Over 15 years ago tiny seed was planted in the small coastal town of Bagamoyo, Tanzania and The Baobab Home was born. Originally an orphanage for babies this dynamic, family style NGO has connected deeply with a community, found countless ways to serve Tanzania's most vulnerable children, survived and thrived to expand onto a sustainable organic farm (the shamba), and a remarkable primary school helping maximize the potential for 180+ students who daily brighten the farm with and energy and enthusiasm for learning that would inspire even the most cynical to remember that education is among the greatest investments in the future we can all make. Real impact requires real connection and giant NGOs are simply not built for this intimate, challenging work year in/year out. Baobab has attracted a global network of independent donors who have supported their work through countless challenges and an even greater number of heartwarming successes providing a safe, loving, nurturing place for children to discover their potential. A very special place. Visit the Baobab shamba and Steven Tito Academy (in person or virtually) and you will quickly understand why it has inspired so many over so many years.
I can't say enough wonderful things about The Baobab Home. I've been involved with them for many years and now serve on the Board. Terri and Caito are doing amazing things for the children and the community in general. Their commitment to the environment is especially commendable. When I visited years ago the farm was just starting to take shape, I am amazed to see how far they have come. My daughter also has spent time on the farm and helping out at the school. We will both be back soon and are very thankful to be a small part of this incredible organization.
Previous Stories
I've been involved with The Baobab Home for 10+ years. I visited the farm with my daughter in 2010 and she returned in 2020. The progress made by the team in Bagamoyo is amazing. I feel so fortunate and blessed to support and be a part of such a wonderful organization. The work and outreach done by The Baobab Home family is truly inspiring.
I've known The Baobab Home since 2006. I made my first trip to Africa to visit Terri & Caito in those early days to help create some videos for fundraising. Since then, I've stayed connected and involved. They’ve created a remarkable organization that supports children and families in many facets of their lives—healthcare, nutrition, education, arts, and the environment. It's been a privilege to witness what they have created together with their community, both local and global, to have a lasting impact on so many children and families!
I first learned about The Boabab Home several years ago when it was primarily an orphanage for kids with aids. Since then, it has grown into an amazingly successful primary school and self-sustaining farm through the dedication of its founders, teachers and hundreds of volunteers. Though I have never visited the school, I have met Terri, one of its founders and several volunteers. The stories they tell are truly inspirational and awe inspiring. Today, my wife and I are honored to sponsor two of the students.
I was introduced to this amazing organization a couple of years ago and shortly after became a sponsor of a student. The organization runs a family-style orphanage located on a sustainable farm, offers safe education focused on creativity and individualized learning and also supports the local community with different outreach programs. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with the founders and the other board members and to contribute to further growth of the organization. I look forward to visiting Bagamoyo in the near future.
I was introduced to The Baobab Home in 2018 and soon after began sponsoring the education of one student. I was then lucky enough to visit The Baobab Home in Bagamoyo, Tanzania in November 2019. And so my love story with this organization began... I cannot say enough about what a well run and impactful organization this is. Not only is the organization providing an English medium primary education for a great group of Tanzanian kiddos, but the organization is also focused on agro-ecology and ensuring the local land and indigenous people are respected. Operations are lean and the impact is wide. I cannot recommend this organization enough!
I've been following The Baobab Home for many years now and I love seeing the growth of the organization. They have taken on more students at the Steven Tito Academy and added more classrooms. Recently, they had an local artist paint beautiful murals that depicts their Tanzanian culture and wildlife. It is so inspiring for the children.
They are also very innovative with their sustainability projects like cooking with biogas, harvesting rain water, operating a fish pond, growing an organic farm and more!
This is an organization that goes above and beyond for their children and the community. Asante sana!
I made my first visit to the Baobab Home and Farm in 2017 as a volunteer to assist with planning the development of fish ponds to further their sustainability efforts. I returned in 2018 to break ground for the fish ponds and i am happy to report they are up and running. I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this amazing organization. I have since become a sponsor and recently a Board Member. The impact the Baobab Home and STA is having on lives of children in the Bagamoyo community is incredible. It is an honor to be part of this organization.
I have been a donor for several years and this year I am also sponsoring a student. I have also recently had the privilege of becoming a board member. This organization provides safe education to children in need and also supports the community. The sustainable farm amazes me and I look forward to seeing it in person. What has been accomplished by this organization in the past 16 years is a testament to the dedication and caring nature of the founders, donors and board members and I am proud to be a part of it. I am looking forward to visiting in the near future.
I am a former volunteer who first visited in 2010 and still remains involved today as a Board Member and student sponsor. Over the last 16 years The Baobab Home has made a tremendous difference in the lives of so many kids in Tanzanian. From supporting children whose families couldn't care from them, to starting a primary school, to creating support systems for those who are HIV+. This organization does so much at a grassroots level. I cannot recommend The Baobab Home enough. Your donations will make a lasting impact on the lives of kids who most need it and, should you ever want to travel to Tanzania, you'll find yourself welcomed with open arms at the lush and verdant farm (aka shamba).
