A Day in The Life: Seth Diemond

The girls make it easy- their smiles, their laughs, their ambition to better themselves and the world around them, their strange choice of times to come to for advice (like when you are at the busiest point of the day and they want to talk about something).

The challenges of living in Tanzania- and there are many (most of them you can't understand until you have lived here, like watching the "loading" circle around and around again on the computer screen when you are trying to send an email to no avail)- make it hard. Chris, Kayci, Amanda, and all of the other JBFC employees make it inspiring- each and every day here. The many guests and volunteers make it both entertaining and are reminders of all of the good in the world.

With that said, you would think I have been at JBFC, Kitongo, for a year, maybe more. And it certainly feels that way sometimes. After living here for a month, getting to know the girls, spending time and working hand in hand with JBFC's staff, and meeting so many wonderful guests, I can honestly say that this month has been one of the most exciting, busiest, inspiring, exhausting, fruitful, frustrating, and, most importantly, best months of my more than four years in Tanzania.

To try to explain it all in one blog post would be impossible as any one who has ever been here can vouch for. I wake up each morning at 6:00am to the burning red sun rising slowly over Lake Victoria in stark contrast to the softer, cooler colors of the early morning sky. It is in that moment that I am reminded of how lucky I am for the day to come.

Within an hour, I will be walking the short distance from my shared house with Kayci, JBFC's Assistant Director, to the girls' house where I start my daily morning rounds. A sleepy Yonga, or Eliza, or Julie, or Rose, or Teddy, or Neema (maybe all of them), will greet with the traditional Tanzanian "Shikamoo Mr. Seth" as a sign of respect. I'll greet them with "Marahaba," and ask them how their morning is going. Such a simple exchange of greetings with the JBFC girls is enough to give me more energy for the day than any amount of coffee ever could (and Kayci, as well as Chris, make really, really, really, good coffee!).

On to Joseph and Mary Primary School, the second stop on my morning round, and I find Mr. Samo in the Head Master's office, hard at work before any students or other faculty have arrived. We greet each other, Mr. Samo in Enlgish and me in Swahili, before we both realize that I have broken the "no Swahili at school rule" and start laughing about the 2,000 Tanzanian Shillings (about $1.20) fine that I will have to pay as an administrator. As the other teachers trickle in to the office to sign in and students begin to gather in the courtyard for morning assembly, another simple thought energizes me for the day- here is a school where the teachers are as enthusiastic and ambitious as the students.


As the students begin their assembly, as they do every morning, their singing gets more and more faint at my back as I reach the storage shed in the middle of our campus. I find Mzee Kitula, JBFC's Campus Manager, marching around both calm and frantic at the same time with three pieces of paper in his hand and looking
and taking in three directions. The amazing thing about Mzee Kitula, who isn't exactly a young man, is that he has as much energy at 7:30AM when he arrives at work as he does at 7:30PM when he leaves. After greeting Mzee Kitula in the local Sukuma tribal language, a language that I am still making an effort
to pick up, Mzee Kitula instantly jumps into the three bazillion things that need attention before 8:00AM. Great, just a half hour away, and then there will be three bazillion more things.

It is at this time, nearly every day, that I realize "this is it." This is a place where, though not everything always goes according to plan and by no means is it perfect, every person, from founder Chris Gates to Bibi (grandmother) Nyamalwa, gives what they can on a daily basis and has one common goal; let's
work together to give these girls, as well as the JBFC community in general, a better shot at life. Despite the headaches, the challenges, the awkward (and sometimes long) hours, the strange and unexpected aspects of the job, etc., I can't imagine myself happier than I am here in Kitongo and I am certainly looking forward to continuing to grow into this position, continuing to develop relationships with the JBFC girls and staff members, and continuing to welcome all of the amazing guests and volunteers who come to see JBFC's work here in Kitongo. Yes, the girls, and I suppose the staff, make it easy (especially the smiles).

Seth Diemond is JBFC's Campus Director. He has lived in Tanzania working for NGO's for four years. He joined the JBFC team in May.

