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After condsiderable research and advice in 2001 and 2002, we chose to set up The Mango Tree in the Kyela District of Tanzania, along the border with Malawi. This region is extremely poor, but it does have a local economy that could potentially employ the vulnerable children we support on reaching adulthood. For several years The Mango Tree after beginning its programme here, we were being asked constantly whether we would stay and help or would we leave as other projects had done. It took many years of collaborative work, building trust and partnerships before local people could believe that The Mango Tree was involved for the long term.
Following regular visits to Tanzania monitoring progress, and finding a similar situation in Kenya, a second Mango Tree programme was established near Lake Victoria in Kenya in 2006. While the climate and general geography are different, the similarities for the orphans are all too apparent. The area surrounding Kosele is an area of acute poverty and similarly high levels of HIV. By the end of 2007, there were already over 10000 orphans registered and today there are close to 5000 (2010).
In 2010, The Mango Tree recieved generous donations from Google Inc., The Oglesby Charitable Trust and the Samworth Foundation, to construct a vocational training college in Kyela District, South West Tanzania.
The Kyela Polytechnic College was completed in June 2012, and was officially opened by the British High Commissioner for Tanzania, Her Excellency Diane Corner on the 21st of July 2012. It has started offering courses in Business Studies, ICT, Construction and Hotel Management and short courses in bee-keeping, agriculture and livestock at The Mango Tree farm and fish ponds.