Why did I come to the JBFC?
Save for three years living in the Netherlands as a child, the vast majority of my life has been in spent in one small corner of the world -- Louisiana, South Carolina, and Texas due to Hurricane Katrina. I had a deep inner-desire to spread my wings to see how another corner of the world lives.
Initially, my girlfriend (Connie) and I had our hearts set on a program in the Marshall Islands; but those plans went to the way-side after a conversation with Stephanie Johnson, who thoroughly enjoyed her stay at the JBFC. After sharing Stephanie's pictures, videos, and stories of the girls, our hearts were reset.
"We came for the girls, but we love it because of all of the people who make it all happen."
After dealing with Mwanza, the girls, the opening
of the restaurant, visiting groups, safaris, cars breaking down, and countless
other stories, I couldn't have asked for a more eventful first two months. On
paper my role here is to watch over the student groups that come through as the
guest coordinator, but anyone who has volunteered here will tell you that we
all have to contribute many different roles in order to keep the ship on course.
Connie says she is just an art teacher, but she has been so much more.
We came for the girls, but we love it because of all the people who make it all happen. Chris, Kris, Kayci, and the rest of the staff welcomed us in with open arms and working with them has been a pleasure. If the rest of our tenure here is half as fun as the beginning, we will surely continue having the time of our lives.
George Landrum
JBFC Guest Coordinator
