Watoto Foundation

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Today as our second part of classes, we went to a center called "Watoto Foundation", basically a center where they get kids in bad situations off the streets and bring them to learn school stuff as well as vocational skills. It was really neat to learn about.. When kids turn 18, they're considered an adult here in Tanzania, so they have to leave the center. When they are 16 1/2, they must make a decision as to what they want to do, there's carpentry, fixing cars, welding, cooking, etc. They decide at 16 1/2, then for the next year at the center, they concentrate on working in the area they've chosen. Then for the last six months, they get an apprenticeship somewhere on the basis that they will have employment there after the internship. There are now 39 boys at the center, and it has a capacity for 60. It's been open since 2004, and so far 4 boys have graduated and completed their apprenticeships and are all still working at the same place they interned. So it's a really great foundation and is really helping.

We learned all this from one of the directors, and then we went out and some of the boys came and each boy picked one of us and took us around the entire center, showing us what and where everything was. This was really awesome... my little dude was 16, named Elias and he was an awesome tour guide. He promised to email me! After the little tour we all got together and the boys were just amazed by our cameras and they all took our cameras and went around taking a gazillion pictures of everything imaginable! Great pics too, check them out!

And leave me some comments on here! I would love to know what everyone thinks of the pictures and everything so far!

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Photos

Me and Elias
my tour guide! he was so great!