JBFC Joins the "Global Table Adventure"

The Global Table Adventure is “the ultimate stovetop travel experience” - 195 meals from 195 different countries prepared and eaten over 195 weeks. Sasha Martin is the Tulsa blogger, mother, and foodie behind the adventure. She recently featured food from JBFC’s home of Tanzania and she featured some of our girls cooking on her website.

Here’s an interview with Sasha about her blog, the food, and her new found appreciation for Tanzanian cooking. Sasha took some time out of her busy cooking and blogging schedule to talk JBFC's Director of Development, Ashli Sims, about food, Tanzania, and the new international connection between a couple of girls on two different continents.

Ashli: First of all, you’ve been doing 

this for 175 weeks – more than three years – how did you come up with the idea?

Sasha: Basically, there were three things happening all at the same time. I was really missing travel. I saw 12 countries before I was 18. And here I was a new mom and I didn’t have the financial means to travel. And I was thinking, “What could I do to still experience other cultures?” Also, my daughter was seven months old and just starting to eat solid foods. My husband was very picky – he didn’t know what eggplant was. I was a little afraid my daughter would copy his eating habits. Those three issues percolated until it hit me that something had to be done – so I thought a meal from every country in the world. It became like a game.

Ashli: On your website, you say the Global Table is a place where we can “share the one thing that unites us and drives our individuality – food.” That’s such a wonderful way to think about global cuisine. How did you develop that philosophy about what you’re doing and have you felt more globally connected over the last three years?

Sasha: I do feel really connected. As the project has moved along, it’s amazing how many people I have run into who have connections to different countries. And they’re really excited to share what makes their culture theirs. A lot of them are live right here in Tulsa. I thought I was missing out on culture because I couldn't travel, but really Tulsa has it all. My eyes just weren't open. A woman in a department store was from Belarus and she helped me cook borscht. Another lady from my daughter's play group, appeared Indian, and turns out she was half Finnish. I was doing Finland that week and I invited her back to my house to help with them meal. I’m feeling more connected globally and locally.

Ashli: Recently, you took on Tanzania. This video not only includes you talking about your Tanzanian cooking experience, but a couple of special guest stars. Tell us how the JBFC girls got invited – virtually speaking – to your global table?

Sasha: It all comes back to neighbors. Jonathan Wooley (Sasha’s neighbor and a freelance

Wooley shooting in Tanzania

videographer/editor who has collaborated with JBFC on the documentary "Little by Little" and numerous short videos featured on Youtube) and I have gotten to know each other over the years. We got to talking and he told me about his film work with JBFC. Jonathan said he could shoot some of the girls cooking to help me with our meal. He grabbed the footage and we went over to their house and he showed us all. Watching the footage, it felt like we were right there in Tanzania. It was a great help as I was putting the meal together – little things about how thin I should cut the spinach – I could look on the video. It was nice to see you don’t have to worry quite so much about measuring. That they said hi to Ava – was just so sweet.

Ashli: For your Tanzania meal, you cooked Kisamvu, a JBFC favorite. This is also what the girls are cooking in the video. What did you think about their cooking techniques, compared with your own?

Sasha: It was amazing! Sometimes they used a cutting board, but often they would just cut tomatoes in their hand. Even something like the variable heat they were cooking over was a stark contrast to how we cook here, in the west. They’re adding wood to the burner as the coals burn down. It was an important lesson - In Tanzania the food is ready, when it’s ready. The meal came together pretty quickly, but it was a lot of chopping and washing of spinach. I think we’ve lost a lot of how cooking can be social. We’re in such a hurry. We forget if we’re chopping for 30 minutes we can also be gabbing with our husband, daughter, or brother.

Ashli: How did the Tanzanian fare, stack up against the other 175 countries you’ve done so far?

