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St. Robert Bellarmine Parish supports the
efforts of "NYUMBA YA (HOUSE OF) BLUE HOPE," a Tanzanian Orphanage Project.
The smallest donations—a 12-pack of pencils, a 3-pack of boy's underwear, a
soccer ball, a story book—are paramount in laying the foundation for bigger
vision. The dozen pencils turn into an after school remedial math program;
the story books turn into a small library; the soccer balls into a
neighborhood youth athletic league; the underwear...well we all need
underwear, don't we? The point is that no project would be successful
without those donations, which allow us to take mothers and children off
street corners where they can only beg for their next immediate meal and
into classrooms and job training where they have the opportunity to prepare
themselves for a brighter future.
Dar es Salaam, like many other East African
cities, has a tremendously high rate of homeless children, estimated around
10.5% of the youth population (approximately 1.5 million children). Many
were orphaned when their parents dies of AIDS or other prevalent diseases;
many are simply victims of poverty, sent to the city streets to beg for
money on behalf of their families. All schools in Tanzania, whether private
or public, have access to free primary education. However, free tuition does
not allow all school-aged kids to go to school. There are the costs of
school uniforms (mandatory for all schools, including public), books and
supplies, and transportation, as oftentimes the nearest school is a lengthy
bus ride away. Many children do not have the opportunity to go to school due
to such expenses, or because responsibilities at home keep them quite tied
down there as well.
The “House of Blue Hope” can pull dozens of
kids off the streets and put them into a safe living and learning
environment. The construction of a brand-new Jesuit primary school has just
been completed in the immediate vicinity. With such access to this primary
school and Loyola High School, the residents of the “House of Blue Hope”
will be provided with top-notch educational opportunities in a country in
which only about 12% of the population receives a secondary education. This
effort impacts the immediate neighborhood of St. John the Baptist—our Sister
Parish.
Please take some time to read more about the
House of Blue Hope Foundation at
www.houseofbluehope.org.
If you would like to donate financially to
this project, you can mail your tax deductible check to:
Jesuit International Missions
7303 West Seven Mile Rd
Detroit, MI 48221
Memo: Project Blue Hope
or to
House of Blue Hope
334 Avenue A
Bayonne, NJ 07002
Payable to: House of Blue Hope
or to
St. Mary's, Star of the Sea
326 Avenue C
Bayonne, NJ 07002
Memo: Project Blue Hope
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