Commentaries by Cynthia

This is an organization that I am glad to promote on my blog. Jake Gentry is a local young man who has found a way to make a big difference in the lives of many children. Kudos to Jake, Suzanne, Tabitha and all the others who saw a pressing need in Africa and took steps to make this part of the world a better place. (I am impressed by the efforts of this group, and I am not easily impressed.)

The following details were obtained from the Orphans to Ambassadors website:

Tabitha Martin had a dream of a place where children living on the street could come together and take care of each other. Her dream consisted of a self-sufficient orphanage where children could grow their own crops and raise their own livestock. She envisioned an orphanage that helped abandoned children recover from severe malnutrition and rehabilitate them socially and emotionally. During her time in Kibondo, Tanzania she spent the majority of her excess salary to help street children eat one meal a week at a local restaurant where she bought the children a cup of milk and bowl of rice. She also purchased sports equipment like soccer balls and volley ball’s to provide street kids with a positive distraction from the grueling life of living on the streets of rural Africa. Tabitha Martin was a “mother” for a number of the most disadvantaged children living on the streets of Kibondo. However, when the refugee population repatriated, the relief agencies followed, forcing Tabitha to leave Kibondo to seek employment elsewhere.

Two months before she left Kibondo, she met Jake Gentry and Suzanne Fossum in the summer of 2008 during fieldwork for Jakes thesis titled “Refugee Impacts on Host Communities in Western Tanzania.” They hit it off immediately during an interview for the research project and shortly after, Tabitha delivered her concept of a sustainable orphanage. For the next ten days, Tabitha, Suzanne, and Jake discussed how to help turn Tabitha’s dream into a reality. Over the course of the next year, Orphans to Ambassadors was established.

In the summer of 2009, the vision materialized and the first board of directors was established. With the support of family and friends, Jake and Suzanne felt they had enough backing to carry out Tabitha’s dream. Two families in particular provided exceptional emotional encouragement and financial support. With that support, the Biggs-Dore family and Burt family helped get the project off the ground. The maturation of the organization has now grown into an International Organization with the hope of implementing sustainable orphanages in refugee affected areas throughout the world.

"Orphans to Ambassadors is dedicated to providing disadvantaged children and children without families the opportunity to gain the skills, knowledge, abilities, and empowerment to rise out of poverty and compete in a globalizing world. Furthermore, O2A is committed to sustainable practices and education, and promotes the idea of these children rising to the ranks of leaders, role models, and sustainable educators who can go on to serve as ambassadors to disadvantaged children and communities around the world."