Reflections after 6 Months

 

 

Many times on many given days, I often think to myself that I am one of the luckiest people in the world. Most often, it happens in the evenings: when the girls are singing, or playing, or cooking dinner, and the sun is setting perfectly to the west over the hills on the back side of our campus.

There is something mystifying- surreal- perfect- about the girls voices coupled with the purple and orange sky (anyone who has ever visited JBFC knows what I am talking about- the problems of the day simply go away, even if just for a few minutes). They often say that when you take a new job, just as with many things in life, there is a "honeymoon" period in which everything is perfect; my days at JBFC are far from perfect- there are frustrations, delays, I make mistakes, people get mad at me, I get mad at people.

 

 As of next week, I will have have been at JBFC for six months and though I am way, way, way, beyond any type of honeymoon, I still feel as though I am one of the luckiest people in the world.

As I hit that six month mark as well as the holiday season, I thought it would be good to reflect, and I suppose try to figure out, why it is that I am so lucky and to make sure that I appreciate these
blessings.

 

 First, I get to spend every single day with an amazing team- drinking coffee, planning, and learning with Chris, walking at near sprint pace with Mzee Kitula from one building or repair project to the next, working with Rachel to try to cheer up or teach a girl who had a bad day at school, going over staff evaluations with Mr. Samo while he simultaneously puts on his tennis shoes in preparation for an afternoon match with one of his students, having "WhatsApp"conversations with Ashli and "gmail" conversations with Carene.

 

Whether it be any of them, or Melinda, or Kayci, or Amanda, I have been so blessed to work with and learn from such amazing people. I have been equally blessed by the many other people that I have gotten to work with over the course of the past six months- the Vanderbilt interns who greeted me on my first day, the Holland Hall and Bronxville high school volunteers, the several Board members (Kristen, Jim, Wilson, and Paul), the perma-culture and arm-wrestling pros, the many educators, the wanderers who happened onto JBFC's campus (there have been many), and now or lone volunteer, Elisa. There truly aren't better people in the world (other than maybe Mama Mary, Getruda, Mama Emma, Emma, Mama Maggie, Kanaeli, Fatuma, John,and so many other local

employees).

 Second, I have been able to see JBFC grow, prosper, and affect positive social change since the day I arrived here. In these short six months, hard work and generosity came together to finish both JBFC's
bathroom, long a dream, is nearly ready for use, as is the new pig pen. New poly-culture rows, essential to JBFC's goal of sustainability, have been planted and the existing ones continue to amaze. An entire 7th grade class passed their national exams (no small feat in Tanzania). A Joseph and Mary Form Two (9th grade) class took their national exams for the first time.

Now, to be honest, to be a part of all of that alone would make anyone pretty lucky. But for me, and anyone who has ever worked, volunteered, or visited JBFC, it isn't even close to the best part.

I, and so many other lucky ones, get to spend nearly every day with 43 of the most amazing girls in the world (and four kinda-cool boys). I have had the chance, the opportunity, the blessing, to build
friendships with 47 superstars who I now consider nothing short of family. I could list a special memory, or moment, that I have had with each of them but that would take forever, so here are a few.

Afternoons playing "poteza" (a Tanzanian version of the American backyard game "500") with Gertruda, Bhoke, Yuge, Neema (x3), Shida, Zai, Salome, Yonga, kind of Esther, Rachel, and all the other little ones.

 

 

 Team arm wrestling with Zai, Salome, Dotto and myself versus the world.     An ongoing joke that randomly started one day with Leticia and I in which we pretend for about 10 minutes at a time that we are the oldest friends in the world and sit naming off fake names, places, memories, and events from years ago.

An on-again-off-again friendship with Neema Ramadan in which we talk, laugh, and joke every day for a week, and then she won't talk to me for the whole following week (and I still say nice things about her even though she will never look at me when I try to take her picture for Ashli).

Hanging out in the afternoons talking about books, reading, writing, politics, and world events with Elizabeth.


 Being Pili's first soap customer for her new Ziwani Soaps business and hearing her say, with a tear in

Their smiles make me happy, their tears make me sad, and their laughs make my world.

her eye, "Wow, I am so proud."

Their smiles make me happy, their tears make me sad, and their laughs make my world.
















Blogger Seth Diemond is JBFC's Campus Director, who is responsible for managing day-to-day operations on our 65-acre campus in Kitongo, Tanzania.


Special thanks again to photographer, Elisa Masso (www.elisamariephoto.com), who took several of the beautiful pictures featured in this blog.

