The Baobab Home Staff
The Mwandu Family
Caito and Terri met in 2003 on Zanibar and founded the Baobab Home in 2004. Caito oversees new construction on our farm site, manages payroll and the needs of our former street boys, grapples with the utility companies when they botch up the bill, tries to make headway with social services, plays with Justis and the kids, gets all of our volunteers their visas, and goes to any soccer game he can find in between it all.
Terri manages all of the administrative work, fundraising, etc. When she finally emerges from behind the computer you can find her reading with Justis, playing with the kids at baobab, walking on the beach, or dreaming about the Baobab Farm.
Justis was born in March 2005 in Dar es Salaam. He spent his first few years as the “orphan guinea pig” teaching everyone how best to raise a baby in Tanzania, in Bagamoyo, at the Baobab Home. He also spent a lot of his babyhood coming along for the ride on outreach work. He also goes by Toto Bua, a name he gave himself when he was a little under 2. Nowadays he is 4 and a student at our Montessori school. He loves all of his big brothers and little brothers and sisters.
Muggin (Moogeen)
Muggin is our right hand man. He makes sure the food is there every morning, for the humans and some of the other mammals. He does dozens of other odd jobs. After a visit by Hendrix College volunteers, Muggin was inspired to renew his commitment to improving his English.
Glory
Glory has a long history of baby care. She worked for two years at the Upendo Childcare training school, then studied two years there, and then worked there again.
Sara
Helena
Helena is a mother of 3 boys. She helps us every weekend to take care of the children when Tina or Glory take a break.
George
George comes is Nyaturu and Arusha by tribe. He manages all of our kids who are HIV positive, taking them to the clinic and making sure that they get their meds. We hope to get him into counselor training as he is a gifted listener.
Martha
Martha is our fantastic volunteer coordinator from Canada. Karibu Martha!
William
William is our man about Dar es Salaam! He will likely be the first smiling face you see when you arrive in Tanzania as he picks up most of our volunteers. He goes far above and beyond the call of duty in every way for The Baobab Home.
Halima
Halima has been part of the Baobab family since 2005. She has done several jobs for us but these days she fosters two children, Habibu and Shabani who have been in our care since 2006. Their mother is mentally ill and there father is unknown.
Halima is a veteran police officer (27 years) and in that time was trained as a nursery school teacher(1984). She is a great story teller and remembers well the colonial period. She also served in the war against Idi Amin’s forces in 1979, but there’s nothing militarized about her! She’s warm, friendly and brilliant with children. Only one of her own children survived childhood, but she has raised several orphans in her family.
Asante Halima!
Afande (Security)
Afande is our night watchman. He keeps everyone at Baobab safe. He is the father of 8 and also a pastor. He is extraordinarily punctual.
Kazi Nyingi (Whose name means “A lot of work”!)
Kazi’s energy and enthusiasm are unparalleled. Kazi has done a lot of maintenance for the Home.
When the water is out, which is often, it’s Kazi who delivers drums of water to put in the tank. When Caito had his food delivery bicycle stolen, it was Kazi who got it back. Kazi only works occasionally for us, but we can’t imagine how we’d get on without him.
Rama (Farm)
The Teachers
