Nonprofit The Small Things, Inc. Announces the Opening of a New Community Center in Tanzanian

EAST HAVEN, Conn. - Sept. 19, 2016 - PRLog -- The Small Things, Inc. (https://www.thesmallthings.org/home/), an East Haven non-profit which is focused on ensuring happy, healthy, loving childhoods and access to opportunity for all children in the Arusha District community of Tanzania, recently opened a new community center in Nkoaranga. Unlike most organizations working with orphaned and vulnerable children in the country, TST is focused first and foremost on keeping orphaned children in families whenever possible. The center is part of the organization's ongoing Family Preservation Program, which serves more than 80 vulnerable children who have been kept in, or reunited with their families. The organization also cares for more than 50 orphaned children full-time at Nkoaranga orphanage and Happy Family Children's Village. More information on The Small Things (TST) and its  28-year-old founder and Executive Director, Bekka Ross Russell can be found below.

The 1,600+ square-foot building will be used for various services geared towards assisting children and families, including daycare, after school tutoring, adult education and vocational programs to benefit at-risk families in Nkoaranga village and the Arusha/Meru district of Tanzania. The day-care services are the first to be offered in the area, and will initially have space for 30 children, from six months through pre-school. The center also features a large library, which will host an ongoing array of classes and workshops led by local and international experts. Funding for construction was provided by Happy Family Organics and its founder, Connecticut resident Shazi Visram, who also underwrote the cost of the children's village, and East Haven residents David Ross Russell, MD and Cantor Dorothy Goldberg.

"I am so proud of the progress we've made towards meeting the needs of the Nkoaranga  community. When we began our work, we simply supported the local orphanage – a necessity, but overall not a long term solution," said Bekka. "Since then, we have developed holistic programs that works with children and families in all stages of their journey. The creation of the new community center, and particularly day-care services, are the next steps in achieving our ultimate goal; helping to keep children with their families and out of institutions."

The Small Things began their partnership with the Nkoaranga Orphanage in 2010. The orphanage provides residential care for up 30 children from birth to three years old. Since then, the organization has built Happy Family Children's Village, which consists of family-style homes with up to 30 spaces for children aged 4- 11, and has created the Family Preservation Program.

About The Small Things, Inc.

The Small Things (TST) is a non-organization operating out of East Haven, CT and the Arusha district of Tanzania, which believes in building and supporting happy families in all their various shapes and forms. TST creates sustainable, participatory and evolving care plans for orphaned and vulnerable children and families. Working with the community, TST aims to empower their clients by bringing together small acts from around the world to create big change.

The Small Things, Inc. (TST) is the creation of its 28-year-old founder and Executive Director, Rebecca (Bekka) Ross Russell, who grew up in Wallingford, CT and now lives with her husband and two children Zawadi and Saimoni – adopted from Nkoaranga Orphanage – in Branford, CT. Bekka moved back from 6 years in Tanzania -- three part-time and three full-time – shortly after the community center's opening ceremony. While in the US she will focus on fundraising and communications, travelling to Tanzania several times each year, while her primarily Tanzanian staff runs the day-to-day operations on the ground.