About Us > Founders
Alice
Alice Mathew, is the founder of Glorious Orphanage. In her early 20's Alice started volunteering with the organization Care International. She traveled around the city of Arusha to help families suffering from HIV and AIDS. Alice recognized the dire need in her community to protect and educate the children, once their parents or guardians passed away. On her own initiative, Alice took on the responsibility to begin an Orphanage school to teach and feed the orphans in her surrounding community. Next to their unfinished house, Alice and her husband Julius set aside their own land, as the site of Glorious Orphanage. With their own money, they began to provide a meal for the children once a week, and registered Glorious Orphanage with the Tanzanian government.
Since then, Glorious Orphanage has grown into a school where 82 children ranging in age from 3 - 11 come each day to learn and to eat. Alice acts both as an overseer of the daily activities at Glorious and as the cook.
On top of the 82 children at Glorious, Alice looks after 3 children of her own; Monica, Hosea and Amos. At just 29 years of age, Alice is a true inspiration.
Julius
Julius Shuma is Alice's husband, and together with Alice, Julius runs Glorious Orphanage on his land. Julius helps to teach the children and also supports them through his farm work on his property. He has a chicken coop, around 10 pigs, a bull, and two cows. Julius is able to earn money from people that will pay him to have his bull mate with their cows, and by selling pigs for their meat. He spends much of his time tending to his animals, and to his family who lives in the surrounding area. Ideally, Julius would like to earn money to support his family from his farm work, but now, most if not all the money from his work, goes straight to the children of Glorious Orphanage.
Julius has a smile that lights up everyone’s day, and his faith in the Lord is a constant inspiration to those around him.
Hannah
Hannah Ames is the founder of the non-profit organization "Glorious Orphanage Corporation". Hannah traveled to Arusha with the organization IVHQ as a volunteer in September 2009. She volunteered at Glorious Orphanage for three months and was inspired by Alice and Julius' love for the children of Glorious Orphanage and faith in God. Each day they told her, "God will help us" and towards the end of her three months, it became apparent how right they were.
During her time in Arusha, Hannah along with another volunteer Joanne Borg, contacted friends and families at home. To her surprise, they were able to raise enough money to build a school, bring plumbing to the orphanage, build a water tower, and build bathrooms. With funds from home, the children were able to eat twice a day and grow strong and healthy right before her eyes.
Upon returning home, Hannah felt called to start this non-profit organization. Through Glorious Orphanage Corporation, Hannah had hoped to find sponsors for each of the children at Glorious Orphanage, so that they will never go hungry or without education again.
