Bracelets for Africa

Guest blogger Megan Johnson, of Bellingham, Washington, visited JBFC's campus in Tanzania more than a year ago, but her friendship with the girls continues. And she's helping them build better lives with beads and bracelets.

Our bracelet making began as a fundraiser for my senior project. My objectives were to volunteer, raise money, and teach the children volleyball at JBFC. Before my mom and I left for our visit to Kitongo in December 2011, we began making handmade leather bracelets which we sold to our friends, family, and colleagues. Part of the money raised was used to purchase volleyballs, a volleyball net, school supplies, and treats for the girls. The rest of the money was donated to JBFC.

My mom and I had so much fun making the bracelets, so we thought the girls would enjoy making them as well. On our trip, we brought leather and beads and spent a fun filled day making custom handmade bracelets with each of the girls. It was so much fun to see the excitement in their faces as they picked out their colors and beads and then created their own unique design. They did such a great job, being very creative, and they all looked so beautiful! During our ten day visit we got to know the girls’ very well, spending hours playing volleyball, soccer, arts and crafts, reading, and doing projects. Even doing every day chores was always more fun than it was work when doing them with the girls. We had such a great time and fell in love with everyone at JBFC, especially the children! So much so that upon our return home we decided that we wanted to continue our involvement with JBFC and join the Ambassador program.                                          

Vene, 11, needs treatment for what doctors
suspect may be scoliosis.

When we heard about Vene needing surgery, we wanted to do whatever we could to help. With the success of the bracelets, we decided to continue to make them and donate all our proceeds in hopes of some of the profits going towards Vene’s operation. We also wanted some of the profits to help each of the girls as well, as they were all so special to us. We continue to have an overwhelming response with our bracelets as people love the meaning behind the gift, as with each bracelet comes a card explaining where the profits go and the JBFC website.

It was a trip of a lifetime, one we will never forget and hope to do again!  Thanks to everyone involved with this wonderful organization, and to all the people who have bought and donated money for our bracelets. 

Guest Blogger Megan Johnson with JBFC Girls

If you would like to join Megan as a JBFC Ambassador, click here to find out how you can make a difference and grow our mission to end extreme rural poverty in Tanzania.

To find out more about volunteering at JBFC, click here.

JBFC Staff Swap

The executive director cooking ugali for 300 students; the head registrar dressed in masai garb, protecting the campus; and the assistant head teacher washing sheets by hand?

No, it's not Freaky Friday. It’s JBFC Staff Switch Day.

Boniface is Masai garb.

It's become annual tradition on campus for staff members to switch jobs to gain new respect for each other and everyone's roles in making the JBFC mission happen every day. It all started in 2010, after I realized our staff didn't have any idea of what happened in other departments. Like many companies with lots of moving parts, every department believed theirs was the best and did the lion's share of the work. My solution: employees would swap jobs twice a year.

Staff Swap Day 2013 featured a new twist - it was the first year we included guests. Typically, we don't have very many visitors during this time of year. But our guests, Holly and Annie, were great troopers and loved the day!

JBFC Guest Annie teaching 1st Grade.

Annie taught first grade and Holly taught second. 

Guest Holly and Papa's Server, Collins, teaching 2nd grade.

One of our livestock workers and one of our new secondary teachers got to play "wageni" or guests.

Samo posing as Guest Coordinator George

Mr. Samo, our new school headmaster, took on the role of guest coordinator (even donning acting Guest Coordinator, George Landrum's hat) and took pictures throughout the day. 

And Chacha, who is our assistant campus manager usually in charge of tools and livestock, was headmaster for the day in charge of herding children.

He said "I never knew children had so many cases…I kept asking myself all day 'where is all of this coming from?'"

Chacha on a break from helping students.

While Chacha managed the school, several of JBFC’s Joseph & Mary teachers headed out to the farm. 

Edith, our assistant head teacher, Grace, who is the teacher’s assistant for preschool, and Ludanha, a secondary school teacher, spent the day fashioning a new rabbit hutch.

Edith, Grace, & Ludanha building a rabbit hutch.

Fatuma, the head of housekeeping for JBFC’s restaurant, Papa's, took my job and was the director for the day, while I headed into the kitchens with George Landrum (guest coordinator shown below with 2nd grade assistant teacher, Limi, and Bartholomew, who works as a carpenter). George learned to cook ugali for the first time. Ugali is a typical African dish made of cornmeal that resembles a thick porridge. We did breakfast and then ugali and cabbage stew for our lunch. Yummy.

Limi, George, and Bartholomew stirring up some ugali.

And as expected the staff switch-up prompted some hilarious learning experiences for us all.

In the kitchen, we made three times as much chai as we needed and the students complained it didn't have enough sugar. Turns out we used the regular amount of sugar, but three times the water. It took us more than two hours to get the water to boil, causing the lunch schedule to be slightly behind schedule.

Mr. Jonas gaining new respect for our housekeepers.

But one of the funniest things to happen all day was in housekeeping. Mama Emma, who is the guest housekeeper had been putting off washing A TON of sheets. When she found out it was staff switch day, she went and put all of them in soapy water, including all of George's laundry.

She then told Mr. Jonas, our assistant headmaster, that all of them had to be done. Poor guy probably worked the hardest he ever had in his life!!! He told the rest of the staff he has a new found respect for house ladies and what they go through every day.


Chris Gates is the Founder, Executive Director & Occasional Ugali Chef for JBFC.