Ibrahim’s Story – Tanzania

Ibrahim was born in December 2008, the fifth child of his parents. When his father died, his mother remarried and went to live with her new husband leaving Ibrahim and his siblings in their home in the care of his then 15-year old brother. After Ibrahim’s mother died from complications related to childbirth, their maternal grandmother began to take care of the orphaned children. Life was very hard for them. To make matters even more challenging, Ibrahim is deaf.

TADEC identified Ibrahim in 2014. Ibrahim was enrolled in TADEC’s hands-on Family Empowerment Program. Volunteers visited him at home as part of a school readiness program and included him in activities at the children’s center. Despite tireless efforts, TADEC staff and volunteers could see that it would be difficult for a deaf child like Ibrahim to thrive in such a challenging home environment. They determined that boarding school was the best option. TADEC volunteers conducted a thorough school search and accompanied Ibrahim on several trips to the school – trips that required a ten-hour bus ride and overnight stay.

In 2016, Ibrahim was enrolled and started primary education at a boarding school for the deaf at Iringa, in the southern highlands of Tanzania. He is now in standard 3 and developing well, much better than if he had stayed at his home. TADEC provides for his school needs, monitors his progress and makes sure he is safely transported to and from school when he returns to his home twice a year for the long holidays. The grandmother, his brothers and TADEC are very grateful for the support. All would not be possible without the considerate and generous support from Pangea.