• BOX 7314, Santa Rosa, CA 95407-0314
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Monica Ek

Monica grew up in Rio Rancho, New Mexico and Stuttgart, Germany. She has a passion for children and families especially those who have survived trauma, abuse, neglect or poverty. She had a dream to experience aid work abroad and so, with her boyfriend, Drew, moved to Moshi, Tanzania in 2011, for one year, and connected with Tuleeni Orphan’s Home. Due to the extreme corruption within volunteer tourism and the orphanage’s struggle to be self-sustainable, their aim was to work with Flaria Faraji to develop small business projects in order to lessen their reliance on international aid. They also worked to provide extra-curricular activities to help orphans develop educational and interpersonal skills such as computer training, typing and sex education courses. She has tremendous respect and admiration for Flaria Faraji and her ability to create a loving and supportive family for so many struggling children. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work at Simmons College in Boston to be able to be a therapist for child and adolescents. She hopes to return to Tuleeni to do individual counseling, psycho-educational groups around developing healthy relationships and continue supporting The Faraji Foundation to work towards the orphanage’s growth and sustainability.