Main aim of the charity
Children's Home - our family-style orphanage
Steven Tito Academy - our English-medium primary school
Stronger Together - our psycho-social support group for HIV+ children
Breakfast Program - our breakfast program which provides food for HIV+ patients at our local hospital
How the employee got involved and why
15 years ago my sister met on one of her round-the-world trips a woman she got really impressed from and stayed in touch from this time. In 2004 Terri Place, an US American Citizen, and her husband Caito Mwandu opened an orphanage home in Bagamoyo, Tanzania. Over the years the orphanage was extended by the STEVEN TITO ACADEMY, a primary school and a BREAKFAST PROGRAM for HIV/AIDS infected children. (https://www.tzkids.org)
In 2012 Terri & Caito planned to extend The Baobab Home by a small farming area and asked all their friends and supporters around the world for support. This year I became first time aware of DHLs Global Volunteer Day and its unique opportunities.
With encouragement of the Austrian MD I offered Terri DHLs customs know how & cargo ressources and planned a company-wide material donation. At the we were able to ship 300kg of childrens toys and books, shoes & clothes but also storage boxes, gardenhoses, shelves and tools since we learned those items, for us more than common, are not available in the amount or quality needed.
Our colleagues at DHL Tanzania were very supportive in mastering the last mile by arranging easy customs clearance an the delivery at Baobab. The pictures we got by email afterwards, even with the Delivery Courier on one of them :-), were shared within all the friends and colleagues at DHL Austria and somehow this startet a long-term-friendship between DHL AT, DHL TZ and The Baobab-Children.
In the meantime we organized a number of collections in kind, most recent one in May this year where we were even mentioned in a newspaper article, but give also a helping hand if something urgent is needed to be organised from Europe. In 2015, after a donations drop due to legislation changes in the US, we organised a successful financial donation where even the our local PUD Servicepartners took part and in the meantime we even hold a sponsorship for a 9 year old girl with the biggest wish to become a nurse.
In my opinion DHLs Global Volunteer Day is on of the biggest inventions in charity since it encourages people to spread thousands of initiaves all over the world where its really needed without noteworthy administration.
What work does the employee do for charity?
Mainly I organize material donations in the company, family and friends.
I pick up the goods, clean them, pack them, prepare the paperwork and contact import department for pre-advice and monitor transit, clearance and delivery.
In addition I stay in contact with The Baobab so that I am aware if there are new initiatives and/or help needed or some urgencies and of course stakeholder management and promotion within the company to keep the willingness to participate up.