New name and website
Since 2009 we have been active in Tanzania and together with local organisations we have completed several beautiful projects.
From 2009 since 2017 we also supported two orphanages, thinking we were doing the right thing. But in 2017 we learned that most of these children have a living parent or other family members who could take care of them given the right support. We changed our approach and started to advocate that children belong in families and not in institutuions like these orphanages. This became more and more the main focus of our work.
With our project 'Watoto Kwanza', which is Swahili for ‘Children first’, or as we put it: the child’s interest first, as mentioned in the 'UN Convention on the Rights of the Child' and in the Tanzanian Children's Act, we planted a lot of seeds in Tanzania that children belong in families and not in institutions like orphanages, and we trained one organisation how to reintegrate children back into a family.
But while active in Tanzania, we also talked to people running or supporting institutional care facilities outside of Tanzania and our chairperson Monique was also asked to give presentations and trainings in other countries like Kenia and Nepal.
Because we expanded our focus beyond Tanzania more and more, it was time for a new name. We chose "It takes a Village Foundation" because it reflects our mission to ensure all children grow up in safe and loving families. Raising children is not just the job of parents or close family members. The whole community needs to play a role and take it's responsibility in the development and well-being of children, from parents to teachers to neighbors and grandparents.
iI takes a village to raise a child
And only as we work as a village, we can ensure that children grow up, safely in a family setting, where they belong. Check out our new website here and join us!
Good news – our support pays off!
Do you know that more and more children live to be five years of age? In 1990 worldwide 90 out of 1000 children died before the age of five. Today the number has dropped to 43. This means that child mortality has been halved over the past 25 years.
In education things have bettered in developing countries, as well. In today’s world 9 out of 10 children attend school. Only in 1970 this figure was 6 out of 10.
Our aid at the construction of wells, a surgery, purchase of equipment, an ambulance/jeep for the St. Anna’s Health Centre in Uwemba and the construction of a kindergarten in Songea has contributed to these fine results. The video on the left gives a nice overview of our projects. More information on our projects is available at the page “Goal and projects”.
With our current project ‘Watoto kwanza’ we also achieve good results. ‘Watoto kwanza’ is Swahili meaning ‘Children first’. Or as we put it: the child’s interest first. This means we focus on children from our most vulnerable group in the Tanzanian society: children who unnecessarily grow up in an orphanage. A child belongs in a (safe) family situation in which it can develop to its full potential.
Do you know that over 80% of the children growing up in an orphanage have at least one living parent? Given the right support this parent might take care of the child. Besides, over 60 years of research has shown that growing up in an orphanage (institutionalisation) is damaging for the cognitive, emotional and social development. Children develop best in a family situation.
In Tanzania we raise awareness on the topic and we support orphanages in their transition from institutionalisation to a family-oriented approach: from an ‘orphan home’ to a ‘family home’ The video on the left side, with the title 'This is why we do what we do' shows one of our succes stories. Read more.
We initiated the pledge #EveryChildAFamily. Through this pledge several Dutch Private Initiatives declare that family is the place for a child to grow up in. We call on other NGOs, companies, churches and schools to invest in family-oriented care. Children deserve a family home and not an orphanage.
The pledge was formalized at the ‘Wilde Ganzen – Partin’ day in Nijkerk, the Netherlands, on 28 of September 2019. At the time 12 foundations participated. Since then the number of signatories has increased. Now 56 private initiatives have signed the pledge.
Why we signed the Dutch NGO pledge #EveryChildAFamily
The video below shows an interview between our chairman Monique Derrez and Marnix Huis Int Veld, founder of Macheo Children's Organization. Marnix explains why Macheo has signed the pledge. He talks about opportunities and challenges from starting as a traditional orphanage in 2005 to shifting the focus to family reunification. Will orphanages ever become redundant? Will there ever be sufficient alternatives that make orphanages superfluous? Is a police cell still the only other alternative for a child if it has been abandoned and found? Watch the interview and you will find out.
Better Care Network Netherlands
Better Care Network Netherlands (BCNN) is a network of organizations in the Netherlands that provide assistance to children without adequate parental care in developing countries. Since 2007 they have been sharing knowledge, experiences and lessons learned with each other and others. Their goal is to increase awareness about alternative care, improve the application of knowledge, stimulate discussion and improve policy. Read more. (only in Dutch)
Or read more on the website of the American Better Care Network.
