Our sisters in our 'twinned' project in Africa:
Women's Recovery House, Muungano, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
August 2022
Over on the East Coast of Africa is the beautiful country of Tanzania and, like everywhere, there is addiction. Saol and Muungano Women's Recovery House have joined forces to share our journeys and to support each others recovery. During recovery month (and beyond) the SAOL Sisters will be raising money for our Tanzanian sisters to help get the basics they need to thrive in their recovery house. If you would like to help, please donate to SAOL's donation page on iDonate and in the Message section, say that your donation is for Tanzania.
We will keep you updated on our fundraising on this page and fill you in on how any monies raised is being spent.
Tanzania
Drug use in Tanzania is a growing problem with significant threat to public health , social and economic well being of the country. The use of illicit drugs is predominantly among people aged between 15-35 years. It is estimated that there are between 200,000 and 425,000 people who use heroin out of those between 20,000 and 42, 500 are people who inject drugs countrywide mostly injecting heroin. As well as addiction, there is risk of mental health problem, premature births, sudden deaths, tuberculosis, cardiovascular diseases and upper respiratory infection.
What they do
The founders of this Muungano recovery community are women and men who formerly used drugs (PWID/PWUD) and are in recovery. they have dedicated themselves and their services to reducing the stigma on addiction, support human rights-based services and offer health interventions on HIV/AIDS,Hepatitis C, Tuberculosis, (TB). They are trying to ensure the availability of adequate treatment and recovery support services through community led drug projects such in Dar Es Salaam; thereby, they provide Harm reduction Programs, 'Sober houses' and work to influence public opinion and policy regarding the health and socio-economic well being of PWID/PWUD.
In the recovery house itself, the women will stay for at least 3 months and aim for both sobriety and the development of new skills for life after the recovery house experience.
What they need
SAOL Project is 'twinning' with the Women's Service in Muungano and attempting to support our own journeys by 'giving back' in the form of fundraising for the women's sober house.
While they have a building and the service is up and running, they still do not have sufficient chairs, beds and computers. They train the women in entrepreneurial skills but they need access to materials for this work (e.g. jewelry making to be sold at market). The poverty that many of the women come from means that recovery from substance use is not enough if they have no means of living once they leave.
If you can, please donate to help us make their services more effective, homely and 'future-proofed'
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