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.

An Open Letter to the Girls of JBFC

 You know the best thing about my job?

It’s not the working from home (although working in my pajamas is awesome).

It’s not working with a group of dedicated individuals (although they’re energy, big ideas, and even bigger hearts are enviable.)

It’s not even getting to travel the globe (although my passport is VERY happy).

It’s on a cloudy day, when I’m slogging through a menial task like organizing files and paperwork, something like this pops up.

These are notes from my girls.

And I have to tell you stumbling upon them feels almost better than the moment I first received them on a beautiful Tanzanian Saturday. 

With their broken English, little-girl obsessions with hearts and flowers, and a sincerity that leaps off the loose leaf paper, these girls have taken the thank you note to a new art form.

Liku writes: “Thank you very much for coming again at here JBFC and you such a good person in this time I have enjoy with you at the restaurant and I was to say thank you for teaching me to play tennis…”

Jackie writes: “Thank you for everything that you done to me and other girls. Thank you for teach us in Grade 5. God bless you and your family. Your a good aunt and a kind person…” 

Siwema writes: “Thank you for everything that have done for us and for being in our family. God bless you in your works and your trip…welcome again at JBFC.”

The funny thing is… I’m the one who should be writing the thank you notes.

Even from 8,000 miles away these 43 smart, funny, shy, beautiful, and strong girls brighten my day. They remind me every day what it means to be grateful, to take nothing for granted. I am so thankful for that fateful day – the day that almost never was – when I showed up at Chris Gates’ home with a decade-worth-of-local-news-sized chip on my shoulder. It was their faces, their stories that captured my attention, mind and my heart. It’s been almost two years since I decided to trade my career for a mission, and I’ve never looked back.

So this is my thank you note to all of them:

Dear Girls,

You make my day! You are smart, beautiful and strong. And I work every day so that you have the opportunity to show the world just how amazing you are.

Love,

Aunt Ashli

Guest Blogger Ashli Sims is JBFC's Director of Development. She is a former television news producer who left her career in broadcasting to work for JBFC in 2012.

An Ocean Without Shores

Guest blogger & JBFC Board President, Kristin Bender, visited JBFC last summer and had an inspiring night with some of JBFC's older girls as they shared their dreams and aspirations.

My daughter Torie and I spent several weeks at JBFC this summer. Torie first went to JBFC in the summer of 2007 and spent every subsequent summer there, and even Christmas one year. But life and studies intervened and she had not been to the campus for over two years. Needless to say she was both excited and overwhelmed at the many changes on campus---the new dorms, the Secondary School, Papa’s and the bungalows. But she was especially moved by the changes in the girls—how they have grown and matured into beautiful, caring and confident young women. 

We spent one very special night with our Form 2 girls. Torie and I hosted a dinner for them at Papa’s. What we wanted to do was to spend time with them and talk about their hopes and dreams for the future. So we went around the group and asked them to tell us their favorite subjects in school, and also what they envision for themselves and their lives. I would like to share their responses:

Liku: Her favorite subjects are history and geography, and she would like to be a teacher. 

Pelu: Her subjects are civics and language and she would like to be a lawyer.

Vero: Her favorite subjects are geography, civics and history, and she would like to be a journalist.

Ana: Her favorite subjects are history, geography, civics and languages. Ana would like to be either a weather forecaster or a designer.

Eliza: Her favorite subjects are chemistry, biology, geography and civics. Eliza would like to be an administrator.

Sophie: Her favorite subjects are math, physics, biology and chemistry. Sophie would like to be a doctor.

Nyamarwa: English, history and civics are her favorite subjects. Nymarwa would like to be either a teacher at a secondary school or a nurse.

Imelda: Chemistry, history, language and civics are her favorite subjects. Imelda would like to become a lawyer. 

Torie and I were so excited to hear about the dreams our JBFC girls have for their lives. We shared with them that all of us in the JBFC family will do all that we can to help their dreams become a reality. 

There is a Swahili proverb that says: “Knowledge is like an ocean without shores....”

Through education, and the loving support of family, our girls can imagine and dream, and know that there are endless possibilities for their lives.

“Elima ni kama bahir haina sahili….”

Kristin Bender has served as JBFC's Board President for two terms. She (along with two of her daughters) have visited JBFC's campus in Tanzania several times.