Baobab Home History and Organizational Overview
Baobab Home was established in 2004 by husband and wife team, Mwandu Caito and Terri Place. The Home
is located in Bagamoyo, Tanzania and serves the entire Coast region. The Baobab Home is also a registered
international NGO in Tanzania. A volunteer Board of Trustees oversees the Home’s philosophical, legal and
financial goals, and approves all Operating Procedures and bylaws. The Baobab Home is incorporated in the
State of New Jersey, where it is also registered as a charity (2565300). Its 501(c )3 federal tax exempt status was
awarded in December, 2005.
Our Four Community Based Programs
Although the name “Baobab Home,” is often used to refer to the Children’s Home, which opened in 2008, the
organization Baobab Home extends far beyond the walls of the baby home; working with hundreds of orphans
and vulnerable children, as well as HIV-positive adults and others living in poverty, throughout Bagamoyo.
Over the course of the past 6 years we have responded to the changing needs of the HIV/AIDS crisis by
establishing a number of community programs to assist basic needs such as food, school and housing. Our
programs are:
Breakfast Programs: Since August 2005 Baobab Home has served over 45,000 hot breakfasts to local students
and HIV patients. The breakfast program began at local schools where we served uji (a simple, high energy
breakfast made from millet, soy, peanuts, corn and rice) to hundreds of the most vulnerable children (MVC) of
Bagamoyo. This program also provided us an opportunity to keep an eye on the children and looks for
indicators of problems at home (weight loss, injuries, illness, won or stolen uniform, etc.) In 2009 the Breakfast
Program was moved to the local HIV Care and Treatment Clinic where we provide a breakfast of uji to up to
1000 HIV-positive patients each month. By providing a nutritional boost for the patients, some who have
walked miles to reach the clinic, we aim to increase their energy and their receptiveness to hearing what the
doctors have to say. With only one visit per month, this is a time when they need to focus on learning about
caring for their bodies and preventing the spread of HIV.
Educational Support: In January 2006, a local street boys home was disbanded and boys sent scattering,
Baobab Home took in nine young men who had all passed their Standard 7 exams. By finding sponsors for
each of the nine boys, we were able to give them a home to live in and the means to continue their education.
With the help of their sponsors, they are currently continuing their studies either in Form 5 secondary school
or focusing on vocational school options, including social work and journalism. Baobab Home has also
sponsors dozens of youth throughout Bagamoyo – children whose parents cannot afford the cost of tuition
fees – and has provided hundreds of school uniforms to families that could not afford them. Baobab Home is
committed to ensuring that poverty does not keep children from getting the education they deserve.
Baobab Children’s Home: The Baobab Home opened its doors to orphaned and abandoned babies on
December 24th, 2008. Through our outreach work, we aim to keep children with their extended families and
out of orphanages, including ours. Unfortunately, there are times when babies are abandoned, or there is no
extended family willing to take an orphaned child in, even if they are given help. The Baobab Home is a place
where they are welcomed into a family setting, given love, balanced meals, education, medical care and no
discrimination about their HIV status. To date there have been eighteen children who have lived with us at
Baobab Home, nine of these children have been reunited with their families and one was adopted by loving
parents, we currently have eight children living with us, all of whom will be relocated to the Baobab Home
Retreat Center once it is completed.
Community Outreach: In a grassroots effort to serve our neighbors, Baobab Home began working with the
community of Bagamoyo in 2004. We’ve created dozens of small, individual projects such as supplying
medicine and food to those dealing with HIV and other illness or those who were too poor to buy their own
food. Over the years we have supported more than 40 families in this short-term manner, helping them to get
back onto their feet or making sure an infant who has lost her mother has the right nutrition to give her a head
start in life. We have also helped HIV+ men and women through income generation projects in the
community and have built 8 homes for families in need of better shelter. Sponsoring 2- 3 football tournaments
a year, though sports equipment donation, has been a fun way to interact in the community and get to know
our neighbors.
The SHAMBA
An hour from Dar Es Salaam, and 10 minutes from the Indian Ocean and historic Bagamoyo Center,
lie 15 acres of farmland where HIV+ children can play free of stigma and learn to responsibly
manage their disease. There is no noise other than chickens, ducks, goats and cows; mature fruit trees
offer fresh fruit year-round. The Baobab Home’s farm allows for room to run and swing, while also
providing ample space to sit and reflect with peers and educators. Here, where it’s safe, children
living with HIV are welcomed to share stories and fears, learn good health habits, make friends, have
fun, mourn their losses and grow stronger together.
Thanks to the invaluable aid of PEPFAR, thousands of children in Tanzania are receiving lifesaving
Antiretroviral Therapy. However, very few are getting the supplementary psychosocial support
necessary to understand and grow into adulthood with this disease. What will happen when this
generation reaches puberty if they are not taught to understand the virus they’ve been born with?
The Baobab Home believes that by providing psychosocial support to HIV/AIDS affected and
infected children, as well as their caregivers, we can positively impact their treatment and emotional
well being. As a result, we can prevent the unnecessary spread of HIV to future generations.
With over 300 children known to be HIV+ in the Bagamoyo District alone, it is imperative to
prepare children to be emotionally stable adults who do not fear their disease and are able to feel
confident and accepted despite it.
learn how to live with their disease and become emotionally stable enough to help end the spreading of HIV.
Already at the farm, we have built an office, a new home for the Baobab Home children, a kitchen, and a
community banda for eating and socializing. In a few months we plan to move the children from the
orphanage to the farm to consolidate all of our programs.
Reciprocal Community Support
Baobab Home not only serves the community, but also receives support back from those we serve. The
former Street Boys, when not in school, are an essential part of day-to-day activities around the organization.
They help at the hospital with the breakfast program, assist the caregivers at the baby home with cooking and
caring for the children and run a multitude of errands.
We also partnered with various community organizations and individuals in Bagamoyo, such as the Red Cross
and ICAP. One group we’ve worked closely with is UWAMABA – a local organization of people living with
HIV/AIDS and hope in Bagamoyo. Together we have began visiting nearby villages to do HIV testing –
Baobab volunteers providing food, transport, medical supplies and motivation materials, while UWAMABA
helped with the counseling of those people who tested HIV positive. It is crucial to the mission of Baobab
Home that we work in conjunction with the community because it enriches service provision and strengthens
and broadens the impact of our work.