A JBFC Christmas

It all begins with cooking, as do most Christmases around the world. For days leading up to the big day, we cook and cook and cook.

Biscuits for the Christmas brunch-check

Rolls for the dinner- check
Egg Casseroles (will all those pans fit in the oven?)-check
Bread torn and drying for the dressing- check
88 pounds of potatoes purchased- check

15 chickens slaughtered-check
Enough fresh spinach picked from our garden to fill a room- check

Needless to say, it is quite the process and takes several days. But, all this prep is done to make an already special day a little more special for our family; our whole family- including our girls, guests, matrons, scholarship students, staff, and many of their families. In the end, nearly 90 people join us for the Christmas dinner. And this year, not only did we have guests from the States, but we had an entire family of six from Austria join in the celebration!

The celebration, as it has for many years past, starts with a Christmas brunch, where we serve biscuits and gravy, jam, and an egg casserole. Normally, this brunch is just a time of gathering and a way to get really full so we only have to cook two meals (I am not as accustomed to cooking for as many people as our matrons are- and on Christmas, it is on me!)

However, this year’s brunch included a special surprise under our Mango Christmas tree- a handmade Christmas dress for every single JBFC girl made by the seamstresses of the Sims family. Joyce Sims, mother of our development director Ashli Sims, decided she wanted to do something special for the JBFC girls back in July. She recruited her mother, sisters, youngest daughter, and friends to help with the project – some donated fabric, others donated their time and sewing skills. And together they made 43 unique dresses, each tailor made for one of our girls, and all done in time for me to carry them to Tanzania in November. This act of kindness prompted other Christmas surprises for the JBFC girls, but I’m getting ahead of myself. As the girls opened their carefully wrapped, brand new dresses, made just for them, shrills filled the room and a smile filled the face of absolutely every single girl.

The time in between the two meals is spent prepping, yet again. Cut and spice the chickens, put the ingredients for the dressing together, boil the potatoes, mash the potatoes. The list goes on and on. And then, the big party descends upon us. As we lay the food out on the table, the gifts and stocking for each girl lie under our Mango Christmas Tree, and the Christmas music plays as our guests come in, it starts to finally feel like Christmas- even when it is 80 degrees outside!



Since the food is hot, and we haven’t eaten since our big brunch, we start with the buffet. Little girls first, followed by the others, then our guests, staff, etc. After what seems like half an hour, everyone has a plate and the room is silent. But, days and days of prep disappear in minutes and all that is left is a pile of dirty plates and some mashed potatoes- yes, we made far too many, AGAIN!

After everyone is belly-up, we have a prayer service featuring readings about Christmas and songs sung by our a capella choir- Silent Night in Swahili, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and Jingle Bell Rock.


Then, it is gift time, the time we have been waiting for all day. Everyone gets a gift- from our staff, to scholarship kids, and of course, our girls! Each one of our girls starts with the stockings, filled with things from Austria, New York, and Tulsa. Two JBFC Board Members, Kristin Bender and Cathy Herrin, had 43 small purses made to match the girls Christmas dresses. And our girls also got new jewelry from our staff and our visitors from Austria. To top it all off, everyone received brand new backpacks with the JBFC logo on it (of course, Ester’s backpack hit her at the mid-calf, but she didn’t care- it was hers)!


By 9:00, everyone is full and on their way. We look at the war zone that is my living room and kitchen and decide that cleanup can wait for another day. After all, it is Christmas, and what a great one it was!












Blogger Chris Gates is the Founder and Executive Director of JBFC.

JBFC's Green Thumbs

Here in the States, we pay a premium for farm to table cuisine at restaurants. In Tanzania, farm to table is simply a way of life. JBFC has a 35-acre farm, where we grow a variety of crops.









Thanks to the efforts of our Permaculture experts and partners - Mark Shepard, Sophie & EJ Oppenheimer - JBFC’s farm is more productive than ever before. We haven’t had to buy any produce in nearly two months. While our girls are on break from school, they’re exercising their green thumbs and helping to keep our campus in fresh produce.

 

 

The importance of our girls’ continuing education in this outdoor classroom can’t be stressed. The latest Tanzanian Economic Update released by the World Bank this month suggests that more than 4 Million Tanzanians live in extreme poverty “receiving barely enough food to survive.” The World Bank’s economic update says more than 80% of Tanzania’s poor live in rural areas, areas just like JBFC’s village of Kitongo.  

