In 2006, Dana House traded in his partner status at the Minneapolis office of accounting firm Virchow Krause to be a part-time consultant. Why? He wanted to devote more time to kids in Tanzania.
"About three years ago, I got very involved in Peace House, a foundation started by a group of people from Peace Lutheran Church [in Bloomington] who are trying to do something about the 14 million children in Africa who were orphaned as a result of the AIDS pandemic. We founded a children's home in Tanzania for about 25 kids and created a foster care program to seek out homes for these kids who were living on the streets. We have more than 500 children in that program now, which is aimed at kids up to 10 years old.
"But we saw hopelessness, even in the children we placed in homes. We decided we could have a bigger impact for older kids if we started a school for children age 12 to 16. The Tanzanian government gave us 100 acres of land in the city of Arusha in 2005, and we started building our school, which has 22 buildings and is a full-time campus. It opened September 10, and has 120 kids in the first group, but has a capacity for 640. We emphasize math, science, and business. We want to develop kids who can be business leaders.
"It doesn't make any difference what color children are or where they are, they're all the same. They want someone to pay attention to them, someone to take care of them, and they want hope. I learned that at age 60, I don't have to retire. I could refocus my skills in organizing and inspiring people. Even though I live in Bloomington, I can do some-thing in Africa. This has added a purpose to my life. When you go to Tanzania and see these children, you're not the same anymore."
