History
The driving force of mama Malaika
Najma Manji began helping orphans in Tanzania in the 1990s. in 2004 Malaika Kids came to be based in what is now the Reception Home and it had a capacity for about 12 children.
Najma’s daughter, Jamilla Manji-Koch, had moved to the Netherlands, where she found support for her mother’s efforts. Soon, Malaika Kids NL, Malaika Kids US and Malaika Kids UK were formed from an association mainly of alumni from London Business School. Once these bodies were legally formed the project moved into a higher gear.
We needed greater capacity to accommodate the children for whom we could not find a relative. In 2005, we acquired a 30-acre plot in Mkuranga, a town 30 miles south of Dar es Salaam, to build our children’s village. The plot offered enough space to build the modular design and gave plenty of space for the children to play and acres of land for crops. The village was opened in 2010.
We needed greater capacity to accommodate the children for whom we could not find a relative. In 2005, we acquired a 30-acre plot in Mkuranga, a town 30 miles south of Dar es Salaam, to build our children’s village. The plot offered enough space to build the modular design and gave plenty of space for the children to play and acres of land for crops. The village was opened in 2010.
At the end of 2024 we were supporting 220 children with 19 in our Reception home, 81 at the Children's Village Mkuranga and 120 in the Relatives Support Program. We are currently at capacity but would like to grow our facilities and services if we can secure sustainable funding.
Najma Manji with the first nine children in 2004 in front of the Reception Home that had just opened.
President Ali Hassan Mwinyi in 2010 who officially opened the Children's Village in Mkuranga.