High Drama at JBFC

I am not the good Samaritan of my family. While my dad and siblings have dedicated a good portion of their lives to volunteer work in third world countries, I live in Los Angeles telling stories for a living. And while I love what I do, it’s not always the most selfless world to live in.

At Christmas this past year my older brother and sister, Sophie and EJ, were talking about their upcoming trip to JBFC. Because we all grew up with Chris Gates, Sophie and EJ have been working with JBFC for a long time now, with the help of our dad’s foundation. For years I had seen pictures and videos they’d taken while there, heard stories about the girls, and kept telling myself that I’d eventually go as well. Someday. When it was the “right time.” To be honest, I’m not really sure why I waited so long, but I think it was probably because I was scared, or intimidated, or thought I wouldn’t have much to offer the situation. My brothers and sister have years of experience working in third world countries. My most intense experiences of “roughing it” were school camping trips.

But while Sophie and EJ (EJ pictured on left) were discussing their upcoming trip, my dad came up with the idea that I start a drama and playwriting program with the girls. Now, I know literally nothing about permaculture, or health, or any of the areas my siblings excel in – but I do know about the healing power of creativity, and how it can change a child’s life if you let them write down their ideas and share them with an audience. So a few months later I had an arm full of vaccinations, a bunch of anti-malaria meds, and was on a flight to Africa.

I was blown away with what I found. It’s pretty impossible to describe what an incredible place Chris has created with JBFC. Aside from the sheer physical beauty of the campus (I mean, it’s right on Lake Victoria) the sense of community and family that exists there is something that’s hard to find anywhere. Literally, anywhere. But above and beyond everything else, the best thing about JBFC are the girls. It goes without saying that these kids have gone through stuff most of us can only imagine,
things that feel impossibly distant from my small problems in Los Angeles. But even with that, they are the most grateful, joyful kids I’ve ever encountered anywhere. Every night without fail there’d be some sweet little face at my door inviting me to dinner, and every time I went to evening prayer services there were at least five pairs of hands wanting to hold mine. It wasn’t that long ago that I was a kid myself, and so the immediate, protective love I felt for these girls was something I hadn’t experienced before.


As far as what we did with the theatre program – it was as much a learning experience for me as it
was for the students. I had my good friend and actress Milana with me to help. Since Milana’s an expert with Improv, we started with that. At first some of the girls were nervous about seeming silly, but once they saw us making fools of ourselves they warmed up pretty quickly.

Then we moved on to some vocal exercises that I learned from my incredible teacher Katie Bull while studying at Atlantic Theater Company. These exercises aren’t about sounding good, or being loud, they’re about finding your own strength by connecting to your breath, your voice, and your body. Letting go of the tensions and inhibitions that get in the way of everyday life.

A big obstacle we faced was the girls’ self esteem. A lot of them came from backgrounds where they weren’t allowed to be loud or assertive. During our early classes a lot of the girls were almost too shy to speak to me – instead fidgeting, looking at the ground and whispering. So Milana and I spent a lot of time working with them on the idea that it’s okay to take up space and to raise your voice. Most importantly we tried to show them it was alright to mess up, to look stupid and to not know what you’re doing. This was a concept that was pretty foreign to the girls.


Zai, 10

We worked on eye contact, finding strength by grounding through the feet, and breathing from your
core. I saw huge improvements from the girls – whereas at the beginning they were silently staring at

their feet, by the end we had them speaking in fuller voices, looking us in the eyes. One of the best moments was in a note I received from 10 year old Zai, who wrote “I now know I am confident.”

My favorite part of the program was helping the girls write and perform their own short plays. We spent a lot of time discussing some fundamental aspects of theatre; such as protagonist versus antagonist, a character’s goals and a character’s obstacles. The themes varied from group to group, but the girls totally ran with it. Some of the younger girls wrote a play about a kidnapped princess who had to be rescued, while the older girls explored heavier concepts like stealing, loyalty to your family, and women’s role in society. One of the groups wrote a play imagining what would happen if Tanzania had its first female president. During our brainstorming session I asked the girls, “Do you think a woman could be president of Tanzania?” and I was met with a resounding, “YES!” It was awesome.

Seeing the girls up onstage was obviously moving, but what was even more moving was seeing their

faces afterwards. They looked so proud of themselves. Every time the audience laughed at one of their jokes, I could see a rush of excitement go through them.










