Our History

In 1998 India Howell, then a 42 year-old native of Long Island, New York came to Africa to spend a vacation climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro. To her own surprise, the trip launched her life on an entirely new trajectory- one that would profoundly affect the people living in a small region of a beautiful, but impoverished country. Experiencing an almost immediate connection to the landscape and an affinity for its people, she cancelled prior plans to open a bed and breakfast in New England and arranged instead to move permanently to Tanzania. It wasn’t long before she became acutely aware of the growing problem of homeless children orphaned by the AIDS epidemic and other diseases often related to poverty.  In 2004, after a period of planning and research, she rented a house and took in 17 orphans. Two organizations were founded: The Tanzanian Children’s Fund in the United States and the Rift Valley Children’s Fund in Tanzania.  In seven years with the cooperation of the Karatu community and financial support from donors in the United States, that single house has expanded into a village-  home to over 70 orphaned children who would otherwise be living in dire circumstances.

Along the way India realized that the children in her care were an indicator of a far more complex problem within the community. Generations of poverty, poor education and medical care had created a cycle of poverty that needed to be addressed if, as she fondly says, "we can ever hope to put ourselves out of business".

Hence, the reach of the Children’s Village now stretches far beyond its bougainvillea hedge. Through management of the local primary school, scholarship programs for secondary education, free medical clinics and a microfinance program, India and her team are working daily to lift the community from hopelessness and poverty so that one day they will be able to stand on their own without assistance.

Pictured above:  India with Managing Director, Peter Leon

Right: India with Nuruana and Swedi