> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # 15 Acrobats tumble into town with dreams - URL: https://www.smdp.com/15-acrobats-tumble-into-town-with-dreams/ - Published: 2006-11-07T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T22:03:36.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import They come from an orphanage located in Moshi, a village located at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. “TunaHAKI,” the name the orphanage bears, means “we have the right,” a meaningful slogan for children who feel they have the right to education, the right to eat and the right to a healthy life just like all the children in the world, said founder David Ryatula on Monday. Ryatula has taught the children acrobatics and contortion arts. The children were abandoned by their parents, or lost them to diseases like AIDS and Malaria. The TunaHAKI kids arrived on Sunday and are staying with families of students in the Crossroads School Teen AIDS Ambassadors program, which is currently trying to raise $8,500 to build a self-sustaining garden, separate men’s and women’s restrooms and a gas stove for the orphanage. The children plan to perform their acrobatic act at the Crossroads School today during lunchtime, and will perform again at the Staples Center during the Lakers game tonight. The performance at the school is not open to the public. During their stay in the United States, the children will receive an acrobatic lesson at Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas, and see circus groups in San Francisco. They will also perform in a benefit on Nov. 20 at the Jazz Bakery in Culver City, hosted by Santa Monica resident Austin Peralta, son of local skating legend Stacy Peralta. The trip has been filled with many first experiences for the children — first time eating cake and ice cream, first music lesson, and their first drive on the freeway, which many found odd with no people walking alongside the road. “Everything they see, from the toilet to neon signs \[in businesses\], is amazing to them,” said Jacob Wessel, a freshman at the Crossroads School whose family is hosting two children. As for the TunaHAKI children, they said on Monday that they like Los Angeles and are impressed with Americans. “America is a peaceful country. We love the people,” said 16-year-old Abdul Hamza. The Crossroads School Teen AIDS Ambassadors have been talking to students about the AIDS pandemic and the TunaHAKI children. On Monday, the ambassadors gave students a lesson in HIV and AIDS and how it has affected the world. The effect of AIDS is not limited to the person who is afflicted by the disease, Wessel said, but those who love and know the victim are affected as well. It’s a message the ambassadors hope to send to the students. The TunaHAKI’s children’s experience is currently being filmed and there are plans to turn it into a documentary. One TunaHAKI child became orphaned after his mother left him at a bus stop when he was just 6 years old. The mother said she would come back, but when she didn’t for a week, the Tanzanian boy gave up. Ryatula took the children under his wing after they opened up to him about their situation. Described as a poor man himself, Ryatula discovered their situation after he taught them art on the street and gained their trust. Through TunaHAKI, Ryatula trained the children how to perform acrobatics and contortion. The children have dreams. Fourteen-year-old Winfrida Stanley said she wants her life in Tanzania to be like it is for Americans in the U.S., while 12-year-old Nakindya Dismas wants to become a teacher one day. The children had the assistance of local screenwriter Scott Fifer, who took a sabbatical last year to volunteer in Tanzania. During his time with the TunaHAKI children, Fifer came up with a plan to build the children a permanent home that would have a vocational school, a theater, and a garden and farm that will be self-sustaining. “Ten years from now, they won’t need us to pay for them,” Fifer said. Bringing the orphans to America is a promise Fifer made to the children. “I made it my dream when I was there,” Fifer said. “To bring them to the U.S., train them professionally, and to raise money to build a home.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 7, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/110706.pdf?ref=smdp.com)