Our Mission
We CARE for abandoned and abused children in our home... We SERVE children in the community who are at risk of or suffering from malnutrition by providing formula and medical support. We EMPOWER families through education, training, and business start-ups to end the cycle of poverty.
We are a interim care home for orphaned, abandoned, and at-risk children ages 0-5 in Geita, Tanzania. We work hard to reunify children with families and make adoptions possible.
We also serve the region of Geita with our Maisha Matters program to prevent infant malnutrition and provide relief in cases of severe acute malnutrition (SAM).
Click to learn more about our Maisha Matters program
We serve the Geita Region by caring for abandoned, orphaned, and vulnerable children in our residential home. Our community outreach project, Maisha Matters, creates opportunities support children in their homes enabled an extended family member to care for a child rather than seeking residential care due to lack of resources in the home. We also contribute to the Geita economy through employing over 40 Tanzanians in various positions including management, caregivers, and support staff.
By working with local and national social welfare offices, 41 children have been adopted in Tanzania through Neema House
Family is the best place for a child. By working closely with families, these children grow as part of their family rather than institutional care
Our malnutrition program, Maisha Matters (“Life” Matters), has helped over 1,300 children suffering from malnutrition since 2016. This program provides life-saving milk formula, health education, and keeps children together with families.
(All above stats are a snapshot as of September 2024. Our impact continues to grow each month.)
We serve the Geita region primarily through residential care of abandoned, orphaned, or vulnerable children and through our community outreach projects: Maisha Matters and Cleft Lip Repair. We work in connection with the local hospitals, clinics, and government social welfare offices to identify children in need and ensure their care and safety.
Neema House was opened in Geita Town in June 2013 and was initially set up to serve up to 20 children at a time. Since then, Neema House has expanded its facilities to include separate baby and toddler homes, thus increasing capacity and improving quality of care. On average we have around 26 children in the home. We work hard to find permanent homes for all children in our home and since 2015 over 97 children have returned home or been adopted locally.
Maisha Matters addresses the problem of infant mortality and malnutrition following the death of the mother (often in childbirth), when a mother is unable to breastfeed (often as a result of HIV or other illness), or in other cases of severe malnutrition due to lack of appropriate food or nutrition. In 2017 this program was expanded to support all children under age 5 who have been diagnosed with severe malnutrition.
In 2020, Neema House began offering support to children with cleft lips and cleft palates in order to assist them to get life altering surgery. Children with cleft lips often suffer from malnutrition because of difficulty feeding. Additionally, due to the large stigma associated with it, many of these children are hidden away in shame.
Our impact only goes so far and we need your help to continue our work in the Geita community. You can support Neema House through sponsoring a child in our homes, supporting families in our Maisha Matters program, or through general donations.
Sponsoring a child supports costs for their food, formula, medical care, and caregivers' (mamas') salaries
The most immediate need through Maisha Matters is milk formula support. Milk formula is too expensive for these families to purchase. You can help by "buying" formula, peanut butter, & powdered milk to support these families
General donations go help us cover other program costs, future development plans, non-caregivers salaries, and administrative costs
