That's a good question! It's something new that Joseph and Marusu taught a group of 31 new families during agriculture and veterinary trainings in December.
Joseph described it for families like this during the training:
These are the techniques which involve the intercropping of trees and field crops on the same piece of land. The trees are grown to provide timber, firewood, fruits, and fodder for livestock. An indigenous pesticide, trees end up improving soil quality. The trees provide additional nitrogen for corn and other annual plants. The main benefits from agroforestry are in terms of soil and water conservation.
Families have already been taught to contour the land, that is make rows of hills and valleys with the soil, so that rain water collects in the valleys and crops are planted on the hills. The trees would be planted along the contour lines. In time, this practice would allow families to get timber, firewood, possibly fruits, and crops from the same plot of land. Argoforestry also recommends using organic fertilizers such as from goats, which families are already doing. This practice could open up many hours that are currently lost as families go in search of good land to find feed for their animals or collect firewood. This time could be used in other income producing activities for families that already have several demands on their time and energy just to survive.
Another topic that was covered during the training was the planting of alternative crops that are more resistant to drought. Sorghum and Sunflowers are 2 such plants. They don't need much rain and are prolific plants that are ready to harvest about 3 months after planting and offer high yields. Lab lab plants also are high producers and are a good cover crop that play an important role in soil conservation measures. Seeds for all 3 of these plants are distributed to families during their training time.
Showing posts with label farm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label farm. Show all posts
Report from Tanzania: Family's goats attacked by bees
On May 28th Barikeli Basso, one of our goat recipients, came home to a terrifying sight. Bees were attaching the family's goat in their shed. Others said the bees had been chased from a neighbor’s property and had begun to spread over the area. Barikieli, father of four from the village of Qurus, rushed to save the animals. Barikeli's doe from Food for His Children, the breeding buck and two goat kids were badly injured. A two month old doe was found unconscious and didn't survive.
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| Barikeli's family with Honorina |
The other three goats were treated by our veterinarian, Joseph
Kwasalema. The family was also visited by program manager Honorina
Honorati. To treat their stings Joseph carefully rubbed the goats' skin using a rough brush to remove the stingers. He also administered a bee poison antidote called atropine
sulphate. For three days the goats were unable to eat their typical diet of grasses because their mouths were swollen. They were fed milk by hand instead and monitored closely. By the end of the three days the goats were beginning to eat soft grasses again and showed signs of recovery.
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| Goats back in their shed |
This was a fluke accident but we are so thankful to have Joseph working with us to help families provide care for their animals. Barikeli sustained a few bee stings as he saved the herd, but thankfully the wounds were minor and no one else was hurt. The loss of the baby doe was a blow to the family because they depend on the nutritious milk the female goats provide when they are older. Please keep this family in your prayers.
Transformation
(Adapted from an address to Messiah Lutheran Church in Fargo, North Dakota by FFHC founder, Kerrie Holschbach. 5,19, 2013)
When I became a Christian in 2001, the Holy Spirit did a radical and miraculous transformation changing me from atheist to missionary. The Holy Spirit filled me with a passion to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the poor in
Each Food for His Children volunteer has different gifts and they all come together to form one body. God is always faithful to provide someone with the talents we need to take the ministry to the next stage in God’s plan. As of this month, 182 families, about 900 people are involved in some stage of the program- starting training, preparing to get their goat, have received their goat, or have passed on a goat. Were it not for the work of the Holy Spirit, Food for His Children would not exist.
Through the Holy Spirit, Food for His Children goat
recipients experience Jesus’ love and go from hopeless to hopeful. They are better able to meet their immediate
needs and can make plans for their future.
For some it is to start a business, for others to send their children to
school.
On our mission trip, the Holy Spirit revealed God’s truth to
us during a visit to Esta Bura’s home.
Esta and Petro have 5 children under 10.
They live in a mud and stick home with a dirt floor in the middle of
what appears to be a desert. No running
water and no electricity. In fact, the
closest water is a 4 hour walk. Their 2
room home is about 5 ft by 15 ft. As Jon
and I sat in the fly infested home talking to Esta, one of the children carried
in a dirt-covered toddler. The flies
swarmed around her immediately. We were
overwhelmed by the poverty and the stark contrast to American life.
On the brink of tears, God gave me His eyes. Instantly, I saw the blessing the Food for His Children goats were bringing to the family. I experienced the entire scene differently. I saw joy and love rather than despair. We heard about Esta’s plans to sell goats and milk. There was hope and promise here. There was a smiling mother, loving her children and grateful for the promise her goats give her. Suddenly instead of being uncomfortable in the sweltering home, I was reveling in the God moment, the sights, the sounds, the feelings that I would treasure forever, the knowledge that God was making a difference here. We allowed Him to use us to do His work and help His children. The Holy Spirit opened our eyes and our hearts and showed us order in the midst of disorder, joy in the midst of material poverty, beauty instead of ugliness, freedom and peace instead of pain. We saw Jesus. We witnessed Holy Spirit transformation.
