2016: The Year in Review

This past year not only celebrated our tenth anniversary as an organization, but was also one of major transitions. It was the first year JBFC Founder and CEO, Chris Gates, and his family were not on campus in Tanzania, the year that our first set of Joseph and Mary Secondary School graduates were out on their own and moving into higher education, and the JBFC family added 6 new faces to its residential girl program. These transitions were all needed in order for our operations to grow and expand, and while we are anxious for 2017 to start, we would like to take a moment and look back on some of the highlights from this amazing year.

* JBFC turned TEN in March! The entire month was full of celebrations at various restaurants in Tulsa, but March 6th was our official birthday. We celebrated with a party at The Tropical here in Tulsa, and celebrations in Tanzania!

REFUGE


* The JBFC family grew to 52 residential girls. This year saw us take in Rehema (age 15), Samida (age 12), Salma (age 6), Vero (age 14), Lufina (age 7), and Vero T (age 11). We could not be happier to have these new additions to our family!

* The JBFC Girls' Government entered its third year, proving that this is an actual program with a mission, outcomes, and a real impact on the overall organization.

* The JBFC residential girls and matrons began self-defense lessons. JBFC was one of only five non-profit organizations chosen to participate in a pilot program to bring self-defense training to girls in the Mwanza region of Tanzania.










EDUCATION

* Joseph and Mary Primary School graduated its 6th class of Primary School students - this entire class passing the Tanzanian National Exam earned JBFC's Joseph and Mary Primary School a ranking of 18th out of 8,241 schools in the COUNTRY!

* 14 out of 28 Class of 2015 graduates moved on to Advanced Secondary (Form 5), including 3 of JBFC's residential girls, with many of the other graduates moving on the various higher education programs as well.

* Joseph and Mary Secondary School graduated its 2nd class of Secondary School students - 17 graduates including 4 of JBFC's residential girls.

* 2 Career Days were hosted by the Office of Student Development, with 6 guest speakers coming to speak to the Secondary School students about a variety of careers.

* 2016 saw the implementation and continued success of the Family Literacy Program.


HEALTHCARE

* JBFC launched its inaugural "Trek Tanzania" walk-a-thon to raise funds for our clinic. Supporters in Tulsa and around the United States walked well-over the 89,480 steps it would take to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, and raised over $30,000 for our healthcare clinic!

* JBFC's new nurse, Gertrude, was hired earlier in the fall. Prior to going to nursing school, she taught Physics, Chemistry, and Biology at a private school, where she was also a dorm matron. After completing nursing school, she worked in a pediatric ward at a hospital!

* New hand-washing stations have been installed at the dining halls on campus. Hand-washing stations and dish-drying racks have also been installed at Bibi Mimi's Girls' Home, which will greatly improve sanitation around campus.





AGRICULTURE

* The JBFC Farm has averaged over 1,700 pounds of vegetables each month, with a monthly record of 3,891 pounds of vegetables in November!

* Two community-based permaculture seminars and two-school based seminars were held this year.

* The first Tanzanian-led community permaculture seminar taking place.

SUPPORTERS

* Gretchen Scott Designs from Bronxville, New York donated hundreds of brightly-colored tunics, shirts, and dresses to our residential girls and matrons.

* JBFC received a $30,000 grant from the Segal Family Foundation, who support organizations cultivating healthy, productive, and empathetic youth.

* The U.S. Office saw lots of wonderful volunteers come into the office throughout the year, racking up 420 volunteer hours!

* JBFC launched new curriculum partnerships with 2 schools in the U.S.

* Joseph and Mary students have Pen Pals from 5 different schools across the country.

* Over 150 volunteers came to our campus in Tanzania during 2016, including several new school partners. We are so grateful for all our supporters and friends, old and new! We hope to see you again next year!

There is still time to join us in our end-of-year campaign.

Click here to donate to our Annual Appeal and your contribution will be matched up to $25,000!

Thank you for your continued support of our mission. We hope everyone has a happy and safe New Year's and we look forward to great things in 2017!

JBFC Transformations: From Guest to Leader

Editor’s Note: This week’s blogger is Travis Purser, Tulsa, OK, who first came to JBFC as a volunteer and now is the organization’s latest full-time employee.


When I made the decision to come to JBFC, I was unsure what I would be doing; how long I would stay; and if volunteering in Tanzania was really what I was looking for. I left my hometown in Oklahoma and boarded an international flight last December with only the hope that maybe I could find some clue as to where I wanted my life to go.

