The One Person Project

Home
Canada
Summerland, BC
The One Person Project

With your help we have built an orphanage in Kahama, Tanzania. (Was previously Grade 7 but the Tanzanian education system changed in 2025.)

The One Person Project is a volunteer-driven organization dedicated to building long-term, meaningful connections with the community of Kahama, Tanzania. Since 2006, we have focused on addressing the impacts of poverty on women, children, and youth through practical, community-led support. Our flagship project is Simon’s Children’s Centre, a large orphanage complex that we built and continue to op

erate. Through sponsorships and dedicated local staff, we provide children with food, clothing, education, and stability. Board members and volunteers travel to Kahama regularly, and we remain in daily contact with our local Agent. The plan is that the District of Kahama takes over the running of the Centre in 2026, and we will continue with project aid and the volunteer trips. EDUCATION IN KAHAMA

We also helped build and support the Royal Academy Boarding School, serving children from age three to Grade 6. Many children from Simon’s attend the school, giving them access to a higher standard of education and brighter future opportunities. We have also sponsored 8 children from the remote village of Lugunga to attend. SENDING RESOURCES

To strengthen community infrastructure, we have shipped six shipping containers of medical, educational, and essential supplies to East Africa -five to Kahama (supporting the district hospital, schools, the orphanage, and vulnerable families) and one to a partner community in Rwanda. Every volunteer group who visits Kahama with us takes suitcases filled with resources - ranging from soccer balls to feminine hygiene kits!

*GROUP OF FIVE REFUGEE SPONORSHIP: Alfred, Yvonne & Praise

Through Group of Five (G5) sponsorship we plan to bring Alfred, Yvonne and their son Praise from the Dzaleka Refugee Camp in Malawi to the Okanagan. (Brenda met Alfred in 2015.) UPDATE: The family are here! (More joyful details in our posts!)

Group of Five sponsorship is vital - it is entirely community-funded and community-led, requiring sponsors to provide financial support, settlement assistance, and emotional guidance during a family’s first year in Canada. This model ensures families are not alone as they navigate housing, education, healthcare, and cultural adjustment, and it reflects our belief that lasting change happens when communities step forward together. The One Person Project is providing the funding and the fabulous five are all involved with TOPP - past and present committee members, trip participants, and long-time valuable volunteers! Follow our posts for updates on Kahama, refugee sponsorship, fundraisers, and Okanagan-based initiatives such as creating feminine hygiene kits for girls and women in Tanzania. Get involved - through donations, sponsorships, or volunteer travel opportunities. Contacts
• Trip Volunteer Coordinator: Brenda – 250-809-9639
• Sponsorship Coordinator: Lea – 250-809-5037
• Donations: Brenda – 250-809-9639
• General Enquiries: Denise – 250-460-0565

08/24/2026

This scene is easy to take for granted. But very few (if any) children attending regular schools in Tanzania have the opportunity to be tutored.

These children have come to Simon’s from the worst of circumstances - often from the streets, and always from extreme poverty.

The older children are studying with Mr F. for an important upcoming school exam.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has helped make this possible. 🩵

08/20/2026

💚 Our thanks to those across the miles: Four members of the One Person Committee live in Summerland, B.C. which was recently evacuated because of a fierce forest fire.

We are home now, and we are deeply grateful that our homes were spared. Sadly, about 150 homes were lost or damaged, and our hearts are with everyone who has been affected by this devastating fire.

During the almost 2 weeks of evacuation, Brenda received messages of concern, prayers, and hope from people we have supported or met through our work in Tanzania and Rwanda. We were deeply touched to know that, even from thousands of miles away, people were thinking of us.

We are home. We are safe. We are grateful.

Thank you to our friends in Tanzania, Rwanda, and around the world for reaching out to Brenda and to our Page.

(Alfred,Yvonne and Praise live in a nearby town, so they were safe. 🩵 )

08/01/2026

Over the past 20 years, so many wonderful young people have volunteered with The One Person Project - giving their time, sharing their energy, and helping to make a difference!

This slideshow includes just a sample of the many young volunteers who have been part of TOPP’s story. To every one of you: thank you! Your contribution, whether large or small, has truly helped create a lasting impact.

We couldn’t include everyone, so if you volunteered with TOPP as a youth - or if your child did — please add a photo in the comments. We would love to celebrate even more of the young people who have helped us along the way! 💙

07/18/2026

DROP SOME PICS IN THE COMMENTS! If you have been a volunteer on a One Person trip - it is highly likely that Brenda helped you book your flights, booked your accommodations - and even planned the extra curricular trips that began to take place in 2009! A massive undertaking - but she appreciated having honed her organizational skills.🤣 And loved being able to help the volunteers have an experience of a lifetime.

As with the volunteer time in Kahama - the adventures afterwards weren't always plain sailing - but there are certainly many treasured memories. We would love it if you helped to celebrate our 20 year anniversary by sharing your photos and stories here.

