THE BAOBAB HOME INTRODUCTION
The Baobab Home started as an orphanage in 2004 when the founders, Terri Place and Caito Mwandu, dreamed of opening a home for orphaned children in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. The reality they found was that most children were not truly orphaned but rather came from homes that could no longer support the children due to issues related to HIV/AIDs, physical health, or mental health. Work through the years taught them that in order to effectively provide for orphans and other vulnerable children, the focus had to be not only on the kids, but on their extended families and the broader community.
Thus, The Baobab Home expanded focus to help improve the Bagamoyo community. The approach is holistic, taking into account the various social, economic, and psychological aspects of poverty, in order to come up with sustainable solutions. As of 2023, the largest program of the Baobab Home is the Primary School, Steven Tito Academy, which is set on a sustainable farm that provides nutritious food and a living laboratory for teaching students about sustainability, nutrition, agriculture, and more.
Our vision is to make the world a more connected place, one student at a time.
Our mission is to educate the children of Bagamoyo, TZ and build a strong global community.
Our values are Curiosity, Gratitude, Kindness, Unity, and Well-being.
The following are our current programs:
- The Baobab Children’s Home – a family-style home for orphaned and vulnerable children, whose families are unable to care for them due to the impacts of HIV/AIDs, mental illness, or poverty
- The home is located on a solar-powered, biogas-fueled farm just outside of Bagamoyo and currently has nine children in care
- Over the next five years, as our current Baobab kids move into their teens and adulthood, we will slowly transition out The Baobab Home Orphanage program
- The kids that have grown up with us will always be a vital part of our Baobab family and we will continue to support them, but we anticipate that the bulk of our work will focus on education through our Primary School, Steven Tito Academy
- Steven Tito Academy – STA is a donation funded primary school that opened in 2012 to serve the kids of the local community
- We provide high-quality, safe, English-medium education focused on creativity and individualized learning
- We aim to create empowered thinkers who can contribute to a better Tanzania
- We have 120 sponsors from more than 10 countries, supporting 162 students
- We are working toward becoming an official green school as we have incorporated biogas cooking, filtering water systems, solar panels and waste management systems into the everyday activities and education focus
- We also have a school garden where students learn about agriculture and science (and the produce they grow is used in cooking student lunches)
- Sustainable Farm – we have 12 acres of arable land where we manage two fishponds, 40 cows, poultry, a biogas system, fruit trees, and several organic gardens
- Breakfast Program – providing food to HIV+ patients at our local hospital (we serve 1600 patients per month)