I volunteered at Baobab home twice in 2018, and what a great place. Terri, Caito and the whole team are doing an amazing work providing education to kids in the Bagamoyo region. The place also hosts a sustainable farm providing healthy food to the community. I can't stress enough how amazing this place is - and what a great job the organization does.
Volunteer, donate, you will never regret it!
On Jan 1st 2021, I was lucky enough to join the board and to be able to help the organization even more and remotely. Can't wait to see what's next!
Eugénie
We sponsored a child at this school and were fortunate in being able to visit and spend a day helping with the athletics day. What an amazing school! It was fabulous to see how well the school was run and how happy and enthusiastic the students were.
We love that we always received updates on the school and where the money is going from the sponsorship. The letters and photo of our sponsored child was a great way to feel connected and a part of their life.
I worked and lived in Bagamoyo for several years and was lucky enough to get to know the kids, volunteers and staff at the Baobab home. This place is amazing! The children at the school are so confident and inquisitive. In the children’s home the kids are full of personality and supported by wonderful mamas. The Breakfast Program and Stronger Together provide a vital support to those who really need it. You can be assured any donations go to great use. The volunteers I have met have carried out a range of roles from working in the school to social media and marketing so there seems to be lots of opportunity if you are keen to get involved and I recommend you do!
I have volunteered with The Baobab Home and Steven Tito Academy multiple times over the past 13 years. It feels like a second home to me and I am truly honoured to be part of the Baobab Home community. Terri is inspiring, the way she endeavours to provide for and support anyone in need. She has helped countless Tanzanians in so many different ways from providing a safe place to live, an education, a home to live in, support to start up a business, you name it! She leads with her heart and values the abilities and dreams of each person she helps. Her and her husband Caito have built a strong team of employees and volunteers who care deeply about the vision and goals of the Baobab Home, Stronger Together and Steven Tito Academy. As a volunteer with initiative, you can learn so many new skills and really feel like you are truly helping those in need and working with the Tanzanian people to improve education, living and working conditions, and health.
Steven Tito Academy, where I have volunteered most, is an amazing school which offers a safe place for kids to learn (unlike many schools in Tanzania where among other things corporal punishment is allowed and kids are often hit by teachers). The teachers are utterly dedicated to learning from each other and from volunteers in order to provide an education that is not just rote learning and actually helps students to develop a range of skills they will need to help them out in life, secondary education and make them well rounded individuals who can lead Tanzania to a brighter future. The students are truly in need of the great education which STA provides and they have so much gratitude and love for the sponsors who pay their fees and for Terri and her family who make the school possible.
I've been following this organization since it started. They have been so successful that they were able to expand their services in various ways to meet additional needs and serve more kids. The organization communicates regularly with its supporters, making it easy to know what is going on and how their funds are being spent. The organization has a strong leadership and dedicated volunteers, especially highly skilled volunteers who come from all over the globe. It provides a family for kids who have lost theirs and supports kids' personal, academic, and employment success when their families have limited means.
I got to know the organization when my daughter joined The Baobab Home as a volunteer. I decided to sponsor one of the students at their school as I knew all founds go through the organization and are used for a good purpose.
What inspired me the most about the school is the selection process of the new students: a long and very selective process to allow children from poor families to receive the quality education they deserve to become good citizens of tomorrow.
I was also impressed by the fact that the classes are taught in English, two meals are served per day, and that corporal punishment is not allowed. I am proud to contribute to giving a Tanzanian child a better future!
Two years first assignment through AFID – accounting for international development. It was a great experience and finally this fall, the time was right to go again.
In November I went to Bagamoyo in Tanzania which is a town on the coast, about 2 hours north of the capital Dar-Es-Salam. It was hot (35c) and humid. The Baobab Home is an orphanage located on a farm. Many of the kids in the orphanage have lost their parents to HIV or they are unable to care for them. The administrator of the organisation, Yasini, is one of the children who grew up in the orphanage, finish his secondary school and got his business administration diploma. I got to work with him on the payroll and working on excel skills – it was such a pleasure to work with him! I also worked with the lady who does the bookkeeping to combine the Quickbooks files and improve the setup. It was a good challenge and it was so satisfying to make a difference.
The kids were so fun to hang around with. They were so curious and wanted to learn so much. I loved how they played together, made games and toys from the things around them. They live together in a big family, dinner time is lots of fun and when the music went on, everyone was dancing. I stayed in the volunteer house on the farm. Comfortable but also primitive with a cold shower using a bucket and many interesting creatures around. The gecko that fell on my shoulder when going to the kitchen to make some coffee in the morning definitely make me scream.
