Letty McMaster first visited Tanzania as a volunteer when she was 28 years old and while there she learnt about the brutal reality of the children’s lives. When the orphanage she was helping out at closed down, she refused to abandon the little ones.
When she turned 18, Letty McMaster made the decision to travel to Africa and volunteer in an orphanage, where she would learn and help those most in need. But what she didn’t realize is that the trip would change her life forever.
At first the trip was only supposed to last a month but Letty ended up staying for 3 years. When the orphanage she was helping out at closed down, she decided to stay longer to look after 9 children so that they wouldn’t be left homeless.
Letty McMaster
And now at 26 years old and 7 years after her arrival, she’s the legal guardian of the 9 children she originally looked after as well as 5 other kids she met on the street or in other safe houses.
«These children are my whole life, I raise them all on my own and they keep me going through the long hours of juggling everything. I’d always had in mind that I wanted to help street children so my family and friends weren’t surprised but I never expected to end up doing all this” the woman, originally from Tunbridge Wells, told LADBible.
Letty McMaster
«I am the parental figure in the house – some of the little boys who never had a parent view me as their mum but most see me more as a big sister as I’m not that much older than some of them: I’m just like any mum raising teenagers – I made a commitment to them and I just feel so blessed to have two families!» she continued.
Letty flew to Africa for the first time in 2013 where discovered that children in the orphanages were being physically and mentally abused by the staff. She also reported that they sometimes stole the money that tourists had donated to the institution, meaning that the children sometimes only ate once a day.
Letty McMaster
Letty McMaster
«The abuse the children were going through in the orphanage was horrendous and I saw the impact that it had on the kids and knew immediately something had to change.»I couldn’t leave them in that situation so my new goal was to get them a family home.» she told the British website.
Letty McMaster
The orphanage was closed down in 2016 and Letty fought for the right to open her home to the 9 children who had been left homeless. She founded a charity called Street Children Iringa and since then she’s taken in another 5 children. Since they came into her care all of the children have improved. «Since having a place to call home, they have all excelled in education and in every aspect of their lives,” she commented.