Mama Amani is the courageous woman whose (life story) have been recorded in the book "Doors of the Night". The author of the book, Hubert Schaller, introduces his book with the following words: "There are stories that, in retrospect, you think you should never have heard about. Stories that bring tears to your eyes because they show people in all their helplessness and show us the injustice of this world in a way that makes us unable to exist for a long time. One such story is the story of Mama Amani."

Mama Amani is the mother of Amani. Amani cannot see or hear, cannot speak, cannot walk or crawl, cannot touch or grasp. He is, according to the author, “a human being trapped in himself for life“.

When you see Mama Amani and her son living their lives together, it seems as if Amani is a part of his mother's body, something that belongs to her like her hands or her legs. Every day, she ties Amani to her back in a sling and struggles through the day.

She usually spends her days at the vegetable and fruit market in Mwenge, a colorful hive of activity in Dar Es Salaam, where it is busy every day. Mama Amani's stall selling all kinds of vegetables, is not centrally located - she (doesn't have the money) could not afford to rent such a stall – but rather one at the back, where only a few people stray.

It's easy to imagine that the few coins she earns this way are not enough to live in dignity. Mama Amani lived with Amani and her two other children, Upendo and Baraka, in a tiny, dark room. If only everyday objects did not indicate that people really lived there, the author implies that no one would think of it being possible. It wasn't that Mama Amani complained about this living situation, no, what depressed her was the money she had to raise for the rent, which ate up more than half of her income. As a single mother, how was she supposed to support a family of four on the meagre leftover! No wonder Mama Amani dreamed of having her own little house with a garden. Perhaps the money would even be enough to support Amani's development and send the other two children to school.

 

Although the Yanuruni Foundation, in cooperation with the NURU Foundation, has not set itself the goal of supporting individuals, we simply had to make an exception here for moral reasons. In the eyes of society, Amani is deemed as curse, a punishment from God. What courage does it take to rebel against this social prejudice, and she declares: "Every child is a blessing, whether healthy or sick. A blessing and a gift. Every child deserves all our love. Amani, my poor boy, is so cut off from the world that he needs much more love than any healthy child. I try to give him this unconditional love every day. This not only makes him happier, it also makes me happier and richer. I have learned to love Amani just the way he is. I wouldn't have him any other way. That's how he was given to me and that's how I took him into my heart forever.“?

How - we asked ourselves - can we as a foundation take up the cause of lending a hand where the need is greatest and at the same time turn our backs on this woman and her family!

 

YANURUNI fulfills Mama Amani's lifelong dream

To improve the lives of this brave family, we looked for a small, affordable house with a garden near Mama Amani's current home. After months of searching, we finally found what we were looking for.

The 3-bedroom house, which is a little off the main road, was built a few years ago. As is usual in poverty, it is anything luxury but not a shelter. But at least the plot is big enough for Mama Amani to plant vegetables. When we took her to the plot for the first time, she stood there in disbelief. We have hardly ever seen a face that shone so brightly from within. Needless to say, her boundless joy also spread to us.

 

On October 4, 2020, Mama Amani and her family moved into their new home. A day she will never forget for the rest of her life, as she happily and gratefully explained to us.

Since then, we have accompanied Mama Amani and her family and, from time to time, have provided them with modest means to ensure a financially sustainable life for themselves.