House of Blue Hope: 2020 year end giving

2020 has surely proved to be one of the more turbulent years in recent memory.  This year has certainly provided many challenges for all of us.  As the year began a handful of House of Blue Hope Board Members (myself included) were eagerly planning a summer visit to Tanzania.   As a long-time donor and a second year Board Member, I couldn’t wait for my first trip to Dar es Salaam to meet our children.  Little did we know, COVID-19 had different plans for all of us.  

But, if there is one thing that this year has shown me it is the resilience of our children, our staff in Tanzania, our HBH Board and you: our gracious, generous and supportive donors.

Our children continue to thrive in the loving environment provided by House of Blue Hope, thanks in large part to donors like you.   Early in 2020, HBH, like many organizations, had to quickly pivot.  With the novel coronavirus spreading across the globe, our staff in Tanzania took swift action to implement a stringent health and sanitation plan for our children.   We are happy to say that because of the early efforts taken by the HBH Board, Daudi Mboma, and our Tanzanian staff, HBH escaped the pandemic relatively unscathed.  Our only issue became a chicken pox outbreak across the houses.  

Despite all of the pandemonium, HBH has powered through 2020.  We have adapted and are thriving.  HBH has taken huge strides to ensure the long-term success of our mission: “Overcoming Poverty Through Education…One Child at a Time.”  This year we hired Maria/Mariah, educator and part social worker/psychologist, whose lesson plans and teaching style enable our children to learn with huge smiles on their faces.  Daudi and Maria/Mariah, together with our Operations committee on the HBH Board, have worked diligently to get our new daycare facility off the ground and running: Blue Hope Daycare! This was a huge 2020 goal for HBH, allowing us to provide consistent learning opportunities for our youngest children, while also reaching the Mabibo community to provide cost effective care for additional children.

We are proud to announce that two of our older boys, Adam and Frank, who joined HBH back in 2011, are now in the process of completing their Form-3 education and will be taking their Form-4 exams this year (the Tanzanian equivalence of a college entrance exam).  Our Operations Committee and our staff in Dar es Salaam continue to introduce innovative initiatives to assist our older children through this very stressful portion of their education.
 

In the U.S., our HBH Board continues to grow.   We have recently added a new Board Member to our team, Claire Stadhouder, from Austin, TX.  Please know, we are always looking for enthusiastic potential new Board Members to help advance our mission.  HBH found ways to creatively address our inability to hold certain in-person fundraising events (temporarily halted because of social distancing guidelines), by organizing and hosting virtual poker and bingo tournaments.

Through it all, the HBH children continue to flourish.   Please know that none of this would be possible without the generous support of donors like you.  We know this year has been difficult for many, and your donations and support are the heartbeat that keeps HBH alive.  And, while we have come very far in the past 14 years, there are still so many more children to help.  Thank you for all that you have done.  We encourage you to continue to help us lift these children out of poverty.   

Your donations truly save lives!  Thank you for giving.    

Kevin M. Kennedy

House of Blue Hope, Vice President of Fundraising