The Children of Songea Trust is a recognised Scottish charity [Charity No: SC036556] that works to improve the life chances of children and families affected by poverty and HIV/AIDS in the Songea district of Tanzania.

We support initiatives that tackle poverty and ensure that orphaned children get access to education and health care. We believe that children should be cared for in their communities, and understand that families need support to ensure basic needs are being met.

The rise in the number of orphans and street children in Tanzania threatens to jeopardise children's basic rights to education, health and security. UN AIDS estimates that by 2010, there will be as many as 4.5 million Tanzanian children who have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS. This means that every third child in Tanzania would be an orphan. It is vital that children and families affected by HIV/AIDS are given the necessary support to stay healthy and improve their quality of life.

We aim to:

Increase provision of funds to meet the resource demands of existing programmes

Increase capacity of partner to design, deliver and sustain its programmes

Increase influence relating to poverty and HIV/AIDS in Tanzania