02.08.2025 - Greetings from the House of Happiness

I'm getting to spend four weeks back in Arusha with my beloved children. It feels wonderful to be able to work from here 🥰.

We now care for 40 children: 22 boys and 18 girls, three of whom are currently in boarding school. It's winter here right now – that means daytime temperatures of 18 to 23 degrees Celsius, dropping to around 13 to 15 degrees Celsius at night. Since the rooms aren't heated, it's quite chilly – at least for me! I'm sitting at my desk, warmly wrapped up in a sweater, cardigan, and scarf... The children seem to have adjusted to the temperatures much better than I have, though.

News from our children in need of care

One boy is still wearing his leg braces. He'll have a check-up at the end of July to determine whether his bow legs have improved. His twin sister's deformity was never as severe – thanks to special nutrition and supplemental vitamin D, her condition has even improved on its own.

Welcome, chickens! 🐔

A major highlight: Thanks to a generous donation from three couples, our chicken coop is now complete – the first ten chickens have already moved in! Today, two of them escaped, and we had to catch them again... what fun! 😄

This is actually quite normal here: Almost every day, a rooster and his three hens from the neighbors march through our garden. In the evening, the neighbor's four-year-old boy comes to collect them all – sometimes it takes a while until he finds them all 🫢😂🤪.

Play, fun and creativity

In their free time, the children play a lot and with great joy. I receive beautiful drawings as gifts every day—and not to forget: creative hairstyles! 😉