Thyago Ohana

As a travel enthusiast, my exposure to contrasting realities around the world made me develop a strong sense of accountability for bringing about positive impact to less fortunate communities - especially in developing countries.

This is why in the last half a decade, I started to combine tourism with opportunities to interact and support some local communities, families and especially children.

After having run privately-funded efforts in Kenya, Ethiopia and Seychelles, I felt motivated to take one step further and run funding campaigns among family, friends and colleagues to support such initiatives.

Kilimanjaro, Tanzania - since 2019

In 2019, prior to a planned private trip to Tanzania, I identified a target need in the region and started a campaign aimed at raising funds to maintain the Kili Hope Children's center for orphans and vulnerable children for a whole year (2020). The campaign collected donations under this GoFundMe page and it surpassed its initial target.

The center's operations have been fully funded by this project from 2020 to 2023. In the meantime, the center attained non-governmental organization (NGO) status in Tanzania, which allowed it to gain support from other public and private sources. As of January 2024, residual funds in the project's account will continue to be provided monthly to the center to cover exclusively the salary of the school teacher and the monthly costs of purchasing grains.

Key achievements of the projects:

• Increased the number of children cared for at the center from 50 to 95 (2019 vs 2020)
• Reduced the school dropout to zero  (vs ~80% prior to project start)
• Supported 188 children transition to the primary school system
• Created 4 full-time jobs for locals
• Covered the operating costs of the children's center for four consecutive years (2020-2023)
• Delivered more than 5 tons of grains as food supply
• Provided basic health insurance coverage to all enrolled children
• Renovated the children's center infrastructure including façade and interior
• Improved teaching methods by acquiring a whiteboard, handicrafts materials and a television
• Installed trash cans in the center
• Integrated dental hygiene in the center's daily routine
• Introduced fruits to the center's regular meal plans
• Upon forming the NGO, provided guidance on community engagement and networking to generate new sources of funds.

The project also supported the community to mitigate the impact of the 2020 pandemic with:

• 1 ton of food and 500 soap bars to the community
• Installation of multiple hand hygiene stations (water bucket + soap) around the village
• Increasing awareness on proper hand hygiene provided to locals by the center's staff
• Re-commissioning of old sewing machines for local face masks productions.

All funds collected and spent in the campaign have been documented and invoices are available for auditing.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 2023

In 2023, I held a charity campaign to support the reopening of the "Gato Preto" children's center.

The "Espaço Cultural Conexão Gato Preto" was born in 2013 under the leadership of the teacher and samba singer Simone Lyns, who mobilized friends around the world (incl. myself!) to officially open the NGO, a space dedicated to art and education for residents of Gato Preto, an area of extreme social vulnerability in Baixada Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis in Brazil forced the NGO to shut down its activities and close its doors in 2020.

Thanks to new effort in 2023 to mobilize people around the world (incl. myself again!), the center is underwent revitalization, and reopened its doors. The money I fundraised through this GoFundMe campaign page went towards:

• a few structural repairs to the center following some severe water damages due to intensive rains.
• a reopening ceremony featuring a historical children theater play about “Maria Leopoldina”, the Austrian princess who became the first empress of Brazil
• the reopening of the center’s children library
• a kick-off of a program to teach illiterate adults to read and write, pulling the adults along with their kids closer to the community center.

All funds collected and spent in the campaign have been documented and invoices are available for auditing.

Sal Island, Cape Verde - 2018

In 2018, I held my first fundraising for charity campaign. 100% of the funds were invested in the welfare of a group of 68 children in the community of Santa Maria in the Island of Cape Verde.

I spent a week in Cape Verde, where I personally met the children who depend on the support of the group of volunteers "Castelos do Sal", and thanks to the donations collected, we managed to deliver 5 weeks of food supply for the children, a unique piece of clothing for each one of them as well as 50 children's books to build their library.

The campaign was held online. Details of the campaign including all updates and final report can be found in the GoFundMe campaign page. All funds collected and spent in the campaign have been documented and invoices are available for auditing.