Sharing Healthy Smiles

Dr Kabir Virdi showing students how to brush their teeth.

Volunteer Dr. Mike examining a Joseph & Mary student.

Back in 2009, I had no idea a television appearance would lead to a team of doctors performing teeth cleanings in Tanzania. But it has.

I was blessed with the opportunity to appear on the Today Show three years ago and that’s how Dr. Kabir Virdi first heard about JBFC. Virdi was born in Nairobi, Kenya, but immigrated to Canada as a child. 


He’s often traveled back to Africa for summer visits with family. After seeing me on television, Virdi immediately became a supporter and he’s stayed in touch ever since.

In January, Virdi came to JBFC’s Tanzania campus to figure out how he could give the gift of dental health to our students. This summer he’s come back with a team of people to help. They brought toothbrushes for all of our students, plaque highlighters, which help children see how to brush correctly, worksheets, and other toys and games.

After spending a few days helping our students polish their pearly whites, Virdi is already talking about future trips to JBFC. He hopes to turn this into a yearly event providing fillings, fluoride treatments, and extractions along with boosting awareness in our community.

JBFC is so happy we have friends like Dr. Kabir Virdi, 

who are as passionate about helping children as we are. 






Chris Gates is the Founder & Executive Director of JBFC.

The Evolution of Esther

 When she arrived on JBFC’s doorstep without warning, I honestly thought social welfare officials were bringing her to me to die. When I opened the car door and saw the tiny little girl slumped on the car seat, my heart plummeted. She weighed only 14 pounds… at four years old.

 It was the worst case of malnutrition that I had seen in nearly ten years of working in Africa.

I could encircle her thigh bone, with my thumb and forefinger. She was so malnourished her eyes could barely focus. She couldn’t walk or talk. She was covered in sores and scabs, oozing signs of infection. Despite all of my doubts about her survival, I took little Esther into our home in mid-January and the JBFC family enveloped her with love.

And this little girl ended up being tougher than she looked. We fed her a high-calorie peanut paste at first, but she was always reaching for real food. She started packing on the pounds and I remember being so happy to start to see little rolls of fat on her too-thin body. 

By the end of February, she had started to feed herself and had gained about five pounds. But she still looked like a baby, not the preschooler she was. She was swaddled and carried on the backs of mamas and girls alike and slowly the haunted look in her eyes was replaced by a sparkle.

Then she had a setback. Four months of nurturing couldn’t quite undo nearly four years of neglect. 

Esther’s little bones were still too weak and a fall, broke her femur and put her into a cast that covered most of her body.

But she continued to bounce back. And she was also fiercely independent, insisting one night that she could cut her meat herself. She wrestled with the knife and fork for a few minutes, but eventually she got it all on her own. That was the night she called me “daddy” for the first time. It brought tears to my eyes.

Six months after her arrival, Esther is laughing, talking, and growing. She’s a favorite among her new sisters.

And when they can bear to put her down, this is what happens.

The miracle that is Esther’s arrival and recovery is an important reminder of why I do what I do.  It shows that the JBFC model does indeed work wonders for abused and neglected little girls. 

But her story is one pierced with tragedy. You see Esther is the younger sister of a girl, who already lived at JBFC. Social welfare had seen fit to remove Esther’s sister, Neema, from their home nearly a year before rescuing Esther. I can’t help but think of all of the suffering that could have been avoided if Esther and her sister had arrived together, instead of 10 months apart.

But I am thankful that Esther found her way to us; grateful that we have the facilities and the means to help facilitate her recovery; and renewed in my purpose to make sure no child has to suffer that kind of extreme poverty and neglect. 

 Chris Gates is the Founder & Executive Director of JBFC.

New Faces: George Landrum

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

New Faces: Connie Blaum

 Hi! My name is Connie Blaum, and I have been volunteering at the JBFC for two months and counting. I graduated from Louisiana State University in May of 2011 with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications. During college, apart from being a full time student, I was a member of the Chi Omega Sorority, an executive member of the Organization for Communication Studies, and also held a part-time job at a local daycare in Baton Rouge. Working at the daycare made me realize my love for children, so after graduation I moved to New Orleans to work with special needs children at Holy Name of Jesus School.




Around January of 2012, George and I decided we wanted take some time off to help others. After looking at numerous programs, we made the mutual decision to volunteer at the JBFC. We found out about the JBFC through our good friend, Stephanie Johnson, who volunteered here too. After hearing her stories about the girls, I knew I had to come to Tanzania and that JBFC was the right fit for us.

Since being here, I have taken on the task of the elementary school art teacher. Teaching art is so much fun! It feels great to know that the kids at The Joseph and Mary Primary School are excited to come explore their creativity!

I have not only become attached to the girls at the home, but also to the kids at the school. I have experienced so many new things so far, and I cannot wait to see what else JBFC has in store for me in the future.



Check back, we'll post New Faces, Pt 2 starring George Landrum on Tuesday, July 10th.