This quote gave me the “Push” needed to re-start Nations Together, to support adults with learning difficulties in Tanzania, East Africa to live a valued and opportunity filled life.
They say that once you have been to Africa, she always calls you back!
I have to say this is so true for us…… Whilst in Tanzania I joined a team of dedicated people who visited and helped many adults and children with a disability, a vulnerable group of people who are at times classed as “demon possessed” sadly still a belief of current times, the “lucky” ones will be kept by their family in small clusters of houses, many told to go hide out of sight when a visitor arrives at the family home, the not so lucky are ostracized from family and whole communities, thrown out on the streets to fend for themselves, open to every kind of abuse imaginable.
Julius the young man headlining this website, had an informal diagnosis of Autism, he was found locked in a shed and given scraps of food, he was rescued by the organisation I previously volunteered for where he lived until he died, sadly the effects of his life and lack of nutrition for so long could not save him, Julius was a joy to be around, comical in a very literal way, he had a heart of gold and many said a “smile like an angel”, Julius quickly demonstrated that he could be as independent as anyone else he enjoyed his comradeship with others his own age and was beautiful with younger children
Julius’s life so sadly misunderstood is why Nations Together is on a mission to offer safety and opportunity to people with a learning difficulty in the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania…. and that is where this story begins.
