Northland Capital Serves as Lifeline for Orphans in Tanzania
A desire to change the lives of orphans in Tanzania has led the Northland Capital team to collect supplies, fill containers of aid and sponsor children. Most of the employees have never met the children they’re impacting. But they know they’re making a difference.
“My wife, Cindy, and I have had the privilege of sponsoring Lucas at St Teresa’s Orphanage for many years. It brings us the peace of knowing our help is making an impact on his life,” said Paul Pfannenstein, vice president of business development at Northland Capital. “It has been a joy to watch Lucas grow up from a young boy with no options without the help of St. Teresa’s to a young man on the verge of graduating with a professional degree. We have the satisfaction of seeing first-hand how our sponsorship can help impact lives and hopefully help make a positive impact on not only Lucas’ life, but the lives of the people around him.”
Northland Capital CEO Willis Kleinjan and his wife, Jodi, have traveled to Songea, Tanzania personally to deliver the much-needed container of supplies and provide a helping hand. In a recent trip, they worked alongside a team to build a playground for the primary and secondary schools and transformed the shipping container they delivered into a toy house with a fenced-in patio and sandbox. In addition to a list of maintenance projects, they also taught a local team to make jam and sausage.
“Those kids need us,” Kleinjan said. “We’re kind of their life support.”
The partnership with St. Teresa Orphans Foundation (STOF) started in 2010 with transformational containers sent each year by the Northland Capital team since 2017. Last year, the team sent three containers of supplies. The partnership has led to the development of a school and a series of resources to provide support for 200 students who attend the school and 70 who live on-site. The students now fondly refer to the Kleinjans as “Mr. Willis” and Mama Jodi.”
“The friendships I’m developing with the kids has been my favorite part,” Kleinjan said. “I always look forward to going to see them again and see how they’re doing.”
He has seen first-hand the life-changing impact of support, care, hope and prayers. They often come malnourished, sad, sick, with glazed over or glassy eyes and feeling unvalued — not even looking up to make eye contact. A year later, they’re full of energy, healthy, smiling and hopeful.
“We’re a part of rescuing these kids,” Kleinjan said. “What they are going through is hard. If we didn’t rescue them, many of them would be dead.”
With each trip, they see more needs to meet. The team is now focused on plans to bring wi-fi to the school, build and outfit computer labs, add four new classrooms for upper class students expand the living spaces. Northland Capital is currently filling a container that will ship this summer so that it can arrive before the next trip in January. Contact us to learn more about ways you can partner with Northland Capital to make a difference in Tanzania.
