MSAMARIA CENTER FOR STREET CHILDREN
Msamaria Center For Street Children was established in 2007 by Tanzanian social worker Folkward mapunda. It is a non-governmental organization which accommodates about 60 kids from the streets. Most of the kids are brought to the center by centers own social workers who go down to the streets to find and help street children. The kids are between 5 and 16 years old and majority of them are boys. The aim of the center is to meet the basic needs of the children coming to the center, to help them to become full members of the society and to realize their full potential. The center has altogether 10 workers, some of them volunteers.
In the center the kids get a shelter, food, health care, education and help and support of the local social workers. Some of the kids are going to the school in the near area while some of them are studying in the center. The local workers and volunteer arrange also different free time activities to the kids.
The local social workers find out in the beginning the history of the child, the reasons why the child is living on the streets and if there is some relatives who can be contacted. The kids get help and support by talking about their problems with the local social workers. Together with them they try to find solutions to their problems. The center is also doing family work by contacting any relatives and trying to reunite the kids with some family members. Also follow-up is done.
Msamaria Center For Street Children is a good placement for both volunteers and practical trainees/ interns. In the center you will take part in all the daily routines of the kids. As a volunteer you will be teaching the kids, helping them at the lunch time, helping them with their home works and guiding all kind of free time activities to them. As a practical training/ intern you can work more closely with the social workers by getting involved to the preliminary interviews done to the new kids and to the family work and also to the help and guidance the social workers are giving to the boys at the center.
Since the center is still quite new there are many things that are not fully organized yet. Also mr. Mapunda has still many plans how to improve the center and its activities. This makes the center also a good placement for different project works or thesis works.
Msamaria Center For Street Children has also very good websites
