Evaline's husband died of AIDS in 2006. Evaline discovered she was also HIV-positive when she went to the hospital the following year. She had tuberculosis and continued to suffer from respiratory problems until her death. These problems were exacerbated by living in a small, windowless house made of cow dung. The roof leaked, the interior was damp and smelled musty. It was located on land belonging to her late husband's father. As was typical for Waarusha, he controlled Evaline's activities, and she had to cook for him because she lived in his boma. Evaline sold vegetables at the market in downtown Arusha. She would get up early each morning and walk the long distance with heavy luggage, even though she often didn't feel well.
She earned about 2000 TSh per day and therefore could not afford the bus ticket, which cost 500 TSh per trip.
Her eldest son, Benjamin (born around 1998), had finished primary school and was selling clothes. He lived in the city center and didn't support the family, as he was building his own life. The second oldest was Happiness (born around 2001). She was in Form 2 of secondary school. She had a foreign sponsor and attended a boarding school. Daniel (born around 2003) became involved in a gang very early on and started skipping school in second grade. He was now well cared for at a center in Moshi. Evaline's youngest daughter, Anita (born around 2007), was in second grade.
We wanted to rebuild Evaline's house, using bricks instead of cow dung, to improve her health and create better living conditions for Anita. However, since the cost of such a house was over €1000, we couldn't afford it and wanted to at least repair her old house. We also wanted to build a stable for her and give her a goat and some chickens. That would have been the greatest help, because she couldn't do any heavy physical work and there was plenty of space for animals in the countryside.
Update July 2017:
Since donations were collected for Evaline at a fundraising event at the MPIP in Mainz, we were able to build a stable for her and she received a goat and four chickens.
We now wanted to tackle their house repairs (also with the donations collected at the MPI).
Unfortunately, Evaline's health was very poor at that time. Therefore, we provided her with additional food and covered her treatment costs.
Update September 2017:
Sadly, Evaline passed away in September 2017, leaving behind three minor children. Anita and Happiness were cared for by the organization "Youth with a Mission," while Daniel remained with Angels Gate. Her two adult sons continued to live in the village.