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

Development Center Phase 1

The dream started in 2009 after an exhausting day of driving many miles over gravel roads and through the bush, in the Karatu District of Tanzania.  Food For His Children (FFHC) leadership were in search of healthy hybrid goats to purchase from local farms that would be suitable for the program to offer to recipient families. After a long day, only a few were found. It took a few more days, and more volunteers, to obtain enough healthy goats to distribute to the anxious families.  The dream also took on urgency as those who had received their goats were asking for more training to be available for them.  These requested trainings were in goat care and in ways to improve crop production for their small family farms which provide most of their diet.  There was also a need expressed for families to have a place to sell their handmade goods and milk. For some, getting to the market was a long journey.

The answer to these issues and requests became more clear.  Food For His Children needs to build a Development Center and Goat Farm.  The goal is to provide the people with something that will be an asset to the community and truly make a lasting impact, something that the people have ownership over, and something that (in time) will be self-sustaining.  With these goals in mind the Development Center and Goat Farm is taking shape.   
                                                                                                                                                                    
Now, three years later, the dream is coming closer to becoming a reality.  Negotations are in motion for a proposed site which is 80 acres of land with an ideal location.  It is close to a water source, electricity, a paved road and tourist destinations.

The first phase of construction will begin with preparing the land.  Currently several small shrubs and trees are on the property.  The land will have to be cleared in preparation for use as farm land and to allow for the construction of several buildings. 

Once the land is cleared perennial plants will be planted on the farm land.  This will provide feed for the goats who will soon arrive.  Similar to other farms that FFHC has started in each project site for demonstration purposes, the construction and care of the farm will include community and goat recipient families. They will learn from our trained Agriculture Specialist who will oversee the entire project. The plants will provide feed for the goats as well as training for those who tend them.  

A guard shack will be the first building to be constructed followed by other improvements  Once the goats are brought in, 24 hour guard service will be necessary as hyenas and other animals are in this area.  A generator and lights will also be necessary at this time. The property is close to a water source and electricity but there will be some cost involved in getting these facilities going.

The next step is to construct goat sheds which will house the goats. Several simple sheds will house a few goats at a time. These sheds will be constructed under the guidance of our trained Veterinarian. They will serve as a model for what those waiting to receive their pass-on goat will be expected to construct on their own property. Larger sheds will also be constructed which will be made of more sturdy materials. Not only will they be able to house more goats at a time, they will also serve as models for the people to attain to once their herd begins to grow. They will feature hard wood construction and tin roofing.



Once their home is ready goats will be purchased.  They will be cared for by the Veterinarian.  Under ideal conditions the goats are capable of producing twins during breeding.  Recipient families will continue to learn what it takes to give their goats the best care to get maximum results from the goat they provided for them by Food For His Children.  When the goats bred on the farm are ready they will be given to families in need to expand the program.  Breeding the goats on-site will greatly reduce the cost of to distribute high quality goats to recipient families.  The milk that is produced from the goats on the farm will be processed in the creamery which is planned to be built during construction in phase 2.  Architectural drawings are being drafted to be able to better determine cost estimates for construction of larger buildings. 

Join us in this exciting time!  Please be in prayer over this process and consider making a donation to change the landscape and change lives in poverty stricken rural areas of Tanzania by visiting the website: www.FoodForHisChildren.org/Give.

Or mail to: 

Food For His Children PO Box 2261 Burnsville, MN 55337.  

If you plan to make a donation by check

please include your email address so we can send you a receipt for tax purposes

and specify "farm" in the memo line. 

Donations are tax deductible. 

I Walk for Water

 

I get up in the morning and turn on the tap.  Cool, clean water comes pouring out.  I take a shower, I brush my teeth, I make breakfast.  This is just the beginning of a day's use of water.  Water is so essential to our everyday activities and indeed our survival.  But many of us take it for granted.  What if you couldn't just turn on a tap?  What if we lived like so many in our world today who lack access to a safe water supply?  The United Nation reports that this is the case for 800 million people.  That is why safe water is one of the Millennium Development Goals.  It states a goal to "Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. 

FFHC went along with one of our program families in Tanzania as they made their daily walk for water.

The donkeys are loaded with empty containers.  Each person also carries a container to be filled with water.  They set out on together with their children and some neighbors.  Some families have to walk up to 2 hours to get water.  This family is lucky, the stream is less than a mile away though the road to get there is not an easy one.  The trip takes about an hour. 

The smooth dirt roads give way to more rocky terrain.

They make their way down the steep embankment to the river below.

The animals are watered before going further up stream.

Streams such as this one, provide water necessary for survival.  Unfortunately, it also harbors parasites and harmful bacterial.  Children are especially vulnerable to waterborne diseases.

The women fill their buckets from the same stream that watered their animals.   

 

 

 

 

 

 Children as young as 7 years old learn to carry water on their heads.  A 5 gallon bucket can weigh 30 pounds.   

 

 

The trip back home is more difficult due to the weight.  On this trip, one of the donkeys, which was pregnant, collapsed from the weight.  With no other choice, the precious water had to be dumped out. 

Villagers like this family make similar trips to streams several times a week.  Those that can afford to, make trips to community wells but must stand in long lines and pay for the water they use.  Today on World Water Day please be grateful for clean, safe water if you have it and join us in prayer for those for whom getting water is a constant struggle.  You can read more about World Water Day at www.UN.org/milleniumgoals