Fifteen years ago, in 2011, Hidden with Christ Ministries purchased a 5.2-acre plot of land in Tanzania with a dream in our hearts to build something permanent for our Treasures of Africa children. Up until that time, the Treasures of Africa Children’s Home was being housed in a leased building, and the local Social Welfare Officer strongly encouraged us to buy land and build something that could not be taken away from us, leaving the children homeless.
For three full years we fought to obtain the TITLE DEED for the piece of land we had legally purchased. We finally received it, without paying a single shilling of “encouragement money” to get the job done by the responsible government officials. But then came an even greater hurdle we had not anticipated.
We needed the Ministry of Lands to change the land use permit (zoning) to EDUCATIONAL in place of its original designation as LIGHT INDUSTRIAL. This zoning change had been promised to us by the District Land Officer prior to purchasing the property. Later, we found out that he had no authority to make such promises, as the federal level of the Ministry of Lands is the only office that can authorize a zoning change on land in Tanzania.
Over the years, we wrote letters, visited government offices and made great efforts to find someone to help us with this zoning issue with no forward progress whatsoever.
The years of frustration severely tempted us to give up and sell the property or donate it to another Christian ministry. But every time we prayed, the Lord kept repeating, “MY TIMING IS PERFECT.” Finally, through a series of miracles, we received the zoning change in 2025.
As we look back, it is now very clear why God did not allow us to move forward all those years ago. We would have built the wrong project on that land. We had developed architectural plans for a bigger orphanage – which in the end, the government would not have approved – since they issued a mandate in 2020 to their Social Welfare offices across the country, to close all orphanages and move the children to family settings.[1]
In 2021, the Treasures of Africa Children’s Home became the one and only orphanage in the Kilimanjaro Region that complied with that mandate. We recruited foster families for ALL of our children, primarily from among the long-time TOA staff members who already knew and loved them. We transitioned to a “family based” orphan care model from the institutional model we had been operating since 2007.
We continued to provide private school education and medical care for all the TOA KIDZ and foster siblings as well. Our new model of caring for orphans became known as the TREASURES OF AFRICA KIDZ Project and allowed us to support the education of even more children.
But then what was God’s purpose in having us purchase that piece of land?
One thing we learned over the many years of sending the Treasures of Africa children to both government and private schools in Tanzania was that a high quality of education that would adequately prepare students for University study was lacking across the nation. In addition, we could not find a Secondary School (high school) anywhere in the country that had a specific focus on leadership development.
We knew we had a calling to develop leaders for the nation of Tanzania from among the growing population of orphaned and vulnerable children. And we knew that a Secondary School with the elements required to train future leaders was critical for that vision to materialize. That was when the dream of the TREASURES OF AFRICA LEADERSHIP ACADEMY was born.
We began praying and planning for a world-class Christian secondary school on the property we purchased in 2011. Its mission will be to prepare students to become godly leaders in every field and serve their nation. Tuition will cover teacher and staff salaries and operating costs, while scholarships will enable a designated number of orphans to attend. Ultimately, we envision a self-sustaining school that remains committed to serving orphans.
With the generous support of our donors, the architectural and engineering plans for the entire campus were completed, and all government fees and building permits were paid. However, we still lacked the full funding needed to construct the first building – our Administration Building. Then everything changed in September when Hidden with Christ Ministries received a “princely gift” designated specifically to launch the building project.
Words cannot fully express how thrilled and grateful we were! We immediately contacted the Engineer, Architect, and the Building Contractor to commence the work on the Administration Building.
The word the Lord gave us at the beginning of 2026, that this was the year to "MOVE FORWARD" - is literally being fulfilled right now.
Then I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me…
And they said, “Let us rise up and build.” So, they thoroughly supported the good work.
Nehemiah 2:18 Amplified Bible
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[1] The Social Welfare offices in Tanzania have been unable to fulfill this government mandate – having nowhere to place the multitudes of orphaned children and therefore many orphanages still operate in Tanzania today.