About Us
Tuwapende Watoto supports disadvantaged children in Tanzania by providing care, education, and sustainable opportunities—guided by the motto “We love children.”
About Us
For many years, the Tuwapende Watoto Foundation has been providing disadvantaged children in Tanzania with a better future through long-term support. The name Tuwapende Watoto means “We Love Children” and serves as the foundation’s guiding principle. The foundation was established in 2004 and officially registered in the commercial register in March 2005. In May 2006, the children’s home in Mbezi Beach began operations with three children.
For 20 years, Tanzanian staff have been lovingly caring for abandoned and orphaned children and guiding them on their path to independence. Since 2010, the children have been living in the Tuwapende Watoto Foundation’s own buildings in Bunju B, Dar es Salaam. The children’s charity provides children and young people with a good upbringing as well as quality school and vocational education, sustainably improves their quality of life, and prepares them for an independent life.
Today, Tuwapende Watoto offers a comprehensive range of educational and care services, ranging from the children’s home to daycare, kindergarten, and primary school, all the way through to secondary and vocational school. In total, around 1,300 children, adolescents, and adults receive care and education. According to external evaluations, Tuwapende Watoto’s primary school ranks among the best schools in the Dar es Salaam region and ensures that all primary school graduates are admitted to a secondary school.
Bunju B, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Since 2010, the children’s charity Tuwapende Watoto has been located in Bunju B, a typical Tanzanian village with a market, restaurants, craft workshops, and numerous small shops. Bunju B is situated on Bagamoyo Road between Dar es Salaam and Bagamoyo and is about an hour’s drive from the city center.
This major transportation corridor has seen rapid development for years. The planned expansion of the road to four lanes will further improve connectivity and significantly shorten travel time from the city center to the children’s home.
The Tuwapende Watoto facility is situated on a hill outside the village and now forms the heart of the project. In recent years, the fertile, hilly area has attracted many young families. Numerous parents deliberately send their children to the schools at Tuwapende Watoto because they are convinced of the quality and professionalism of the educational programs.
Important infrastructure facilities are located in the immediate vicinity, such as Hans Mgaya Hospital, which has been strengthening medical care in the region since 2020.
Sustainability
Sustainability is an integral part of Tuwapende Watoto’s philosophy. A high-performance solar power system fully supplies the home, school, and vocational school with energy. Thanks to modern reverse osmosis systems with integrated UV disinfection, clean drinking water is available in all areas. In addition, all buildings have been equipped with solar-powered hot water systems that heat and disinfect water, thereby sustainably supplying kitchens, showers, and restrooms. Complementing this, rainwater harvesting systems allow valuable water to be collected and put to good use for daily needs.
Foundation Board Switzerland
Ruth Bütikofer (1951)
Chair of the Swiss Foundation Board
A teacher and school principal, Ruth taught middle school in Oberhofen on Lake Thun until 2014, serving as principal for seven of those years. She has several years of experience as cabin crew and an instructor for Swissair/SWISS International Airlines. Ruth visits the children’s charity 4 to 6 times per year.
Christina Gartenmann (1959)
Dipl. Pharm BWI ETH, works as a pharmacist and managing director in the family business in Bern, and is also involved in four SMEs and the ghirlandas Foundation – Children’s Hospital in Color.
Stefan Kirchhofer (1975)
Lic. iur. from the University of Bern and a Zurich-based attorney, he is a partner at ADROIT Attorneys in Zurich and also active as an entrepreneur in various industries.
Daniel Signer (1960)
Mag. oec. HSG and Dr. oec. University of Zurich.
Daniel was a founding member and Managing Director of Credit Suisse IT Services, as well as a founding and Executive Board member of Swisscom IT Services AG. After moving into the healthcare sector, he became a member of the hospital management at Cantonal Hospital Winterthur, where he was responsible for operations and development projects.
Heinz Habegger (1960)
Certified Mechanical Engineer (FH), supplementary studies in Business Administration, MBA in International Management
Heinz has many years of leadership experience in the private sector in water management and environmental engineering. He also headed a large cantonal office for water and waste as director. He currently runs his own company and is a member of the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit (SHA, WASH group) of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
Foundation Board Tanzania
Ruth Bütikofer (1951)
Chair of the Swiss Foundation Board
A teacher and school principal, Ruth taught middle school in Oberhofen on Lake Thun until 2014, serving as principal for seven of those years. She has several years of experience as a flight attendant and instructor for Swissair/SWISS International Airlines. Ruth visits the children’s home 6–8 times a year.
