The Small Things

The Small Things is the culmination of decades of dedication from a number of hardworking women. It all began with Martha Ayo (known as Mama Pendo, or Mama Love), who has been caring for orphaned children in the Nkoaranga community for over 30 years. In 2010, Bekka Ross Russell founded The Small Things, to realize their shared vision of comprehensive, holistic support to keep families together and return children from care when possible, and family-style homes for children who cannot be reunified.

We recruit volunteers based on their skill sets, and use a cultural/learning exchange model to ensure the personalized placements are as helpful as possible for our local staff, while ensuring they follow best practices to avoid inappropriate attachments with children. Volunteers do not work in residential care, which is fully staffed by long-term Tanzanian caretakers.

Read more on our story here - https://www.thesmallthings.org/who-we-are/story/