St. Justin Children’s Home was founded in 2006 to create opportunity for disabled children from rural areas. In the beginning, St. Justin Children's Home hosted just ten children and three staff members. While the number of students has fluctuated, St. Justin's is currently home to over 100 children, providing them with a stable living environment, access to education, as well as different physiotherapy activities. The children come from areas where there are no schools which provide special education. Our location in the town of Musoma is intentionally located near a government school that is equipped with the necessary resources to help children living with a variety of impairments.
St. Justin's is managed by IHSA Sr. Juliana Kitela, and is supported by other Sisters and lay people. This ministry's core values of respect, transparency, and commitment inform every decision made by leadership and staff. The vision of St. Justin Children's Home is to restore both dignity and recognition to children with disabilities, a group that often remains unseen in Tanzanian society due to shame and stigma. The lives of St. Justin's residents include a unique combination of work, play, prayer, and therapy. As the home to children with conditions ranging from autism, Down's Syndrome, and deafness, each child's treatment plan is tailored to the unique challenges, and gifts, that they bring to the St. Justin community. The IHSA Sisters are actively seeking donors to help sponsor new residents of St. Justin Children's Home. With the construction of a new dormitory, the capacity to accept children will continue expanding, and the Sisters are enthusiastic about the gift of St. Justin Children's Home impacting even more lives.
The Rosemiriam Dagg Center for Women is located close to the Motherhouse of the Sisters in Musoma. The Sisters opened this center to train young women, especially single mothers and those with disabilities, in sewing , embroidering, and hand crafts which will enable them to earn money and support themselves and their families. The young women who are members of the Rosemiriam Dagg Center come from Musoma and surrounding villages, with some walking as much as a couple hours each way in order to attend classes. Currently, there are around 20 students at the Center, but the number has flucuated due to a range of factors, most recently COVID-19. The Rosemiriam Dagg Center is home to a small shop that sells goods produced at the Center, as well as a small pharmacy, and a cafe. Women attending the Center learn valuable skills in sewing and handicrafts, but also personal finance. This ministry provides an empowering environment for these young women to help develop themselves personally, and prepare for a life of independence.
The biggest challenge faced by the women of Rosemiriam Dagg Center is the lack of accommodation for those coming from afar, especially rural areas. Currently, these young women are forced to find housing on their own, often relying on distant relatives or acquaintances to live in proximity to the Center. The Sisters working in this ministry hope to continue expanding its reach, and bringing the transformative power of education to young women who need it the most.