The cooks are amazing – always a big smile– they cook dinner for all the school kids & staff for lunch (about 200 meals) and then dinner for the orphanage kids & staff in the evening (30 people). Simple meals but delicious and many items grown on the farm. In the picture we had omelette, salad, watermelon, potatoes and a curry. Rice and Beans were also a staple.
The school, the Steven Tito Academy, is also located on the farm at the end of the path. They take in 25 kids each year in kindergarten and each of these kids come from poor families who cannot afford the school fees. Through the small class sized and teaching in English and the financial support from their sponsor, they are able to attend school be ready to be successful in high school.
Writing about it makes me smile ear-to-ear again. It was an incredible experience to be there and to make a difference using my accounting skills. Ask me about it – love to share more!
I spent 4 months at Baobab and it was such a great experience to me! I can only say a huge thanks to all the people there. So many smiles and so much kindness which made my stay there really special. I also had a lot of freedom to work on remote projects as raising awareness about climate change or aquaponics (a potential volunteer with some knowledge in the field would be more than welcome given that I was a bloody beginner initially).
The project in itself is also really impressive, and both kids at the school and the orphanage are really lucky to be in such an environment which is really beneficial for all of them.
To all potential donors, volunteers or anyone else, please go with Baobab you will not be disappointed!
I was volunteering at the Baobab some years ago and after that experience I have founded my own association to support the great project at Tanzania, at the Baobab home. That shows how much I appreciate the project and the lovely kids. Also all the people who are working with and at the Baobab are great. Asante sana!
I went to the Baobab Home as a volunteer for 3 months. I was working at the school, Steven Tito Academy, as a teacher's assistant, and helping out reading the students that had the most difficulties.
I spent 3 amazing months surrounded by warm and welcoming people, at the school as well as at the Baobab home itself. I think that the most satisfying thing and what made me the happiest was to see how glad we're the students to see me and work with me everyday. And to see that within those three month they really made some good progress was also very encouraging. Finally, everyone around me spoke English, at the school and at the shamba, so it was quite easy for me to adapt and integrate in that new life.
So to sum up, I would say to anyone that is looking for a great experience with lovely people all around, that the Baobab Home is the place to be !
(And also you can spend the weekends in the sun, beaches and pools will be your best friends)
Asante sana !!
I visited the Steven Tito Acadamy, the Baobab home and Baobab related Projects in November 2019 and was deeply impressed of all the dedicated, courageously and amazing People with all their ideas and visions to help. Fantastic Projects which are absolutly helpfull, usefull, effective and lasting and absolutely worth to be supported.
I have a long history with The Baobab Home, dating to its inception, in the form of many roles. I helped it obtain 501(c)(3) status over 15 years ago, I served on its board for several years, I personally visited in 2008 and I currently sponsor a student's education. I can't say enough about Terri Place and her family, except that we need more people like them in this world. Terri is a formidable force in the most unassuming of ways; she has a knack for engaging people with her genuine warmth and humility. She makes everyone feel involved and, most importantly, valued. For example, her requirement that visiting volunteers hold fundraisers in their home countries is a brilliant move: once volunteers arrive, they have a voice in how their fundraising money is allocated and their own particular skillsets are put to use. (Compare that with other organizations' "voluntourism" models, where volunteers are assigned rote work for part of the day and then go back to their hotels.) It's been amazing to watch the organization grow under her direction, in ways we never imagined back in the early days. Because she has been so open to guidance and advisement (and criticism), The Baobab Home has not fallen victim to "founder's syndrome." In fact, the organization is stronger now than it's ever been.
I spent 3 months at the Baobab Home and it was an amazing experience. I worked in the attached school as an assistant to a teacher, helped with the kids' homework and participated in the life at the farm. The Baobab Home is a place where many great projects happen from offering quality education to kids from the area, to developing a sustainable environment for kids and adults. Do not hesitate to get more information, visit, donate or volunteer, you won't regret it !
I have spent one month at Baobab as a volunteer. Reading intervention, assisting teachers and sports lessons were parts of my mission. It was a great experience that I recommand to anyone who wants to share some good moments with the kids from STA and people from Baobab.
Thank you again for everything !
I've worked as the Marketing & Fundraising Coordinator at Baobab for the past two years. All of the staff, board members, and volunteers put so much energy and heart into their work, and truly care about their beneficiaries. For a small, grassroots nonprofit, Baobab's impact is both far-reaching and meaningful. They've made huge progress on the path toward environmental and operational sustainability, and have so many inspirational "success stories" from all of their programs over the past 15 years.
The work The Baobab Home does is unrivaled in its area. Providing a child with a warm, nurturing environment in which to thrive is their mission, and I have seen firsthand how this goal is behind every decision they make. They are a forward-thinking organization that is making a difference and “walking the walk,” not just talking the talk.