When I arrived, the Joseph and Mary Schools had just one class remaining before the end of the year break started. So for my first task as a new volunteer at JBFC, the staff asked if I would help find activities for the girls to do over their break, to keep them both physically active, as well as, actively practicing their English, reading and math skills. For the first month, every day fellow volunteer Elisa Masso and I would take all the JBFC girls out to participate in various activities such as math lessons, reading sessions, pen pals or playing fun games like capture the flag and soccer.
To be honest, the first week was a little stressful – not knowing the girls’ names; trying to figure out how to teach long division with remainders to kids whose first language isn’t English; learning the routines of campus; and trying to adjust to Tanzanian lifestyle. 

But it didn’t take long for that stress to fade away. By week two, I was hooked.
I was taken in by everything about JBFC and Tanzania. The people, the simple lifestyle, weather, wildlife, the incredible view of Lake Victoria. But most of all, it was the 44 girls that in only one week’s time made me realize that this place is exactly the one place I want to be. 

These new relationships and connections formed gave me such a sense of peace and happiness that I started to get the feeling that I might end up sticking around for quite a while.


After about two months, Chris and the JBFC staff asked if I would like to join the team as the guest coordinator. I was extremely excited to get to be a part of the JBFC team. The job would require me to work from March through August, having a completely different role with different responsibilities. Instead of focusing my day on the JBFC girls, I focused on making sure school groups and other volunteers had a schedule of activities that would help them get the most out of their time here. I got to spend a lot of time with our guests, and so I was there to watch each guest react to the impressive development of the campus and farm, our methods for self- sustainability via solar power electricity and a solar water pump, the girls’ home and, of course, the interactions with the JBFC girls.

 The most amazing part of my job, was getting to watch first time volunteers truly understand what an amazing place this really is. Seeing guests leave transformed – knowing they have the ability to change a life for the better; that they can make a difference in someone else’s life – is one of the most gratifying experiences I have ever felt. 

That’s when I knew I wanted to find a career in non-profit organizations, whether it be JBFC or somewhere else. Well, fortunately for me JBFC is trying to replicate its model in another community in Tanzania and recently posted an opening for another campus director (Editor’s Note: Seth Diemond is JBFC’s current campus director and will be helping to develop and eventually moving to JBFC’s second site). After some thought, I decided to give it a chance and apply for the job.

After several interviews and discussions, I am humbled and honored to say that I was offered, and have chosen to take the position. Just as my roles and responsibilities changed from volunteer to Guest Coordinator, my roles and responsibilities will change again as I move to Director-in-training. I have much to learn, but am excited and motivated to do everything in my power to help JBFC continue its mission. 


JBFC has done more for me in the last 9 ½ months than I begin to explain. It has made a difference in my life. It has changed my life.

 Now with the support of the JBFC team and my friends and family, I get the chance to give back, and do everything I can, to make a difference in as many people’s lives as I can.

Thank You, JBFC!













Travis Purser is a University of Tulsa graduate. He first came to JBFC in December of 2013 as a long-term volunteer, before being hired as the Guest Coordinator for JBFC’s Summer Volunteer Program. He will now serve as Director-in-Training, preparing to fill current Seth Diemond’s (JBFC’s Current Campus Director) shoes. Purser will become the Kitongo Campus Director, when Diemond moves to Northern Tanzania to start JBFC’s second campus.

 

New Green Thumb on Campus

Guest blogger Lauren Lesch is completing her first three months at JBFC's campus in Tanzania. In this blog she describes how she took time out from her administrative duties to try her hand at farming.

I’ve been in Tanzania for three months now and most of my days consist of  running errands around campus, answering loads of emails (when there is a good internet connection), working with the Papa’s staff and doing my best to make sure things are in order.

In mid-July, I picked up a hoe (the farming utensil) for the first time and headed out to the farm with Marcus, JBFC's expert farm hand. We spent the morning planting okra and cucumber seeds, along  with a baby jackfruit tree. It was definitely hard work, back-breaking work actually, especially for a city girl that has never hurled a hoe from the ground, up over her shoulder, around her head, and back into the ground again. Marcus made it look effortless but trust me, I exerted A LOT of effort each and every time I had to dig.

The following week I was able to plant a crop from start to finish. I did not realize how much time was spent preparing the beds before you even bury the seeds. No wonder I have a hard time growing flowers and herbs in the States! First I hoed about seven rows of beds, making a rectangle that was slightly lifted off the ground. Next I dug eight holes in each bed. Afterwards I filled each hole with fertilizer, also known as goat manure. Next I had to mix the fertilizer with the dirt so that there was equal parts of each for the seeds to be planted in. And did I mention that I mixed with my HANDS! It was approaching noon at this point and the Tanzanian sun can get pretty hot so I stopped for the afternoon and came back that evening to finally plant. I water all the beds down and transplanted baby Chinese cabbage from one large bed to each individual hole so they would have their own space to deepen their roots and grow. I finished with another round of watering and called it a day.


