In January 2024 a charity in Tanzania called Street Children Iringa, which Meeting Needs has regularly supported, was contacted by the local social welfare and hospital to ask if they could could take in a baby found abandoned. They managed to raise enough money online to save this baby’s life – purchasing powdered milk and paying for a full-time carer. They purchased powdered milk for the first few months, clothes, bottles, nappies, bed and mosquito nets and all other essentials he needed in order to take him home from hospital.
The abandoned baby was named by social welfare as Gabriel McMaster – taking the surname of Street Children Iringa founder Letty McMaster. Gabriel is now 9 months old and doing so very well! Letty and her friend who is the head of social welfare in Iringa, are now the legal guardians of Gabriel.
Gabriel´s arrival has inspired the next plan for Street Children Iringa – a baby project with a house especially for abandoned babies and those who have lost their mothers in childbirth. This house would support the babies for the first few years of their life until they could then be rehomed with relatives, adopted or moved to a safe family home where they can be raised.
- Gabriel is pictured when he was found at two weeks old and again just a few weeks ago.
To find out how you can work with Meeting Needs, contact Karen Small on ksmall@meetingneeds.org.uk