Sasha: I really enjoyed it <Kisamvu>. It goes really nicely with the peanut butter and the vegetables. Jonathan says my version was not as heavy with the peanut butter as he had in Tanzania. So maybe next time I’ll add a little bit more. It’s kind of like a creamed spinach with a peanutty flavor. I would recommend it as a nice side dish. Especially if they get bagged, chopped spinach, it’s an easy weeknight side dish that you could serve with chicken or just rice. I love that it is vegan. (Click here for the recipe Sasha used.)

Ashli: What did your family think of Kisamvu? Did Ava like it? What did she think of the shout-out from 8,000 miles away?

Sasha: Peanut butter is one of Mr. Picky’s <Sasha’s husband’s> favorites, so that kind of guaranteed

success for him. Ava wasn’t eating at first, but she wanted to be in the picture. And I told her the picture was for people who were trying the food. I thought she would just take one bite, but she ate several spoonfuls and seemed to like it.

Ava and I really loved the video of the JBFC girls. She just said, “Oh!” and smiled and giggled. I said, “Do you know what they said?” And she said, “Ava.” It was really sweet. And little kids of course notice everything. And there was a little girl at the bottom of the screen, who didn’t say anything. Ava pointed her out and said, “She’s shy.” (Editor's Note: The "shy" girl in the video is Esther, JBFC's youngest girl.)

On October 12, 2013, Sasha Martin is celebrating the culmination of her journey around the world through food by hosting a Global Table Celebration in Tulsa. Click here for details. 

JBFC's Star Students

We've reached the mid-point in JBFC's school year. Our students at Joseph & Mary have been hard at work trying to maintain our reputation for having 100% of our students passing the Tanzania national exam - a title we've held for two years in a row.

To encourage and inspire, Joseph & Mary's Headmaster, Samo Matiko, with a little help from some JBFC volunteers from the US, honored the top three students in each class with mid-year awards. In a school of nearly 300 primary and secondary students, quite a few JBFC kids earned high marks.


And the winners are....

JBFC Girls rule 3rd Grade! All three top spots went to JBFC's residential girls. 

We have high hopes for these young ladies.

 Zai, 1st Place

 Rachel, 2nd Place

Salome, 3rd place

4th grade: Laurencia, 1st place 

Lau not only won first in her class, but also aced her mock national exam, placing first.

5th grade: Danny, 3rd place

The JBFC boys are also showing off their big brains.

6th grade: Leticia, 2nd place

Form 2: Saleh, 1st Place

Imelda, 3rd Place

Congratulations to all of our star students!

Thank you so much to Ashley Miller of Ashmillphotography for the beautiful photos of Rachel, Salome, Lau, Danny, & Imelda.

JBFC First Impressions: Amanda Winge, Guest Coordinator

After arriving at JBFC late at night, the first surprise of the trip came in the morning when I was able to see the extent of the campus in the daylight. It was difficult for me to imagine the 60 acre campus prior to arriving, but even after touring around I still couldn't believe how wide spread the campus was and how every inch of the land is being used to benefit the children in one capacity or another. 

The residential home and school are beneficial in obvious ways, but the campus is also full of livestock which can be used as food or sold in local markets, gardens which provide produce for the home and restaurant, and even many new construction projects which all aim at improving the functionality of the campus. Everything is geared toward helping the children.

I was not surprised that the first guests of the season were so eager to help out and start working. They were in a new place, adrenaline pumping, and ready to quickly jump on any task. What did surprise me was that two weeks into their stay, they had the same level of enthusiasm that they did upon their arrival. The work that the guests help with is not always easy nor is it glamorous. Sometimes a lot of physical labor is required and in the Tanzanian sun, basic tasks can become grueling day-long  jobs. What has amazed me and continues to amaze me as new volunteers arrive, is their earnest desire to be of assistance in whatever way possible.

Just as every inch on the campus aims at contributing to JBFC's cause, so too are the volunteers with their spirit, which makes my job of working with the guests that much more enjoyable. It's wonderful to work with people who really want to help out and who you can tell, are truly passionate about the children of JBFC.

