Shelter for Elders

On December 21st, the PECO team set out for a three-hour journey to the Longido District— outside of Arusha— to deliver food packages to a community in dire need. The team consisted of four PECO members and also a hired car and driver, as our load was heavy, and drive was long. Our team had prepared to serve 15 different elder homes with food packages. The packages included rice, cooking oil, maize flour, sugar, and a few other food staples. On this same project, our team also planned to deliver four bed sets to four different homes where we had previously visited and had become exposed to the needs.

Along the way our team faced a few different challenges— including, a punctured tire with a malfunctioning jack, and the loss of a bed mattress from the top of the Jeep. However, we made it to our destination with twelve elders that were prepared for our arrival. The PECO team shared a short message to them about who we are and why we chose the Longido District to serve. It was a great time of connection and sharing. After serving the twelve elders, our team moved on to traveling to four homes where some of our team had been in the past. On our last project, we had discovered the need of beds for these four elders. PECO was given funds to support this project to purchase four bed sets— mattress, bed frame, bed sheet, and blanket. It was humbling experience to deliver the beds and food packages to these four elder homes and we were deeply touched by the relationships formed and the thankfulness displayed. Unfortunately, because of the loss of one of our mattresses, we could only deliver her bed frame and later in the week we sent a new mattress to be delivered on behalf of PECO.

This project describes the center of who PECO wants to be— an organization that is fighting for the needs and support of elders in our community. We are thankful for our supporters that made this project possible. We hope to support the Longido District in the future.