HBH BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: James Rowan

What year did you join the HBH Board?

2021

What motivated you to become a part of the HBH Board?

I was long-time friend of Billy and supporter of the organization. I wanted to increase my impact by giving my time and knowledge, as well.

How has joining HBH as a Board Member impacted your life?

I find myself checking Tanzanian news more often now, and I have a notes section in my phone where I write ideas that might benefit HBH at random times throughout the day.

Tell us about your professional background, and how it helps you contribute as an HBH Board Member?

I work in consumer loyalty with previous experience in revenue management. Both have a great deal of cross-over with nonprofit fundraising.

What impact do you hope to have on the HBH kids, and our organization as a whole?

I would love to help successfully graduate as many kids as possible and expand the organization's size and footprint to increase our overall impact.

HBH BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: Aida Meskel

What year did you join the HBH Board?

2021

What motivated you to become a part of the HBH Board?

Tanzania is a place near and dear to my heart. My family's roots are from the neighboring country, Ethiopia. My parents have accomplished so much in terms of helping people up, and if I could take a fraction of what I have learned from them to do good in this world, maybe I, too, could change the world in some incremental way. Africa has an abundance of gifts. Harnessing that for its future starts with giving its children a strong foundation to learn, grow, and develop. House of Blue Hope provides that in a sustainable way that respects Tanzania's culture.

How has joining HBH as a Board Member impacted your life?

So far I've met some amazing people virtually in a pandemic, reconnected with an old friend to do some good, and been moved to tears of joy on my first retreat. With that, I expect nothing but great things in the future.

Tell us about your professional background, and how it helps you contribute as an HBH Board Member?

My professional background is in public health and I currently work in creating access to medicines and strengthening health systems in Emerging Markets. However, my community service work as a co-founder and Chair for a youth org based in NYC focused on the personal and professional development of the Ethiopian Diaspora youth and young professionals has given me equally helpful insights. Both, hopefully, will help me contribute to meaningful initiatives that help promote wellness and development for HBH.

What impact do you hope to have on the HBH kids, and our organization as a whole?

I hope to be able to help keep the kids healthy through the pandemic and beyond, help them dream big, and help provide them with the tools to achieve their wildest dreams.

This year, give a gift to change.

Overcoming poverty through education.. One child at a time

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Dear Friend,

Thanks to YOU, over the past year, House of Blue Hope has been able to grow, helping more children and their families overcome poverty through education.

Think about a time when you asked your own children ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’ I’m sure there was an array of aspiring answers. With your help, I was able to witness the children of House of Blue Hope discuss their passions in life and actually begin taking the steps necessary to achieve those goals. They have the same hopes and dreams as your children and, with your support, they now have a chance to reach for those dreams.

My time spent in Tanzania, living at the houses with the children, has showed me just how far your generosity has taken them. Thanks to donors like you the children have more opportunities to learn, be cared for, and most of all be loved. Seeing the smiles on their faces every morning when they headed off to school was such a joy and is a direct result of your support.

With your continued support House of Blue Hope has been able to provide services that meet basic needs, and assist in early childhood development and life skills.

We are excited to say that with the support of donors like you we have been able to open our doors to more children every year. We have expanded our girls’ house and have moved our older boys to their own home, in order to focus these young men on their transition to adulthood and independence. This has been tremendous not only for our children but the community of Mabibo. House of Blue Hope has been able to role model parenting abilities and early childhood interventions to other families in the community.

Your support has allowed us to expand our efforts into helping the mothers of our children by offering guidance in showing these women how to start a small business of their own and create a better life for themselves. Recently, House of Blue Hope has received acknowledgment and praise directly from the Tanzanian government for the success of our women’s program. This has a great impact on our children as they love seeing their own parents become self- sustaining, contributing members of society. We have even begun to take things further by establishing a daycare, not only for our children but for the children in the Mabibo community. With your support we can now reach beyond the children in our houses and give support to other families by teaching them early childhood development skills.

As House of Blue Hope continues to grow we want to thank you and encourage your continued support. House of Blue Hope could not do this work without you. There are many more children in Tanzania waiting to be a part of House of Blue Hope. Your support, generosity and donations can make that happen! Thank you for giving.

Ashly Witkowiak

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2018 Stewardship Report

Thank you for making a lasting impact on the lives of the House of Blue Hope Children!

For many vulnerable children in Tanzania, a home and an education are only a dream. Since 2006, the House of Blue Hope has made that dream a reality – children without access to school have transformed into self-confident students, broken the cycle of poverty, and forever changed the trajectory of their lives. Your philanthropic partnership has been integral in strengthening HBH programming and expanding our reach, helping more children find a home and a life-changing education at House of Blue Hope.

Your generous contribution has impacted the work of House of Blue Hope since January 2017 by helping HBH:

• Increase the number of children in our care from 15 to 29 (a 93% increase!), changing not only the life of each child forever, but that of their families as well.

• Open a third house, which has been used by the high-school-age boys, allowing them to gain a sense of independence and maturity, while freeing up more space and resources to add additional younger children to the program.

• Strengthen our Women’s Empowerment program - a hand-made purse and jewelry business - owned and operated by impoverished Tanzanian women, including the mothers of some of our own HBH children.

• Train our staff to become better teachers and caregivers at Meadows Preschool – one of the premier educational institutions in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

• Expand our HBH (U.S.) board by eight members, launching new fundraising events from Florida to California.

Your continued generosity will impact the work of House of Blue Hope in 2020 as we intend to accomplish the following:

• Transform our fourth house into a daycare facility for our youngest children, while providing the same first-class learning and care to our neighborhood kids, in an effort to create a self-sustaining income source for HBH Tanzania.

• Add a fifth house and support 45 kids (adding 16!) by the end of 2020.

• Add our first HIV-positive child to House of Blue Hope, providing this child with all the resources needed to have a successful and healthy life, while educating the HBH children and staff about proper health safety requirements.

• Grow the HBH Women’s Empowerment project to generate enough revenue to distribute living-wage dividends to its members.

• Expand fundraising from $100,000, received in 2018, to $120,000, projected in 2019, and achieve our ambitious goal of $150,000, in 2020, while launching even more fundraising events globally.

— We hope to achieve our 2020 fundraising goal through: • identifying, applying for, and obtaining local and national grants available to organizations like HBH;

• partnering with charitable service organizations (i.e. Rotary, Kiwanis, etc.);

• increasing the HBH network by adding board members and fundraising events; and,

• increasing our monetary donation per donor.