ORANGE — When Orange resident Amelia Clarke graduated from Westfield State University with a degree in criminal justice, she wasn’t certain what was next for her. What she did know was that she wanted to make a difference.
“I wasn’t really sure what I wanted with my degree and my career, but I knew I wanted to help people and better the world in a way,” Clarke recalled.
That goal ultimately materialized with a trip to Tanzania, where she spent six weeks in the fall volunteering at the Children of Kilimanjaro Orphanage.
Clarke found out about the Children of Kilimanjaro Orphanage when it first opened its doors with six children and two staff members five and half years ago, as founder Jay Rowe was close friends with Clarke’s late grandfather.
“When [Jay Rowe] opened COKO, everyone in my family knew about it and my family has always donated. You can donate meals and trips for the kids,” Clarke explained. “But [our involvement had] always been on the United States side of things.”
After graduation, the Children of Kilimanjaro Orphanage came to Clarke’s mind, providing an opportunity for her to travel and help people. Today, the orphanage has grown to accommodate 32 children and nine local staff members, and it features a two-story volunteer house that allows the facility to welcome supporters from around the world.
“I decided that I had this really great opportunity in knowing [Jay Rowe], so I decided to go out there for six weeks and volunteer,” she said.
When Clarke arrived in Tanzania, she felt a culture shock in “more than one way” and felt a “sense of isolation” in her first week, as she had never left the United States before her trip. However, the children and staff at the orphanage quickly made her feel at home.
“Immediately, even with the language barrier, I felt welcomed by the staff and by the kids,” she said. “The first time I met the kids, they ran up yelling at me and hugging me. The staff was very supportive. … They made me feel like I wasn’t alone.”
Clarke was regularly involved in the daily operations at the orphanage.
“I cooked with them, ate with them, cleaned with them,” she said. She clarified that staff members don’t pressure volunteers to participate in chores, and described her time there as more of a “choose-your-own-adventure” experience.
An average day for Clarke involved waking up after the children went to school, heading to Moshi — the town where the Children of Kilimanjaro Orphanage is based — and returning to the orphanage in the evening to play with the kids. They played soccer, sang songs, danced and watched movies together.
For Clarke, one of the most memorable aspects of her trip was how engaged people were in conversing with her, inspiring connections.
“People were genuinely curious about America, about me and why I was there. Everyone was just so interested and they genuinely cared about what I was saying,” Clarke said. “It was a real connection and understanding. I feel like in America that has been muddied. But [in Tanzania], people would genuinely talk to you and sit down.”
She also made friends in Moshi, after a local man talked to her at a cafe about her tattoos. It was a valuable friendship for Clarke, as she got to explore Moshi with a local.
Clarke encourages people to consider volunteering at or donating to the Children of Kilimanjaro Orphanage, as it provides a home for children who would otherwise be unable to go to school or have the quality of life they have there.
Although the children have been traveling to a school in a different town, the orphanage has been working to construct its own school in Moshi that is slated to open in January. By having its own school, the orphanage aims to provide the children with a better educational alternative to the overcrowded and sometimes unsafe local schools.
Volunteering comes with a variety of pricing options for those who are interested, Clarke noted. While the standard price to volunteer there is $300 per week, the fee can be lowered depending on past donations and fundraising history. According to Clarke, it costs less than $25 a day to feed all the children and staff members, and “100% of donations go directly to the orphanage, not to overhead or foreign administration.”
For Clarke, simply spreading the word about the Children of Kilimanjaro Orphanage is important.
“COKO is one of the only orphanages in Tanzania that gives all of their donations to the kids. Many orphanages are corrupt and keep the money for themselves,” she said. “But we are in the age of social media, so a single viral post could make such a massive difference.”
For more information about the Children of Kilimanjaro Orphanage, visit helpcoko.org.