Anna Dombkins was a new mum living in Wollongong when she watched a documentary on the lives of abandoned and malnourished children in an orphanage in South-East Asia.
With her six-month old baby sleeping soundly by her side, she and her husband Mark were filled with a desire to do what they could to help children like those on their screen.
It was a moment that led to a series of decisions for Anna and Mark, who eventually relocated from Australia to Tanzania with their two young children, then aged one and four.
In 2010, they started the fostering process for three young biological siblings in Tanzania who had no other hope for a family.
Anna and Mark are now the founders of Forever Projects, an organisation that supports its local partners to ensure families, especially mothers and their children, are not separated by poverty. It supports women to build supported and self-sufficient families through measures like skills training and capital to set up their own businesses. Healthcare support and training on issues like disease prevention, baby-feeding kits and support for secure housing are also part of the program.
Below, Anna shares more about her journey through it all as she releases her book, Home, Forever.
Could you explain why you felt so strongly about helping children before moving from Australia to Tanzania?
When our eldest biological child was six months old, we remember watching a documentary about the plight of abandoned children in an orphanage in SE Asia. Volunteers had snuck in cameras to expose the human rights abuses taking place, and malnourished babies were literally left without food to starve. While watching, we’re glancing between these tragic images on the screen and our six month old, sleeping soundly with a full belly. How could this be the same world?!? It was that moment the seed was planted that our family would find a way to do something.
What was the adoption process like for you?
We moved to Tanzania in 2010 with our two biological children, finding work at an International School. Six months later, we began the fostering process with three biological siblings who had no other hope for a family. With four one-year-olds and a four-year-old, it was beautiful chaos! The 3-year adoption process was quite the rollercoaster, and I unpack all the highs and lows in my new book Home, Forever.
What would you like other Aussies to know about what women and families in Tanzania need to break the cycle of poverty?
The day we started the fostering process with our three kids, we walked past 57 others who weren’t going to a family that day. We remember asking ourselves, “What would need to have changed the life of these children’s biological mother so that abandonment could have been avoided in the first place?”
Fortunately, the baby home we adopted from had a plan to solve this problem at a systemic level, preventing families from needlessly separating in the first place. Their solution was a yearlong support program built for women, which delivers nutrition for her baby, supplies to meet basic needs, weekly health and skills training, capital to set up a business, and a community of women around her.
Within 12-months, women and their families are transformed, living independently and moving from feelings of isolation and anxiety to belonging and confidence about creating a self-sustaining future for their family.
It only costs $1,200 for a family to access this 12-month program, enabling income creation for women and nutrition for their babies, keeping families together, forever.
What has the response to the Forever Projects been like?
After moving back to Australia in 2013, we launched Forever Projects to fund this program and fuel the Tanzanian team’s vision. We’ve been so inspired by the way this fundraising community has made our story their story, too. By using what’s in their hands and giving of their time, talent, money, and network, they’ve raised $2.5 million, serving 2,200 women and 3,000 babies across six Tanzanian cities.
We hope Home, Forever connects even more people to our story so they can share in the joy and purpose of giving and help accelerate our impact. As our Forever Projects Community contributes to the transformation of others, they’re transformed too.