Joshua Elisante

Gender: Boy

Date of Birth: December 29, 2009

Location: King'ori Tanzania 

PERSONAL AND FAMILY BACKGROUND:

Joshua was abandoned by his mother who claimed not to know the father. Joshua was only about 1 month old when his mother fled and no one knows where she is to this day. Since his exact birth is unknown, we have given him a birthday of Dec 29, 2009.

For his first 4 years Joshua lived with his grandmother, but due to her age of 82 she was unable to properly care for him. She turned to her tribal leaders for help and they arranged for the district social welfare workers to visit her and Joshua. It was determined that Joshua could no longer stay there.

At age 4 Joshua was suffering from stomach problems, rashes, malnutrition and problems of urinary tract infection. We were asked to provide him permanent care and we have had him ever since May of 2013. His health improved quickly and he is a happy, healthy little guys who is a joy to all of us.

Diana Michael

Gender: Girl 

Date of Birth: April 20, 2011

Location: King'ori Tanzania 

PERSONAL AND FAMILY BACKGROUND:

Diana lost her father to a road accident in 2010. Her mother was diagnosed as HIV+ in 2016 and now spends much of her time in bed. When she is able, she sells vegetables in the market to earn money but she can seldom work. When we discovered Diana, they were surviving on only porridge.

When Diana came to Sonshine she was checked at the clinic and found to have sever skin rashes and typhoid due to poor water. Her health is now fully restored and she is an active little girl with a beautiful smile. 

Diana was excited to start school in September, she is usually dressed and ready to go an hour before the van leaves for school. She always has a smile on whenever you see her.

Joshua Samuel   

Gender: Boy
Date of Birth: August 20, 2007
Location: King'ori Tanzania  

PERSONAL AND FAMILY BACKGROUND:

Joshua had no brothers or sisters when we received him. He comes from a distant Maasai village, more than 5 hour bus ride, with no outside contact only knowing their own tribal customs and only speaking their mother tongue. When Josh was 2 his father became sick and died from unknown causes.

After his father passed the tribal council reclaimed the land of his father and forced his mother to leave to her own tribe leaving them homeless.

Joshua was sick and full of parasites; he had fungal infections and was in bad condition. A pastor told Joshua’s mother about Sonshine Village and they journeyed to visit our center and asked us to please help, we received him in June 2013.

Kelvin John 

Gender: Boy

Date of Birth: June 12, 2010

Location: King'ori Tanzania 

PERSONAL AND FAMILY BACKGROUND:

Kelvin and his twin brother were born in a very miserable environment. Their mother is not in her right mind and she didn't know who the father is. Due to her mental problem the boys spent their life in the street, sleeping outside, eating dirty food that their mother collected from the trash bins.

They only bathed with dirty water on the roadside after it rained. They had rags to wear and even those where given to them through charity. There was no hope, no love and life was terrible.

They came to the attention of Sonshine through the village leader. He had a heart for the boys and asked us if we could please help. When our staff saw the awful condition they were in we immediately made arrangements for them to receive physical exams. They were in very poor condition, malnourished, open sores and full of lice, but they were quickly cleaned up and cared for by our staff.  

When coming to Sonshine, it was the first time to stay in a home with a clean envoronment, have 3 meals a day, and have other children embracing them with love. To these boys it was very different because in the street other children were always beating and abusing them Now both boys have adjusted very well to our home, they are secure and they are feeling love for the very first time in their lives.

Violet Festo  

Gender: Girl 

Date of Birth: December 30, 2007

Location: King'ori Tanzania  

PERSONAL AND FAMILY BACKGROUND:

Violet and her two younger brothers all came to Sonshine Children’s Center in January 2017. They have lived through two tragedies at such a young age.

First their farther committed suicide through hanging himself from a tree at their family home. It was very traumatic to the whole family but it was so difficult for their mother that she died from heart failure soon after.

They had an aunt in a nearby village but she was not able to take the 3 children into her home so Social Welfare asked Sonshine Center to have custody. Soon after they arrived to Sonshine they began to improve. They came to us in good physical health but with broken hearts from the loss of their parents. 

Our staff and children really embraced them, showing them love and kindness. It was only a short time when they began to smile again, now after 2 years they are well adjusted and growing physically, emotionally and spiritually. Violet is a leader among the young girls and is doing very well in school. She continues to watch over her brothers and has a very outgoing personality. We are pleased to have these three children.

