphans‘ as a concrete project was implemented in 1991 by Dr. Anja-Maria Rauch. At that time, she had been working as a doctor in the hospital of Bukoba. One of her major ambitions was to ensure, that AIDS orphans were to be provided with basic goods, such as nutrition clothing, and education. The project ‘Solidarity with Orphans‘ has initially been supported by the parish of St. Canisius, Munich-Großhadern. Over the years, the project has been constantly growing whilst enjoying the support of a number of parishes in addition to private contributors and organizations from the United States. Due to the involvement of a variety of donors, the project on site is named ‘St. Maria Gorath Organization‘.