WHO
WE ARE
MANYARA HOLISTIC CENTER
(MAHOCE)
HARAMBEE FOUNDATION
HARAMBEE FOUNDATION
is the US operated 501(c)3 nonprofit, public charity. The purpose is to raise funds to support the works and efforts of the Manyara Holistic Center (MAHOCE). The Harambee Board of Directors works in conjunction with the Board of Directors at MAHOCE.
is a small community-based NGO (Nonprofit Government Organization) in Babati, Tanzania. It is the only organization of its kind in a region of over 1.4M residents. We started as a drop-in centre in 2007 and have since expanded to a full board hostel and school. MAHOCE's governing Board of Directors includes Joshua Johnston, Founder and Feild Director, government representivies, community members, and staff.
MAHOCE
Together we provide educational services to 90 children in the community, including the 44 children who live at MAHOCE.
MISSION
To Educate and Empower vulnerable Tanzanian children and youth, improving their lives and instilling hope for a better future, in collaboration with local community initiatives.
VISION
To develop a community where children born into poverty have their lives transformed through education, thereby, becoming productive citizens and future leaders of their nations.
The children we serve all come from impoverished environments. Some have lived on the streets, on their own, or lived in abusive households working as domestic servants. Others have been abandoned, orphaned, or come from families who are unable to support them. These children would be missing out on life’s basic opportunities such as school, adequate nutrition, medical attention, safety, and security without MAHOCE.
Harambee is committed to bringing vulnerable children a more positive alternative than what street life offers. In partnership with the community of Babati, we are heeding the call to “defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.” by creating and providing a loving and nurturing environment.
Thanks to our combined efforts, these children now live in a safe and secure environment, have been enrolled in local schools or attend our MEMKWA classes at MAHOCE. It is a special program for those who are unable to attend other schools. We make sure all their other basic needs are met,. This includes; health care, daily meals, clothing and counseling. MAHOCE is also supported regularly with in-kind donations of foodstuffs, clothes and school supplies provided by local businesses, church groups, and concerned citizens.
Success in the Classroom
Read on to hear just a few of our stories!
In December of 2014, we had our first group of 7 students graduate from secondary school. This group of boys have become successful tradesmen as well as another, who now has medical training.
In November of 2015 we celebrated our second secondary school graduating class of five students. Many of them went on to continue their studies in either vocational education training or to become teachers. One of our boys has already become independent, after training as an electrician, through the support of Harambee and MAHOCE.
In 2016, two of the girls became seamstress. Another began her studies at the University of Dar es Salaam i after completing her Advanced Level studies. She is now a secondary teacher with her degree in science and math.
Two sisters who lived at MAHOCE went on to achieve great things. One become a women’s health advocate at a non-profit and the other owns and operates a large commercial onion farm. Together they support the education of their own children and their nieces. They call their home “Little MAHOCE”
In 2021, Magdalena now rents and operates her own sewing shop. She takes in apprentices to help pay her rent. Maggie is working in conjunction with MAHOCE taking on our students who want to follow in her footsteps.
Julius graduated with a degree in Sports Administration and is seeking employment with the government.
Penina is in her last year of college studying Rural Development and Community Planning. Genay is in his last year at the University of Dar es Salaam to become a Community Development Officer.
The stories each year are endless!
Our Foundational Beliefs
Harambee Foundation is open to all people of all creeds, faiths and denominations and our services are provided to all people, regardless of religious preference. We do provide Christian religious instruction, daily prayer, guidance and worship opportunities but do not require conversion in return for any service our programs we provide.
It is our hope that through our good works, Christ like examples, and through an opportunity to hear the word of God, we may plant a seed that the Spirit may use to bring others into a relationship with God through the finished work of Jesus Christ.
WATCH MWANAIDI'S INTERVIEW ABOUT HER LIFE AT MAHOCE
A dream fulfilled! Mwanadi is now a full time student at the University of Dar es Salaam studying to become a doctor.
WHO DO WE SERVE?
MAHOCE continues to be a vital part of Babati and the Manyara region, through the efforts of the Harambee Foundation
MAHOCE.
Focused primarily on providing new alternatives and education to Babati’s street children, the hostel has also taken in young females who had previously worked as house girls in abusive situations and had never before gone to school.
Rather than working in hardship conditions, cooking and cleaning in other people’s homes from dusk-to-dawn, these young teenage girls now live in peace and security while receiving a quality education.
Being a holistic centre, MAHOCE also develops and conducts community seminars for at-risk families and current or former caregivers of street children. Our women’s seminars focus on HIV/Aids awareness, child and adolescent care and the introduction of appropriate technologies and small-group organization and income generation skills.
MAHOCE also has a strong partnership with sectors in both the local and regional government and has received in-kind donations of food-stuffs from concerned citizens.
MAHOCE strongly supports family reunification of street children as a first order intervention however, this is not always possible. To better meet the long-term needs of our children, MAHOCE is expanding onto a 50 acre farmstead in a nearby village.
Here our children will learn practical life skills, like farming and animal husbandry while continuing to be raised in their own cultural community context. Growing our own food and raising livestock will also provide the Centre with a major component of self-sustainability and self-determination. The Centre also has long-term plans to build a vocational training centre on the site as well.
MAHOCE identifies the most needy children and provides all the essential services, they would otherwise lack
MAHOCE specializes in brining positive life-altering educational opportunites to impovereished and illiterate children
MAHOCE removes girls locked in domestic servitude and provides them with a safe haven and an education
MAHOCE takes children who are at risk of dropping out of school and gives them the support needed to complete their education
MAHOCE has housing program for 44 children and growing
About the Logo
Flag of TZ background, Elephant is holding the torch of learning or education.
The elephant represents strength, the strength Of MAHOCE is found in education.