Our Impact
Since opening its doors in 2013, Neema House has served over 1,500 children in the Geita Region of Tanzania. One hundred sixty-seven (167) children have received residential care at Neema House. Of these children, 94 have been successfully reunited with family from Neema House and another 41 have moved into foster care homes to be adopted.
Drop-In Centre Statistics
In 2015, Neema House expanded its reach from just residential services in order to offer community outreach services to vulnerable families through the Maisha Matters outreach program. By the end of 2022, Neema House had received referrals for over 1,000 children to the Maisha Matters program for nutritional support, parent / caregiver education, medical support, educational support, and business start-ups, 886 of whom needed long-term, ongoing support.
Additionally, Neema House has supported many children on an individual basis over the years who have been referred for various medical needs and support. In the past two years, support has also been given to 22 children to ensure that they received life-changing cleft lip / palate repair surgery.
Neema House has also assisted 4 children who were living with their mothers in prisons in Uganda to be reunified with their families in Tanzania.
In the midst of this growth, we have also expanded our mission to support children in their homes and prevent the need for out-of-home placement whenever possible. As a result of our intensive work through our Maisha Matters program, 86% of children served during this past year received support in their homes through our community outreach program. In many cases, the support given to families enabled an extended family member to care for a child rather than seeking residential care due to lack of resources in the home.
In addition to Maisha Matters, Neema House has assisted eight other children during the past year with educational or medical support. One of these children will continue to receive ongoing assistance over the next year due to the chronic nature of her needs, but in most instances assistance is given on a one-time basis.
86%
of the children served in 2022 were helped through outreach programs.
In addition to our primary programs, we also have a positive impact on the broader Geita community through employment of over 40 Tanzanians in positions such as management, social workers, caregivers, and support staff. Every employee is given a good salary, contribution to social security, and is offered a savings program. We also support the economy by purchasing all food & supplies locally, as well as hiring local carpenters, plumbers, welders, and other specialists in Geita to assist on our projects.
You can read more about our history and impact in our most recent Annual Report