 

Encouraging education while teaching our girls innovative agriculture techniques will help them avoid the trappings of poverty that overwhelm so many people in our area.

 

And there’s nothing quite like seeing the success of growing something with their own two hands written all over their faces.


Farm Facts:

Area: 35 acres cultivated

Girl's Crops: Green peppers, hot peppers, basil, bananas, avocados, mulberry, tomatoes, carrots (just to name a few)

Last time we had to leave campus to buy produce: 2 months ago

Garden Duty: 2-3 times a week (when class is in session)

JBFC's Community Impact

Once a year, we take a step back and look at everything that we have been able to accomplish. This morning we started our 3 days of meetings to look at where we came from and where we want to go next year. However, it wasn't the things we were able to accomplish this year that impressed me most during our meetings today. It was the people who accomplished them.

At JBFC, we talk a lot about our impact on children. But the reality is we’re having an impact on an entire community… children and adults alike.

Many people don't realize we employ nearly 70 local staff members, who are led by a management team of nine. Employing these people not only benefits the entire community of Kitongo, but our continual training also empowers our staff to step into positions of leadership. Without these homegrown leaders, we wouldn’t be able to do the work we do.

Mzee Kitula (pictured on far right in the Papa's t-shirt), our campus manager, has been with JBFC for the past seven and a half years. Our
campus would not be where it is without him. He has been responsible for overseeing the construction of nearly every building on campus. His quiet authority, quality craftsmanship, and steady guidance can be seen in the physical footprint of JBFC’s campus. Mzee is one of the hardest workers I’ve ever had the privilege of working alongside.





During his time at JBFC, he has also put two of his children through college, has four kids at our very own Joseph & Mary Schools, and has two more little ones at home, ready to enter our preschool in a couple of years.

Mzee Kitula is a pretty large-scale farmer, proving for all of his own food needs from his crops. He’s taken some of the permaculture techniques we’ve put in place on JBFC’s farm and replicated them on his own property. He has been able to add land and build a second house since starting his job at JBFC. He and his wife also run a firewood and charcoal business in the village which is pretty lucrative. Our mission of alleviating extreme poverty lives within him and he continues to work day in and day out to help this community which he loves.


 Rachel is another manager who truly embodies the JBFC mission. It’s almost hard to believe Rachel

started working at JBFC 7 1/2 years ago, when she was just a teenager. She was our very first house girl. Since then she’s grown up with the organization, moving up in the ranks from house girl, to matron, to our head matron. She is the backbone of our home for 43 girls.


Sister Rachel, as is called around the home, is both disciplinarian and counselor, cook and mother, leader and friend. She does everything from making sure the girls have enough food to eat, making sure they all do their homework, juggling cooks’ schedules, and resolving skirmishes amongst the girls (with 43 girls – this is no small task).

 Beyond JBFC, Rachel is also an entrepreneur who runs a farm, where she grows food for her two younger brothers, who she raises. If that wasn’t enough, she also runs and a thrift store in our district headquarters, Magu that sells used clothes and little trinkets. Our girls are better people and have a brighter future because they have Rachel as a role model.

So, as you all look at the cute pictures of our girls, during this holiday season and throughout the year- please remember there is a team of people that support them. JBFC is a product of all of the time and effort put in by our staff here in Tanzania. We would not be able to do what we do without such a devoted staff and incredible leadership team here in Tanzania.

And you all are an important part of the team. Thank you for allowing us to employ such incredible people and for allowing us to make a difference in our community, through the employment of all these people here in Kitongo.

 

Blogger Chris Gates is JBFC's Founder & Executive Director.

Christmas in September: the Makings of a JBFC Holiday Card

Editor's Note: JBFC's Christmas card should be hitting mailboxes soon. This is the story behind the holiday cheer and just what it took to recruit Santa's little helpers.

"Girls, we need all of you to wear red for a Christmas card shoot."

Their puzzled looks said it all-- why are we talking about Christmas in September?

Despite the confusion still written all over their faces, they agreed (one of the many reasons I love my girls - they're always up for anything) and got all dressed up. Here they came, all 43 girls, in a sea of red.

They gathered on my back porch and the adults proceeded to try to make a triangle on the steps. Our attempt at a Christmas tree was fairly slow-going, shuffling giggling girls into order from tallest in back to shortest in front.