On the brink of tears, God gave me His eyes. Instantly, I saw the blessing the Food for His Children goats were bringing to the family. I experienced the entire scene differently. I saw joy and love rather than despair. We heard about Esta’s plans to sell goats and milk. There was hope and promise here. There was a smiling mother, loving her children and grateful for the promise her goats give her. Suddenly instead of being uncomfortable in the sweltering home, I was reveling in the God moment, the sights, the sounds, the feelings that I would treasure forever, the knowledge that God was making a difference here. We allowed Him to use us to do His work and help His children. The Holy Spirit opened our eyes and our hearts and showed us order in the midst of disorder, joy in the midst of material poverty, beauty instead of ugliness, freedom and peace instead of pain. We saw Jesus. We witnessed Holy Spirit transformation.
With the gifts of the Holy Spirit, Food for His Children
volunteers and staff come together to form the body of Christ. Working together, God uses us to transform, not
just individuals or families, but communities drawing together to help each
other and share what they are learning.
The Holy Spirit is working through God’s people to be the hands and feet
of Jesus and use their spiritual gifts for God’s glory. As 1 Corinthians 12:11 states, it is the one
and only Holy Spirit who distributes these gifts. Food for His Children starts with the
individual and the Holy Spirit transforms generations.
Of course, the Holy Spirit doesn’t just work in Africa . This
message would not be complete without bringing it home and talking to those who
are going through or who have experienced transformation.
Transformation is a process and often makes us squirm. Holy Spirit transformation is almost never without some
level of discomfort, or "stretching" as many say.
In fact, sometimes it’s downright painful, excruciating even. Envision, if you will, sunburned skin. First it blisters, then it bursts and
peels. Sometimes the layers just slough
off like flakes, sometimes they peel off in painful sheets. When we experience transformation, the Holy
Spirit is peeling layers off of us. He
is peeling
off layers for crying out loud, what do we expect but pain?! But do you know what? Under all those layers is something amazing
and beautiful. In fact, with every layer
we shed, more and more beauty is revealed.
We may have periods with lots of layers shed and periods of
healing and rest. We can fight it and hold on to the dead layers and prolong
the process, or we can choose to submit to the Holy Spirit completely, not just
on our knees, but laying flat on our face at the foot of the cross in complete
surrender, offering every bit of our spirit to Him to change as He wills. When we do this, the Holy Spirit works
miracles in us.
Let’s talk about Jesus for a moment. Jesus’s transformation certainly wasn’t without pain. When He was being flogged and beaten, he
didn’t fight back. When he was they hung him on a cross he didn’t command them
to stop. He didn’t even speak. He didn’t stop it Himself.
He didn’t ask God to stop it. He
submitted. He surrendered completely to
the pain, trusting that God the Father had it all under control and that
something beautiful was coming. He was
willing to endure whatever he needed because he believed and trusted God. And Jesus was transformed.
TRANSFORMED! And look at the
impact of his surrender, his transformation!
The savior of the world was revealed for all to see. Unimaginable beauty. Indescribable love and glory.
If you are in one of those seasons, you need to hear that God has NOT forsaken you. He has not left you. He is right there by your side. If needed, he will even carry you through the fire. He will not let you perish. AND He has a plan. He will be with you as your wounds heal. He WILL use this for His glory. And He needs you to know He loves you so very much and can see how much you are hurting. He has not missed a minute of it and there was not a moment that didn’t pain Him.
Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God. He will be waiting for you on the other side
of the fire, mirror in hand, to show you the beauty that was revealed. You will be refined, just like when precious
metals are put through the fire to be refined. We have seen the Spirit at work in Tanzania and in the lives of individuals.
The Heart of a Child
We received this email recently from 11 year-old Kiera. Her love and compassion for the families in Tanzania is inspiring!
December 16, 2012
Jambo (hello) Kerrie!
My friend, Rebekah, and I host a monthly Bible study for nine 11 year-old girls. We enjoy doing service projects, and thought raising money for Food For His Children would be a great idea. We decided to make our goal $200. That meant that each of us had to raise $25 on our own.
For our December meeting, we went caroling to raise even more money. When we counted the donations, we had exactly $300! :) We raised $90 just while caroling.
The girls were really creative about how they raised the money. One of them did extra chores around the house, another girl held a class on candy making, and some gave selflessly from their own savings.:)
We hope the money raised can help families in Tanzania support themselves.