It reminded me what theatre can do in its best moments. Before I left, one of the older girls, Pili, said “We’ve all fallen in love with drama” and promised they’d get started writing another play. I hope they do.

Either way, I’ll be going back next year.

Until then, I miss them.

Guest blogger Meaghan Oppenheimer is an actress and writer in Los Angeles, CA. She started a drama program with the JBFC girls last August and hopes to continue in 2014. 

View from the Top

One of the first things that guests say after an hour to hour and a half tour of our campus, as sweat is dripping from their foreheads, is “wow, this place is a lot bigger than expected.” 

When talking about JBFC, it is often hard to talk about all that we do, and hard to talk about how expansive our campus is. It isn’t until people come here that they actually grasp what the campus looks like. That is, until now…

My friend Jacques is no stranger to the JBFC campus. He has spent Christmases here, many weekends, and living in Mwanza (only 45 minutes away), he helps JBFC in many different ways. The kids all know him as “that big guy who flies the helicopter right over school sometimes.”

Well, this time, when the big helicopter guy flew over, his pilot happened to be a photographer. As they took lap after lap taking photos, the kids continued to jump up and down on their way to and from breakfast. And now, thanks to them, all of you from all over the world, can have a little glimpse of what our 65 acre campus looks like from above…

This is our 65-acre campus from high above our village Kitongo, which is about 45 minutes away from Tanzania's second largest city.

Here's an aerial shot with a few of the buildings labeled.

The white buildings in the foreground on the right are the JBFC dorms. There are three dorm buildings and the dining hall is in the middle.

This is the southeast end of JBFC's campus - on the left is Papas and on the right close to shore are the JBFC bungalows.

This is JBFC's guesthouse, rock house (where the international workers live), Chris' house, and Papa's in the distance.

In this one, you can see our primary students walking to our brand new school dining hall.

New Papa's

Papa's - great food, but an even better cause. That's the slogan for JBFC's campus restaurant, Papa's Cafe. The restaurant first opened in 2012 as a way to raise revenue to support JBFC's girls' home, school, farm, and healthcare efforts. Sustainability has never tasted so good, with JBFC's farm providing fresh food, the cafe's workers are all underserved youth, and all of the profits help keep JBFC operating. The restaurant was so popular, JBFC expanded to double its capacity. Read more about Papa's Cafe on JBFC Online. Scroll down for a photo tour of the new restaurant.

Papa's is located on the southeast end of JBFC's 65-acre campus and a has a gorgeous view of Lake Victoria.

On the left is a picture of the original Papas, opened in the summer of 2012. On the right is the new addition to Papas, featuring an elevated patio. Sand-seating at the original Papa's will still be available. But the kitchen (the white structure in the left picture) will be torn down.

Papa's has been under construction since June. Summer volunteers worked hand and hand with JBFC employees to construct the new building.

This is the new dining room.

The famous boat bar was moved from the beach front dining area to the new dining area.

It was very heavy, but worth the effort.

A table in the new dining area.

Papa's Cafe features custom-made Shanga Glass, supporting another Tanzanian non-profit that trains physically-challenged individuals in glassworks, jewelry and other craft skills. 

Shanga not only employs people who might not be able to find work otherwise, they also use recycled glass bottles to create their pieces. They did turquoise glass especially for us!

Our new kitchen. It's twice as big as the old one.

Papa's may have a new look, but the pizza is still the same. Farm fresh, grilled to perfection, and delicious!

JBFC would like to thank Penny Ashford, Elisa Masso and Ashley Miller for the beautiful photos used in the making of this blog.

First Impressions: Melinda Wulf

I arrived at JBFC in a cloud of cold medicine and jet lag from the nearly 30 hours of traveling. This quickly wore off as I changed into my long skirt and began my first official tour of the JBFC campus.

I had seen several pictures of campus throughout the interview process, but they certainly didn't do the view of Lake Victoria and the beautiful vegetation on campus justice. We made our way around, checking out the restaurant, bungalows, livestock and crops. As we got closer and closer to the girls' dorms and dining hall, I began to see signs pop up welcoming me to campus. In the dining hall, the signs covered the walls.

I was truly touched by the signs and very excited to begin meeting all the girls. That opportunity came later that night when we had dinner in the dining hall followed by prayer time. The girls took turns praying, singing and dancing.

Carene Gates (JBFC's Director of Operations and the Founder's mother) took one look at me when the girls initially broke into song and said she saw what I was thinking written all over my face. "This is why I am here."

One day when there was no school due to national holiday, I spent the day with the girls in dorm area. The day started with porridge and hair braiding with the older girls.