 Then, as it goes in a photo shoot, the camera came out... and all of the smiles disappeared.

Elisa Masso, a talented volunteer who is our current resident photographer, was perched on a table at the top of the stairs to get a bird's eye view.

No laughs... And no smiles.

This just wouldn't do. We needed a little holiday cheer.

So, what did I do?  Hopped up on the table to give Elisa rabbit ears.

 

Of course, it wasn't the rabbit ears that made the entire group burst into laughter. It was the fact that at any moment, we were going to come tumbling down from our wobbly table. But, after a few quick snaps, and a very careful dismount, we had some of the cutest group pictures we had taken in a while.

And, then came the silly small group photos.

We decided to "wrap" Esther, our youngest girl, up as a Christmas gift. As the youngest and the smallest, Esther, is the true baby of the family - used to being picked up, carried around, and basically getting her way (known to be tad bossy, too). But when I picked up and put her in this Christmas box, she looked at me like I'd lost my mind.

Why do I have to wear this funny Santa hat and sit in a box?

Despite little Bhoke (Santa's helper on the right), trying her hardest to make jokes and telling Esther in Swhili "do like this" and copy her big goofy grin - Esther wouldn't crack a smile.

Which just made the rest of us laugh even harder... and Shida and Bhoke, as Santa's helpers, look even more adorable.

It wasn't until we had Salome play Santa...

That we got a legitimate smile out of Esther (seated on left, first row). But I suspect it's because she thought presents were involved.

Try as we might to explain, and try as we might to show them the outcome of a hilarious photo shoot, our girls may never understand the craziness.

But, nonetheless, the photos are adorable and we hope that they bring you all a little more joy this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

*A big thank you to Elisa Masso at www.elisamariephot.com for her beautiful work!










Chris Gates is the Founder & Executive Director of JBFC.

School's Out for Summer

Ok, so we don’t actually have summer in Tanzania, but the school year has come to a close at our Joseph and Mary Schools. This past Friday, the last day of school for 2013, we held the end of school year ceremony. During the ceremony we honored the top three performers in each grade.

I was able to hand out awards to the kids with the very top marks in each class. A majority of the award winners were our JBFC girls, so I felt very proud standing up in front of the school giving out their awards. 



Leticia, 1st Place

Rachel, 1st Place

 

Neema M, 1st Place



Gertruda, 2nd Place

 
 



Zai, 1st Place

 

Kulwa, 2nd Place 



Laurencia, 1st Place

What a great accomplishment for the foundation. It was enlightening to see the top performers in each grade get excited about their awards and prizes. The prizes included pens, pencils and notebooks.

Immediately following the awards assembly, we had a meeting with the scholarship students at Joseph and Mary. These are children that don’t live here with us at JBFC, but need financial support to receive a quality education. 

We set up a work program for these guys to give a little something back to JBFC over the school

break. There was not one complaint, in fact they even seemed excited about putting in the time and doing a little manual labor over the break. But, mostly, they seemed to understand that what they are receiving in the form of education is far greater than putting in an hour a day over break.



I am just so thankful to be a part of an organization like JBFC, one that gives so many children opportunities that they otherwise would never be able to access. While I haven’t been here for all the achievements that JBFC and Joseph and Mary Schools attained this year, I am so proud of the organization. Here are some highlights:

· 100% of all of our primary students passed the national exam, continuing our winning streak. Our 4th graders passed for the fourth year in a row. And our 7th graders passed with flying colors for the third year straight.

· Our seventh graders are ranked 1st in the district, scoring the highest in our area on the national exams.

· We are able to maintain a student to teacher ratio of 14 to 1.
· Experts from high schools and colleges across the United States came in to teach globally recognized teaching methods
otherwise not available to our teachers.
· We opened the library making books available for check-out to our students and teachers.

· The new school dining hall was built and put to use by the nearly 300 students.

· We were able to provide three all-terrain wheelchairs, and build wheelchair ramps and handicapped restrooms.


· We launched the Kobos e-reader program, giving teachers and students, first ever access to e-readers.

· Agriculture classes were incorporated into school curriculum

· Fourteen scholarships provided to students outside of the JBFC girls living on campus.


These are just a few of the many accomplishments at Joseph and Mary Primary and Secondary schools for 2013. I look forward to being a part of an even more successful 2014.









Blogger Melinda Wulf is JBFC's Administrative Director.