Mungu Akabariki! (God bless you)
--
Your Sister in Christ,
Kiera♥
A special Thank You to all the girls for their hard work and service! If you or your group has a fundraising idea, we'd love to hear it! Contact us by visiting: www.FoodforHisChildren.org
December 16, 2012
Jambo (hello) Kerrie!
My friend, Rebekah, and I host a monthly Bible study for nine 11 year-old girls. We enjoy doing service projects, and thought raising money for Food For His Children would be a great idea. We decided to make our goal $200. That meant that each of us had to raise $25 on our own.
For our December meeting, we went caroling to raise even more money. When we counted the donations, we had exactly $300! :) We raised $90 just while caroling.
The girls were really creative about how they raised the money. One of them did extra chores around the house, another girl held a class on candy making, and some gave selflessly from their own savings.:)
We hope the money raised can help families in Tanzania support themselves.
Mungu Akabariki! (God bless you)
--
Your Sister in Christ,
Kiera♥
A special Thank You to all the girls for their hard work and service! If you or your group has a fundraising idea, we'd love to hear it! Contact us by visiting: www.FoodforHisChildren.org
Mission Trip 2012: Divine Appointments
November 5 Jublate was there waiting however the District Commissioner was not there yet. We waited for almost 2 hours.
About 12:30 the District Commissioner arrived. We waited a bit more and then were invited into his office. He said he could not come with us to Bassodawish. While I pondered other options for arranging this, Honorina (our Program Manager) respectfully tried to convince him by telling him about the people who were gathered there waiting for him. He asked how many goats were in the project. After hearing the number in Bassodawish, he said he would go and that he would bring his photographer and video man as well so it could be on tv. Go God!
So we headed off to Bassodawish with the District Commissioner (DC) and Mayor Jublate. There were 27 recipient families waiting for us with their goats. What a sight to see! I was able to hold a couple baby goats while there. The DC spoke to the group and had each of us: Pastor Kessy, Honorina, myself and the village commissioner, speak as well. All on video which will be aired on tv today or tomorrow. Did I mention that already?!?
Pastor Kessy and Honorina told me that the DC had very good things to say about the program on the video that was taken. It should be good publicity for us. He also mentioned that if anyone tries to come against us, we just need to inform him and he will take care of it.
After that Jublate wanted to show us and the DC his farm which was not far. The farm has bananas, coffee and a fruit I have seen only once in the US. He has a restal house, sort of like a country cabin, that he uses only on weekends. He said we can use it when we are in Tanzania for 2 weeks, free of charge. Not sure if he was serious or not, but I’ll take him up on it! It was nice with 1 or 2 bedrooms.
While we were at Mayor Jublate's farm, the DC invited Honorina and I to have dinner at his home tomorrow. Not sure what the discussion will entail, but what an honor! He also invited us to meet with him and the villagers on the 8th and mentioned that the President of Tanzania may be there. Upon further discussion, it was decided we will not attend the meeting on the 8th because the President will likely not be in the Karatu district until later in November. It sounds as though the DC wants to arrange for the President to be go to Bassodawish to see what Food for His Children is doing in Tanzania. As part of that request, he would like all the recipients and himself to have a ‘Give goat, Pass it on" tee shirt.
Total time with the District Commissioner, probably 2 ½ hours- but very productive!
After leaving Jublate’s farm, Honorina and I went back to Bassodawish to meet with the families a bit longer. In the Bassodawish Project only 4 families still need to complete their goat sheds. Gwandu is the chairperson of the Bassodawich project's committee. He and his 7 children are also goat recipients. Gwandu shared that once he has more goats, he has 7 now, he will sell them and use the money to send his children to school and maybe help other families also.
After all the Bassodawish meetings, we headed back to Karatu and had a very late lunch at 5pm. William, our driver while we are here, as it turns out, is the son of a member of Parliament, a politician in the Ngorongoro area and has a bachelor’s degree in Project Management and Community Development. He previously worked for Willy Chambulo managing one of his lodges. He decided to take a year off before he pursues his master’s degree in the above.
I watched God do many things today. He was in charge and we will continue to wait for him to arrange things. We are praying that the District Commissioner will offer land to us for the Development Center that we can register in our name instead of having on loan.
-Written from the Karatu District of Tanzania by Founder Kerrie Holschbach
Agriculture Training
Did you know....
Food For His Children is so much more than goats!
Meet Mohamed Marusu. He is a resident Tanzanian who has been in leadership with FFHC since 2008 as Agriculture Specialist. As a community development organization, our focus is on improving
the whole community by enlisting local residents.
In addition to dairy goats we also support families through veterinary and agriculture training. Our goal is for families to be able to fully provide for themselves apart from assistance. Marusu is well versed
in modern agricultural practices and conducts trainings for residents so they can learn ways to improve crop production. In this rural society families
live off the land, that is they eat what they are able to grow.
