ABOUT AMANI (from the Amani website)
“Today, more than fifty children and teens call Amani home, and more attend its on-site nursery program. The children are from diverse ethnic and religious affiliations. Amani works with our regional Social Welfare Office to keep children connected to their cultural backgrounds and natal communities. We believe in equal access to education, empowerment of marginalized communities, the decolonization of charity, and a brighter tomorrow where these children are the heroes of their own story.”

LATEST NEWS

• In May 2024, Wild Wonder Foundation hosted Learn to Watercolor with John Muir Laws to raise funds for nature journaling supplies, a nature journaling field trip, and clean water for the orphaned children at Amani Children’s Home.

• In early 2024, Wild Wonder Foundation donated $5,000 to Amani Children’s Home for food security, including funds raised by the Learn to Draw Gourds class and the $1,000 challenge grant from John Muir Laws.

• John Muir Laws will return to Tanzania and the Amani Children’s Home with a group of volunteer nature journalers in August 2024.

• In November 2023, Wild Wonder Foundation hosted a class taught by John Muir Laws, Learn to Draw Gourds, as a fundraiser to support food security at Amani.

• Read this essay from Amani Children’s Home about the Feb 2023 visit.

• Read this essay by Anne Chadwick, a nature journaler from California who was on the Feb. 2023 trip.

OUTREACH OVERVIEW

Tanzania has been significantly affected by food insecurity. Approximately 31% of the Tanzanian population suffers from undernutrition, with more than half experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity (USAID, 2023). Tanzania ranks 90/113 in measures of food accessibility, affordable, quality, and availability (The Economist Group, 2022). Households that are food insecure tend to eat more bushmeat (Friant 2015, Thompson et al 2023, Borgerson 2016). Improved food security helps stabilize household needs and family health, and decreases pressure on wildlife populations. Supporting culturally relevant food security (with access to affordable, healthy, consistent meals) is not only helping feed hungry people, it is a vital step towards protecting wildlife species.

2024 NATURE JOURNALING WITH AMANI
In summer 2024, John Muir Laws will travel to Amani with another group of volunteer nature journalers who will again bring the joy of nature journaling to the children. Learn more and sign up for the trip!

PAST OUTREACH

In 2022, thanks to the support of many generous donors, we raised funds to purchase enough nature journaling supplies to give 50 children and teachers their own nature journaling kit, including a blank sketchbook, a set of watercolor pencils, a water brush, drawing pencils, a goniometer, a pencil sharpener, a wrist cuff (for painting in the field), a pencil case, and their own bag to carry the supplies.

During winter 2022 and early 2023, Jack sent digital materials and met with the children and their teachers via video conference to build connections, create excitement, and set expectations.

In February 2023, John Muir Laws and a group of nature journalers and professional guides spent two days at Amani. The first day, they delivered kits and taught the children and the teachers about nature journaling. The next day, the whole group took a field trip to a local national park to share the joy of nature journaling together. Jack also shared resources and support the orphanage educators to help ensure the nature journaling program continues after the group leaves.

Through this ongoing outreach, we hope to help inspire these children to be caretakers of their natural resources. Also, because selling handmade art is a viable way to earn an income in Tanzania, this outreach can help children to be self sufficient as they grow up.