Then I spent some time with the younger girls as they made friendship bracelets for Elisa (JBFC volunteer) and me and helped us with our Swahili. I quickly learned that the love for Justin Bieber does not end at the Atlantic Ocean.

This past week, Neema had a flat tire on her wheelchair, so a few of the girls and I took her into the village to get it fixed. On the way there, she reached out to me and said "Shika mkono". I asked her what it meant and she said, I want to hold your hand. So as the other girls pushed her wheelchair down the path, I held her hand into town.

While I haven't been here long, I'm enjoying the connections that are beginning between me and the kids. Everyday there is something that makes me feel the way I did that first night at prayer time... 

"This is why I am here."

Guest blogger Melinda Wulf is JBFC's new Administrative Director. She moved to Tanzania at the beginning of October.

Editor's Note: JBFC would like to thank Elisa Masso for the beautiful pictures of Melinda (the first one and the one next to Melinda's byline). www.elisamariephoto.com 

Home Away From Home

I've written this before and I'll probably write about it again; one of the greatest aspects of working for JBFC is that it truly is like a family. From having breakfast and dinner with Chris, to Carene taking care of me when I was sick, to the girls reminding guests that dinner is ready and coming to get them for church on Sundays, to Aunty Ashli doing a flash fashion-show with the girls, and now to Melinda, our new Administrative Director, JBFC truly is a family (with all the good and the bad that comes along with that!). 

I've now completed five months at JBFC and I can not begin to describe how wonderful it is to be part of such a family. I was recently given a two week vacation to travel to the U.S. to see family and friends that I have not seen in nearly 18 months, and I am currently writing this blog at a small coffee shop (culture shock!!!) in Portland, ME. Being so far from JBFC for just 10 short days now has taught me a few things and, in some abstract way, brought me closer to JBFC.

There are things I miss wicked bad:

I miss the way Pili (in red shirt on right) comes to my home-office at JBFC's rock house every morning around 8:30 when I am extremely busy doing the accounting from the day before and getting the orders for the current day ready. Every day I politely remind her that I am busy and ask her to come back at around 10:00. The next day, there she is, eager and ready to work on her soap business at 8:30 (we have been working on doing an inventory of her soap products and her income).

I miss the way Zai, every time she walks by the rock house and sees me working, stops in and asks to play on the calculator for no apparent reason. She then follows up by proclaiming, after mastering the calculator, that "see, I can do your job!"

Esther, Shida & Neema (with Bhoke & Yuge hiding)

I miss the way Gertruda, Shida, Bhoke, and Yonga maul me every single time I walk by the dining hall begging me to play "Poteza" (a version of the game "500" that I taught them a couple of months ago).

Leticia, Jackie & Siwema

I miss the way Leticia and Jackie always ask me to hang out with them while they serve food or do the dishes after dinner.

I miss the way Neema Ramadan  will hardly ever talk to me, until she needs something, and then she talks to me.

I miss the way Rachel (pictured in black shirt), Mama Maggie, Mama Nyambuli, and Dada Happy make me feel at home so far away from home- always making sure to ask if I've slept alright, how am I feeling, have I eaten enough, etc.

I miss Mzee Kitula's (on far right in the Papa's t-shirt) simple words of wisdom (he has different ones every day- something along the lines of "when you are helping a sick monkey by carrying it through the desert on your back and the monkey starts biting you, put the monkey down and don't carry it again). Figure that one out.

I miss my afternoon routine of hanging out with Eliza (left) and Pelu (right) while they do their gardening after school and answering their questions about who my best friends are, what my family is like, what Portland is like, how did I know that I wanted to live in Tanzania. 

I miss the way the girls always ask me when my daughter, Malaika, will be coming to visit (her and Esther have becoming best friends). 

I miss planning, venting, and BBQing with Chris.

I miss waking up every single morning thinking "OK, today I am going to teach these kids something, I am going to try to make their lives better in some way" and going to bed every single evening thinking "OK, today these kids taught me something, they've made my life better." 

I guess what I have learned, in short, is that while Portland, Maine, USA will always be home, JBFC has become a homefor me. While my family and friends in America will always be my family and friends (and are irreplaceable), Chris, Carene, Ashli, Chris's boys, all of the girls, Rachel, Mzee Kitula, Samo, Baltizar, and now Melinda, and all of the other employees have become family and friends in every sense of the word.

Guest Blogger Seth Diemond is JBFC's Campus Manager.