Loltepes is a semi-desert area, remote and poor, located in Kitiangare village, Simanjiro District, Manyara region, Tanzania, the southern part of maasailand. The maasai people that live in Loltepes are basically shepherds, for generations they have been depending on their cattle, however since few years ago, the maasais in this district started doing farming due to the increasing of the population and the lack of food.
Nehemia Christian Aid Foundation started the ministry in Loltepes in 2000, at the beginning helping the local society to install water-supply system, providing elementary education and food aid. Gradually Nehemia started establishing a kindergarten (which is completely run by the mission, providing education for more 100 maasai children) and a primary school(later handed over to the local government yet still supported by Nehemia, having more than 650 pupils).
In 2010, Nehemia started a free hostel that is called Kitiangare Children’s Village, which has been meant to accept, accommodate and take care of the most needy maasai children from this area, who lost their parents, whose parents are disabled or having certain severe addictions, who live far from the school, who are from extremely poor families and who have certain disabilities. We as the mission live with them and take care of them for all the years before they finish their primary schooling level, helping them physically, educationally, emotionally and spiritually.
After they finish their primary level, Nehemia normally continues to support them until they finish all their studies.
Up to the year of 2022, we have raised up more than 50 children that have already finished primary level with us and now in different educational levels supported by us, at the moment, the children’s village is caring for 63 children.
From 2018, since the situation of poverty has become worse and worse, Nehemia started doing agriculture, planting mainly maize and beans, for the sake of feeding more than 600 (increased up to 739 in 2022)pupils from the primary school with a daily free lunch.
In addition, Nehemia has been making contributions to the local community development, such as construction of the teachers’ house, playground and classrooms, road construction, water supplying for the villagers, etc.
Apart from these, we as Nehemia also support the local churches, pastors and evangelistic events through offering trainings, helping in constructions, personal evangelism, literature distribution, food aid and so on.
In one word, Nehemia Christian Aid Foundation intends to demonstrate the Love of God to the maasai community through different kinds of ministries and social assistance so that the maasai people can get a chance to hear and accept the Good News, at the same time receive positive and sustainable development in their society.