Getting to Know the Girls

My first few months at JBFC were devoted to making sure day-to-day operations on campus were running smoothly (for anyone who has ever visited Tanzania, this can best be described as making sure things are running "as smoothly as possible"): guests were safe, healthy, and happy, the girls and employees had the resources they needed to succeed, helping Chris reduce his overburdened schedule in any way possible, and, above all, learning what life at JBFC was like.

While I was certainly able to interact with the JBFC girls on a daily basis, this left little time to actually develop close relationships with them or to really get to know them on a personal level. Over the past couple of months, I have had the wonderful opportunity to start getting to know some of these girls in a more in-depth way, and I would like to take this chance to share some of these experiences.

Elizabeth

Over the past couple of months I have spent many afternoons working on various projects with Elizabeth- a wonderful teenager who just finished Form 2 and who has a smile that lights up the entire JBFC campus. Elizabeth is one of the most curious people I have ever met- a trait that my uncle Barak taught me at a young age is an extremely valuable tool for anyone who wishes to be a life-long learner.


Through my conversations with Elizabeth, which range from Bible study, to computer training, to advice about how to navigate the social anxieties of the teenage years, to advice about how to navigate the social anxieties of being a foreigner in Tanzania, to stories about family, friends, and America, I have learned that Elizabeth has as much, if not more, to teach me, guests, and anyone else that comes her way as she does to learn. She is wise beyond her years and her wisdom helps guide her, her JBFC sisters, me, and everyone else on campus. While I have taught her phrases like "out of the blue" and it "it's my pleasure," she has taught me that the power of love, understanding and patience overcomes that of hatred, ignorance, and jealousy. While I have taught her how to open an internet browser, she has reminded me not to worry about what other people think and to live life in a moral, ethical, and nonjudgmental way. While I have taught her where Maine is, she has reminded me that "cool" is and should always be what I deem as "cool." And she has taught me that with enough time in an afternoon and a little bit of patience, anyone (including her), can type an email.

 Liku

I have learned, and I think most people may know this already, that Liku is the queen of "cool" (based on my definition, as Elizabeth always taught me to use), but I would imagine most people would see her this way, too. I have learned that Liku is one of the kindest, most hard working, and most caring people that I have come across in all of my travels in America, Tanzania, and beyond.
 It has been "my pleasure" (and most of the older girls can be found saying this now when someone tells them thank you), to be able to spend several late afternoons/early evenings drinking ginger tea with Liku and learning about her life before JBFC, what she enjoys learning about in school, reading "James and the Giant Peach," and answering questions about how/why a white American got the name "Massawe," moved to Tanzania, and ended up working at JBFC. Most of all, I have gotten to learn that beneath the surface "cool," there is a heart-warming sensitivity that Liku possesses and uses when needed to comfort anyone- sister, guest, or otherwise.

 

Neema R

While Liku might be who I consider the "Queen of Cool," Neema R. is the self-appointed "Queen of JBFC" (I was told this, and then later saw it on a poster, in a very matter-of-fact way). From my first days at JBFC, I had wondered whether Neema would ever warm up to me and allow us to have a real conversation. She would sometimes, and still does sometimes, come off as completely uninterested in talking to me. Many times when I tried to reach out to her she would say she was busy practicing football, studying, or cooking. This surprised me as during my first experience playing football (soccer) with the girls, Neema and I found ourselves playing defense together and, to me, I thought we bonded. The following day I could barely get a "hi" from her.

I've learned several things about Neema recently: first and foremost, she enjoys other peoples' sarcasm as much as she enjoys her own sarcasm. Sarcasm (and sometimes, to Chris's dismay), has allowed me to get to know Neema in a way that just three months ago I thought would never be possible. Second, her shyness is a ploy- an outlet- a way for her to simply continuing being "the queen" without having to assert herself too much (she is a natural-born leader). Lastly, football is the key. When Neema approached me asking if I could organize a football match between JBFC and Lugeye Secondary School, I told her "it would be my pleasure" to help, but that she would have to do the heavy lifting on her own. For the next couple of weeks, it truly was my pleasure to get to spend afternoons helping Neema draft letters, respond to inquiries, pick out uniforms, create a roster, assign/organize various responsibilities, and practice leadership. She will be an amazing leader someday, regardless of where she ends up.

 

Blogger Seth Diemond is JBFC's Campus Manager.