CONYERS, Ga. --- The GFWC Heartland Woman’s Club, which serves both Newton and Rockdale counties, will sponsor a trivia night with proceeds benefiting the Upendo-OKAT Orphanage in Moshi, Tanzania, Africa on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. at St. Pius X Parish Hall – 2621 GA Hwy 20 SE in Conyers. 

The event is open to the public and will be hosted by the Knights of Columbus, Council 10004. Doors will open at 6:15 p.m. followed by trivia beginning at 7 p.m. The cost for admission is $10. Hamburgers, hotdogs, chips and drinks will be available for purchase, however, attendees may bring food for their table or to share.  

Prizes brought by participants will be used in the raffle drawing. The GFWC Heartland Woman’s Club will also be raffling a patriotic quilt, with raffle tickets costing $5. The winner is not required to be present.

The Upendo-OKAT Orphanage was established in 2015 with a purpose of developing support for orphaned children including children in hardships from unstable homes. The private orphanage is known for receiving abandoned newborns and small children with disabilities. 

The children are cared for by the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood until the age of five, when the government can then claim them as servants in their own households, often separating the children from their caretakers and friends. 

In the 1990s, study abroad students from the University of Georgia began visiting communities in Tanzania’s Moshi District to engage in student learning activities under Professor Lioba Moshi. After their visit in 2010, students organized a fundraising campaign to help keep orphans together as they grew to adulthood.

Dr. Moshi created Sustainable Service Learning Inc. in 2014, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization to raise funds for a 15-acre site and construction of a new children’s center for Upendo-OKAT on the slopes on Mount Kilimanjaro. The first phase of the children’s center was completed in early December 2022, which was made possible through donations. 

Maria Harding-Blanchard, a Upendo-OKAT board member and Conyers native, stated that every penny will be utilized for food, clothing, housing and care for the 25 children in the orphanage’s care. Without any assistance from the government, Upendo-OKAT relies solely on public donations. 

“The level of poverty in the U.S. cannot compare to the level of poverty in Tanzania. In the U.S., there are at least organizations and government programs to care for the marginalized,” Blanchard said. “However, in Tanzania, there aren’t. There are no food pantries to run by and pick up food. There are no homeless shelters for individuals to go to. Without the support from individuals in states (and/or around the world), our kiddos would end up on the streets without food.” 

“We are a passionate, efficiently-run non-profit dedicated to bettering the lives of children who would otherwise be left to the outskirts of their communities, and we are thrilled about every opportunity we have to bring as many people from our own communities here in the US into the fold.”

With monthly food supply per child costing approximately $55, Blanchard hopes proceeds from the trivia night will be able to sponsor food for all of our children for the remainder of the year. Individuals are also able to sponsor a child from the orphanage.

Blanchard said she hopes to plan more events in the future to spread the word about the orphanage.

For more information about the Upendo-OKAT Orphanage or the trivia night on Sept. 16, visit www.snyderupendo-okat.com or contact Maria Harding-Blanchard at (770) 378-4462.