Margaret Alexander Mkandawire
Margaret studied social sciences and, until her retirement in 2014, worked as the director of the state-run Kurasini Orphanage in Dar es Salaam. She has been visiting our orphanage regularly for many years and supports our caregivers with her knowledge and wealth of experience.
Christina Gartenmann (1959)
B.Sc. in Pharmacy from ETH Zurich; works as a pharmacist and managing director in the family business in Bern, and is also involved in four SMEs and the ghirlandas Foundation – Children’s Hospital in Color.
Xavery Makwi
Mr. Xavery Makwi is a lawyer and heads the credit division of CRDB Bank in Dar es Salaam
Beat Bütikofer
Beat, a certified systems engineer and former member of the executive board at Swisscom Informatik, serves as a board member and ambassador. He organizes the charity golf tournament, oversees technical operations and the budget, and visits the children’s home regularly. He is also a board member of the Wyler Andersson Foundation in Thun.
Fabian Bütikofer
Fabian supports administrative tasks. He is responsible for translating texts into English and for the newsletter layout. He is a teacher at the secondary school in Orpund. Fabian visits the orphanage regularly.
Jan von Overbeck
Platzhalter
The Ambassadors – Dedicated Supporters of Our Mission
Our volunteer ambassadors are an indispensable pillar of our foundation. With great dedication, they take on a significant portion of our administrative tasks and play a key role in our success. Furthermore, they represent the foundation to the outside world, share our vision and mission globally, and raise public awareness of our cause. With their persuasiveness and authenticity, they build trust, attract supporters, and thereby strengthen the reach and impact of our projects.
They frequently visit our home and facilities in Tanzania, where they provide invaluable assistance to the children and the foundation. This work is done entirely without compensation—our ambassadors even cover their own travel expenses to Tanzania.
We sincerely thank our ambassadors for their dedication and commitment. Their contribution is invaluable to us and our work.
Our Ambassadors in Switzerland
Anusch and Kurt Angst
Anusch and Kurt have been deeply committed to the foundation since its inception.
As a tour guide on all seven seas, Anusch gave presentations about our project and still maintains contact with sponsors from various industries.
Beat Bütikofer
Beat, a certified systems engineer and former member of the executive board at Swisscom Informatik, serves as a board member and ambassador. He organizes the charity golf tournament, oversees technology and the budget, and visits the children’s home regularly. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the Wyler Andersson Foundation in Thun.
Jo Zahner
Jo is a retired ICT project manager at Swisscom Switzerland. He supports Tuwapende Watoto in various areas, including as an ICT advisor and with fundraising. He is responsible for the content and technical aspects of the website, and he manages the organization’s social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn). He visits the children’s charity periodically.
Jonas Fruet
Jonas has known and supported Tuwapende Watoto for several years and shares the story with his personal circle, the Lions, and his network as a management consultant. He helps and supports us wherever possible to generate awareness and raise the foundation’s profile.
Caroline Rominger
Caroline is a professional golfer on the European Ladies Golf Tour. With her extensive network of personal contacts and her consistently friendly demeanor, Caroline actively helps promote our foundation. More information about Caroline can be found at www.carolinerominger.ch
Serge Müller
Serge is a professional soccer player for FC Aarau and previously played for FC Schaffhausen and SC Freiburg II, among others. He has played for all Swiss youth national teams. As a long-time supporter and ambassador of Tuwapende Watoto, he is dedicated to this project close to his heart and promotes it within the sports world and among his generation.
Daniel Probst
Daniel is a retired translator. He supports Tuwapende Watoto with French translations.
Our Ambassador in Germany, Austria, and the USA
Ann-Kristin Schulz
Ann-Kristin represents the foundation in Germany through the support association “Tuwapende Watoto Deutschland” and advocates for sustainable education in Tanzania. She visits the orphanage regularly, knows the children and staff personally, and has had close ties to Tanzania since childhood.
Lisa Langwieser
Lisa studied communication science at the University of Vienna. Since her volunteer stay in 2012, Lisa has been enthusiastic about the children’s home and the foundation’s work. Lisa is delighted to support the Tuwapende Watoto Foundation from Austria and to contribute to the children’s well-being from afar.
Alexandra Smith
Alexandra lives in New York and helps us with the English content on our website and edits our English publications. Alexa is very happy to be able to support us.