Frequent droughts have made growing crops more difficult. When this
happens families have to purchase high priced foods from the market. For widows,
the elderly, disabled, or orphaned earning the equivalent of a few
dollars a day this poses a great hardship. The dairy goats provide needed nutrition in the form of milk and the agriculture trainings will help their farming more effective. Strategies being implemented are land contouring and fertilizing with goat manure.
In March 2012 Marusu led trainings for each of the 10 villages FFHC serves.
In the village of Karatu land contouring was demonstrated. Contouring the land reduced erosion and improves crop production. This contour was constructed on the grounds of our of our church partners. Elephant grass was then planted. The grass is a hearty plant that is food for the dairy goats. By working together, the information the people learned at the training will enable them to improve their farming practices at their home farms.
In addition to contouring demonstrations the villages were also given seeds to plant. 45 families were in need of seeds and were able to begin planting. We pray for plentiful rains and a bountiful harvest this year.
Food For His Children is so much more than goats!
In March 2012 Marusu led trainings for each of the 10 villages FFHC serves.
In the village of Karatu land contouring was demonstrated. Contouring the land reduced erosion and improves crop production. This contour was constructed on the grounds of our of our church partners. Elephant grass was then planted. The grass is a hearty plant that is food for the dairy goats. By working together, the information the people learned at the training will enable them to improve their farming practices at their home farms.
In addition to contouring demonstrations the villages were also given seeds to plant. 45 families were in need of seeds and were able to begin planting. We pray for plentiful rains and a bountiful harvest this year.
A New Vision: Development Center and Goat Farm
Not far from the famed Ngorogoro Crater, one of the premier safari stops, and down the road from the tourist resort called The Farmhouse, lies a 40 acre plot of land. It lies uselues... for now.
Imagine… Sheds built by community members will house goats in one corner of the land. These sheds will serve as models for families waiting to receive their goat. They will learn what is needed to build a proper structure. The goats will be raised in a controlled environment under the care of a skilled veterinarian. Breeding the goats onsite will eliminate travel time needed to purchase goats suitable for program recipients. FFHC is introducing a pure hybrid dairy goat that is capable of producing twins and 1 1/2 liters of milk each day when properly taken care of. The goat farm will serve as a model for others to learn from.
Imagine… part of the land cultivated for farm land where food for the goats will be grown. Those who work the land at the farm will be taught modern farming practices by the agriculture specialist which will improve crop production and reduce harm to the environment. This knowledge they will be able to take back to their personal farms.
These are just a few dreams FFHC leadership have been dreaming for the last year and a half. Many of these things are happening on a smaller scale right now. The location of the proposed land is in a location central to all of the project sites and will allow for trainings and modeling to be available to a larger number of people. The idea was met with applause in meetings with local leaders and program recipients alike during a November 2011 trip. Tired faces perked up, ideas began to flow. A perfect solution for some of the challenges that are being faced.
God has already put things in motion to make this dream a reality. Watch for updates and ways that you can be involved!
Imagine… Sheds built by community members will house goats in one corner of the land. These sheds will serve as models for families waiting to receive their goat. They will learn what is needed to build a proper structure. The goats will be raised in a controlled environment under the care of a skilled veterinarian. Breeding the goats onsite will eliminate travel time needed to purchase goats suitable for program recipients. FFHC is introducing a pure hybrid dairy goat that is capable of producing twins and 1 1/2 liters of milk each day when properly taken care of. The goat farm will serve as a model for others to learn from. 
Imagine… part of the land cultivated for farm land where food for the goats will be grown. Those who work the land at the farm will be taught modern farming practices by the agriculture specialist which will improve crop production and reduce harm to the environment. This knowledge they will be able to take back to their personal farms. 
Imagine… a building with large meeting rooms where people from different villages and of differing faith backgrounds could gather together to learn about basic veterinary care and breeding for their goats and attend bible studies to hear about Jesus, maybe for the first time.
Imagine… another building housing a a dairy processing plant where families can come to learn new ways to use the milk they are getting from their goats such as cheese, yogurt, and soap. These items would also be for sale to the passing tourists- chai tea made with goat milk is delicious!
Imagine… a gift shope where place where villagers could come to sell their handmade products such as pottery, jewelry, baskets, mats, shoes, and other items.
These are just a few dreams FFHC leadership have been dreaming for the last year and a half. Many of these things are happening on a smaller scale right now. The location of the proposed land is in a location central to all of the project sites and will allow for trainings and modeling to be available to a larger number of people. The idea was met with applause in meetings with local leaders and program recipients alike during a November 2011 trip. Tired faces perked up, ideas began to flow. A perfect solution for some of the challenges that are being faced.
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