Maureen Elia Ayo 

Gender: Girl 

Date of Birth: March 21, 2013

Location: King'ori Tanzania 

PERSONAL AND FAMILY BACKGROUND:

Maureen and her brother Martin came to Sonshine in March of 2018. Our staff was asked to accompany the regional social director to investigate their situation. We discovered that their father had passed away about a year prior. Their mother asked a neighbor family to watch the two children so she could travel to her home village to find a place to live but she never returned.  After a year their mother still had not returned and the neighbor didn’t know what to do so he contacted the government for help.

Social Welfare Services asked Sonshine to receive the 2 kids and after the children passed the health exams we immediately brought them to our center.

Maureen came to Sonshine full of fear and anxiety; she would break things and was very aggressive. And non-communitive. We noticed that all the children would still embrace her and show her kindness and love. The staff also worked closely with her to help her feel loved and secure. Now only a few months later she is doing great and her transition is remarkable.  She is in our preschool program and doing wonderful.

Exaud Festo

Gender: Boy  

Date of Birth: Jan 4, 2009

Location: King'ori Tanzania 

PERSONAL AND FAMILY BACKGROUND:

Exaud, his older sister and younger brother all came to Sonshine in January 2017. They have lived through 2 tragedies at such a young age.

First their farther committed suicide through hanging himself from a tree at their home. It was very traumatic to the whole family but was so difficult for their mother that she died from heart failure soon after.

They have an aunt in a nearby village but she was not able to take the 3 children into her home so Social Welfare asked Sonshine to have custody. Soon after they arrived to Sonshine they began to improve. They came to us in good physical health but with broken hearts from the loss of their parents. 

Our staff and children really embraced them, showing them love and kindness. It was only a short time when they began to smile again, now after 2 years they are well adjusted and growing physically, emotionally and spiritually. Exaud is doing well in school and is a leader in our home. We are pleased to have these three children.

Japhet Julius  

Gender: Boy

Date of Birth: May 25, 2014

Location: King'ori Tanzania 

PERSONAL AND FAMILY BACKGROUND:

Japhet is the youngest of three kids, with 2 older sisters. They came to Sonshine Center in January of 2017. The father died in 2016 from unknown causes, the mother abandoned the kids.

They went to live with an aunt but she drank very heavy and she left the kids for days. It was discovered that a neighbor man began abusing Japhet’s sisters and creating great fear in all the children.

A good samaritan went to the government for help and Social Welfare stepped in removing all the children and asked Sonshine to care for them

We now are watching these kids heal and grow in the Lord. They are very happy and tell the staff how good it is to be loved and not live in fear. Japhet really lights up the room with his presence. He is a born runner and loves Footbal (soccer).

Ebenezer Festo                   

Gender: Boy

Date of Birth: December 20, 2014

Location: King'ori Tanzania 

PERSONAL AND FAMILY BACKGROUND:

Ebenezer, his older brother and sister all came to Sonshine in January 2017. They have lived through 2 tragedies at such a young age.

First their farther committed suicide through hanging himself from a tree at their home. It was very traumatic to the whole family but was so difficult for their mother that she died from heart failure soon after.

They have an aunt in a nearby village but she was not able to take the 3 children into her home so Social Welfare asked Sonshine to have custody. Soon after they arrived to Sonshine they began to improve. They came to us in good physical health but with broken hearts from the loss of their parents. 

Our staff and children really embraced them, showing them love and kindness. It was only a short time when they began to smile again, now after 2 years they are well adjusted and growing physically, emotionally and spiritually. Ebenezer is doing well in Sonshine’s kindergarten school and next year will be ready to start first grade at Mayota English Immersion School. We are pleased to have these three children.

Neema Samwel

Gender: Girl 

Date of Birth: October 1, 2009

Location: King'ori Tanzania 

PERSONAL AND FAMILY BACKGROUND:

Neema means Grace in Swahili. Neema came to Sonshine in 2014 with her brother Daniel. They were both victims of extreme abuse and neglect from alcoholic parents, finally Tanzanian Social Welfare removed them from their home. Sonshine worked for many months to improve their health through extra attention, counseling and special diet. Their spirits were very broken during the first 6 months at our center but we see a complete healing in Neema since she has arrived.

She is a happy adventurous little girl. She started first grade in January of 2018 and is doing well. Her school grades are above average and she continues to improve socially, academically and physical and spiritually.