PICTURED IN THIS POST: Lake Victoria, Serengeti National Park, Gombe National Park, and Zanzibar.

NOTE: When you check out the photos in the comments - look at the 'replies' as they contain more images.

07/11/2026

DEE: I was part of the start up in 2006. Involved with all but one of the shipping containers - collecting donations, packing, loading, organizing then reorganizing several times (lol). I also helped with a couple of gala preparations.

Congratulations to Brenda, Denise and Sheena for a steadfast 20-years with TOPP!

(PHOTOS IN THE COMMENTS.)

07/03/2026

MELINDA: Happy 20-year anniversary to the One Person Project.
I began my journey because of (committee member) Angela, and the Amani Pen Pal Program. The children I wrote to were living with HIV/AIDS and were attending the clinic at the Kahama Hospital for medical care. I wrote to the children and learned about the program through Philomena Shatta, a nurse at the hospital.

I loved being part of this program as it became a personal journey as I was meeting and corresponding with individual kids and learning about their families. I was learning about Kahama. I know there are so many layers to a program such as this but my journey was on an individual basis with the kids.

I wrote letters and sent gifts. I learned how to quilt and made each of my kids a quilt. I filled up tote containers and learned about shipping containers and the expenses involved in sending a container halfway round the world.

Me and my own kid did numerous fundraising efforts in the community to help out where we could. It's an experience I'll always remember.

I know there are lots of charities in the world and ways to help. But for me, the personal experiences I gained from writing and supporting individual children: Peter Paul, Kulwa, Mwanaidi, Halima, Chausiku, Elleni, Jesca, Janethi, Jacqueline, Nasra and Madalari - will stay with me forever.

Thanks for everything you do. It's been amazing.

(PHOTOS & MORE INFO IN THE COMMENTS.)

06/20/2026

I met Brenda while working with the MHSU Seniors Team in 2017. From the moment we met, it felt like we had known each other for a lifetime. During one of our first conversations, she asked me what one thing I wanted to do in life. At the time, I knew nothing about her connection to Tanzania or The One Person Project. I told her that I had always wanted to help children in Africa. To my surprise, within 24 hours of that conversation, we had booked my first trip to Tanzania with Brenda and three other women, who were nurses too.

Meeting Brenda changed my life and the lives of my family. Over the years, we organized fundraisers at my home, involving my husband and all of our 3 guys. (Also, I was able to bring my sister on one trip -2020.) Together, we raised funds yearly and being part of the TOPP group has been an amazing experience .

Since the beginning of my journey - I have traveled to Kahama, Tanzania four times to help support the children, the school and the children's centre. Along the way, we also gained a son, Gideon. We have supported him whenever needed, and now that he is a grown man, we share a strong and special bond.

We have also gained so many wonderful friends through the past eight years - not only through The One Person Project but through camping trips and other adventures together with Brenda and Peter. I am incredibly grateful for the deep friendships I have built with people in Summerland and with our friends in Kahama, Tanzania.

The One Person Project community will always hold a special place in my heart. The friendships we have formed and the bonds we have built with the children and friends in Kahama are truly priceless. I want to extend a huge thank you to Brenda - our president, but also one of my very best friends. Your countless hours of dedication and hard work have changed so many lives, especially the lives of the children at the centre and the school. Much love to you and everyone involved with The One Person Project. Happy 20th Anniversary!

(SEE PHOTOS and more info in the comments.)

Julie Diann

06/18/2026

RYLAN: Congratulations to Brenda, Denise, and the entire TOPP team on 20 incredible years. What an achievement and what a legacy.

I was fortunate enough to witness this work firsthand, joining a small group on one of the trips to Rwanda and Tanzania in 2010 where we met the Library shipping container in Rwanda, and then delivered resources to the Kahama community.

It's one thing to support an organization from afar, but seeing the impact on the ground was very impactful. The people, the place, the genuine connections being made there was amazing to see.

What makes TOPP truly special is the trust they've built over two decades. This is an organization that shows up, follows through, and puts every dollar to work in the most meaningful way possible. Here's to another 20 years of changing lives.

(SEE PHOTOS & MORE INFO in the comments.)

06/17/2026

Almost 20 years and we've accumulated a LOT of mementos, records, fundraiser decor and more. I predict an intensive team clearout in our near future! 🤣

Brenda and I made a start today - but there was a lot of re-reading old messages from the kids, families and organizations we have given support to. ❤️

Of course we kept more than we sent to the recycle bin!

06/13/2026

"Hamisi is on the table. Hamisi is under the table." 🥰 We love the way that our tutors work to make learning English fun and memorable!

At primary school, children are taught in Kiswahili but must transition to English in secondary school - so this is a major advantage for the children at Simon's.

Address

Summerland, BC
V0H1Z0

Website

https://denise-theonepersonproject.blogspot.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The One Person Project posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to The One Person Project:

Want your organization to be the top-listed Non Profit Organization in Summerland?