Guest blogger Amanda Harris is JBFC's Guest Coordinator for Summer 2013. She's chronicling her first visit JBFC's campus. For more information about volunteering at JBFC, click here.

The Volunteer Experience: New to JBFC

What an incredible month. It’s strange to think that my big Africa trip is coming to a close as I wait to board my plane from Dubai to JFK. Time in Tanzania passes in a very strange and confusing way. The days are incredibly long, but the weeks passed by very quickly. During the day, it seems as if time tends to stand still, but all of a sudden, a month has gone by and it’s time to head home.

Katie, Biz, Cara and I arrived at JBFC on May 7th and thought we would never make it through a month. We were overwhelmed, exhausted, and experiencing a bit of culture shock. As with every trip of this sort, after a few days, we found our rhythm, solidified a routine, and overcame the jetlag. The JBFC campus became familiar and the guesthouse felt like home (we even felt threatened when new guests invaded our turf… but we learned to get along and enjoy their company… and movie collection.)

I honestly went into this trip with no idea what to expect. Everything seemed vague and up in the air, but it

didn’t matter, because I was so excited. I do admit, the first few days in Tanzania, I started to think, “What am I doing here?” I felt outside of my comfort zone, I felt overwhelmed, I felt awkward and out of place. As Chris began to explain to Cara and me what he wanted us to do with the teachers, I definitely became anxious. Cara and I felt like we were overstepping a boundary and intruding on something in which we had no right. How could the two of us, as college students, have anything valuable to offer to these teachers? And more than that, what gave us the right to swoop in and tell them what they are doing wrong after a week of observation. And then there was the overwhelming question that we faced…How in the world can we make a difference?

But in the end, it turned out very well. Cara and I did have knowledge worth sharing, and there were so many conversations worth having. We approached it as an idea share, not a lecture. We became confident in what we knew and what we have had the opportunity to learn in Peabody. But we also became interested in and aware of issues that we haven’t come across before this trip. No education system is perfect. Not one. Every system has its issues, whether it be resources, funding, testing, or quality.

In our discussion of student engagement, we realized how difficult it is for these teachers to teach critical thinking to their students when they were never taught or encouraged to think critically. Many of these teachers brought up the idea of a lack of resources, but once we started talking, they started to think outside the box, something they haven’t been pushed to do yet. I mentioned in an earlier post that the chemistry teacher used one of my ideas. To teach his students electron configurations, he took them outside, formed circles, and let them represent electrons with their bodies. And the best part about it was his excitement in teaching this way. These teachers have a desire to change the education system in Tanzania, and I was inspired by their grace and acceptance in the aspect of trying something new.

And while the teacher development aspect of the trip is technically why we went, I know I got so much more out of this experience. Just as I’ve found in my travels to Guatemala, the connections with the people mean the most. Spending time with the girls in the orphanage was just another experience that has shown me the resilience of people and the amazing children around the world that have faced so many horrible challenges, yet they have the ability to forgive, appreciate, and trust when they have every right to want to hate, give up, and hide themselves from the world around them. The trials and challenges that these girls have gone through has forced many of them to mature beyond their years. Because of this, they hold onto their responsibilities and independence. But at JBFC, they also have a chance to exhibit the amazing resilience of a child.

At JBFC, these girls gain back the childhood, that for reasons unknown and unfair, they had taken away. These girls have an opportunity to thrive, to learn, to be healthy, to love, and to be loved. While they might not know it, I can confidently say that each and every one of the girls at JBFC has impacted the life of at least one volunteer. These girls are truly amazing and I consider it a privilege to have spent a month with them.

And once again, just like the first time I went to Guatemala, and caught this volunteer/travel bug that I can’t seem to get rid of, I know I have to go back. I’m not sure how, but I will get back to Tanzania.

Guest blogger, Hannah Woodward, is a rising senior at Vanderbilt University, majoring in Elementary Education. She visited JBFC for a month with her classmates, Cara Dennen, Elizabeth Little and Katie Moran.