A shower and a scrub underneath my fingernails was in order!

As hard as the work was for me, it was also very therapeutic. Since I was so new to farming, I had to really concentrate on what I was doing, making sure not to screw up. Often good intentions without attention to detail can create more work for JBFC farm staff - crooked bed lines or digging holes to small or too big, or in the wrong place just means farm workers would have to re-do all of it. I didn’t want that to be me!

Not only was it good physical exercise but also allowed me to clear my mind since I couldn’t think of anything else besides the task at hand. I felt a sense of accomplishment in the fact that I finished a project from start to finish, not knowing anything about what I was doing beforehand, but learning from our staff as we went along.

I plan to continue my work on the farm at least once a week in order to change up my daily routine and rejuvenate my mind. I am so thankful for all the new experiences I am having through JBFC especially this one!

Lauren Lesch is the assistant for JBFC's Executive Director, Chris Gates. She's from Dallas, TX, but lives at JBFC in Tanzania full time.

Volunteer Experience: Happiness in the Little Things

Editor's Note: Guest blogger, Rachel Dow, recently returned from her second trip to JBFC, where she served as an intern.


When I reflect on my time at JBFC what stands out the most is the beauty of the simplicity of life.

 From breakfast in the morning to the quiet phrase that ends prayer time at night, there is a common theme of finding happiness in the little things.

I could see this idea in tasks that I performed every day as an intern at JBFC. After waking up in the morning I found it in the quiet and peaceful start of my day that involved a delicious breakfast prepared by the mamas and eaten on the guest house porch. Then, as the work day would start I noticed it in the manner that both volunteers and JBFC staff, international and local, utilized their surroundings and had a lack of necessity for extraneous items that have become intertwined in everyday life at home.

Later, as the work day would come to a close and free time with the girls began the true beauty in this simplicity emerged. It came out in the smiles on their faces as they played with the pop top on my water bottle, the use of small stones to retrieve mangos 20 feet in the air, and the ability to make beautiful and elaborate bracelets out of nothing but simple thread. Eventually as we moved into reading buddies, dinner, and prayer time I would see it in the joy a book could bring, the use of nothing but stones, firewood, and a large pot to cook rice, and the way that one song-leader’s voice turned into a beautiful song sung by nearly 50 people.

As I look back on all of these experiences I have begun to take notice of how truly different they are from most aspects of my daily routine at home. This has really led me to question many aspects of the way that we, as a society, live in “first world” countries. So many of the things that we have grown to rely on, and that I can honestly say I can’t imagine my life in America without, are completely superfluous at the end of the day.

I believe that my ability to reflect upon these ideas is truly a privilege, and is just one of the many examples of how JBFC helps volunteers just as much as volunteers help JBFC.

Rachel Dow, Tulsa, Ok, is a rising senior at Holland Hall High School and a JBFC Ambassador. She served as an intern this summer at JBFC, helping launch the Joseph & Mary Yearbook and lending her organizational skills to JBFC's donation closet.

Seeing Clearly

In May, JBFC was fortunate to have a team of medical professionals visit our campus in Tanzania. They did dozens of health check-ups, seeing JBFC's 300 students and many of our staff members. One of those volunteers, Megan Kirkpatrick, wanted to help those who weren't seeing clearly and may not have even known it. Here are some pictures from her time at JBFC and her thoughts about her trip:

I wanted to bring eyeglasses to Tanzania because I know that 1 in 5 children have vision problems which can prevent them from learning to their fullest. Although not all of them can be corrected with glasses alone, most of them will benefit from the glasses which were brought for them.

Sunglasses are very important in Tanzania because they are so close to the equator and get intense sun exposure. Due to the increase sun exposure, sun damage to the eyes can be seen at a much earlier age. Some of the 10-year-olds we saw had severe enough sun damage that we usually don't see changes like that until patients are in their 50s.

 

 

Some girls weren't to thrilled to hear they were getting glasses, but once they received them you could see their faces light up! I was able to ask some of them how school was the next day with their glasses, and they were so thankful to have them.

 

 My experience at JBFC was wonderful! I have been on many medical trips like this before, but have never had such young women and men be so thankful and appreciative for our services and the glasses and sunglasses they had received.

They would always make sure to bring their glasses back everyday and I was able to see them wear them.

 It made my experience so wonderful and I can't wait to go back again!
 

 

 

Megan and all of us at JBFC would like to thank the following companies for providing our students with prescription glasses and sunglasses: Modern Optical International, Doug Rogers and Hoya Vision, Dr. Jeff Ross, Restoring Vision, Steve & Vicki Kirkpatrick.