At JBFC, June 16th is a special day. Children of Africa Day was originally started to spotlight the plight of impoverished children in Africa. On our campus, it's when we celebrate all of our girls' birthdays.
The day is filled with fun, food, family and a whole lot of laughter. And this year's celebration was no exception (keep reading below for more details). But this is also a day to reflect on our girls growing a year older and to see how far they've come. It's because of our family of JBFC supporters that our girls are able to enjoy a fun-filled day, instead of worrying how they're going to make it from one day to the next. We never forget that the smiles on these girls' faces wouldn't be possible without you. You can help us continue to make sure these children grow up healthy, strong and with a chance for a good future. If you haven't had a chance, please support JBFC's Children of Africa Day campaign.
Children of Africa Day 2015 started with a scavenger hunt that had the girls running and skipping around campus to compete for the fastest time. We broke the girls into 3 teams (2 dorms each) and sent them off in 20 minute intervals to complete six activities using the rhyming clues, we left at each location. The volunteers guided them to each activity.
The girls had to form a human knot and then get out of it without letting go of their teammates' hands; they had to collect a series of farm tools that needed to be carried around until the end of the scavenger hunt; each team had to spell out "Children of Africa 2015" in rocks; at the library, they had to read "Three Little Pigs," and act it out (Team 2 won Best Skit performance); back at the dorms, the girls had to find an assortment of random clothing items and dress two teammates in them (e.g. green socks, hat, blue and pink shoes etc.); and the hunt concluded at the JBFC Pool, where the girls had to find the blue fish toy and everyone needed to have a body part in the water. Team 2 won for fastest time at 43 minutes and 15 seconds!
Next up on the fun-filled agenda, the Carnival. Each station was manned by JBFC staff members and volunteers. The girls each received a popsicle stick with their name to track their points.
Girls were bobbing for apples....
and passing oranges without using their hands...
They tried pinning the tail on the donkey (thankfully the cardboard variety) and coming up with creative ways to pop balloons without their hands.
They tossed rings and played a rousing game of musical chairs.
And saw who was fastest in a sack race. Zai left Anna in the dust...
And Seth was all over the place....
And again....
I'm pretty sure Seth had more fun than all of the kids combined.
All that bobbing and sack racing worked up an appetite, this year's feast was a Mexican fiesta of fajitas, rice and beans, with birthday cake for dessert.
Each of the girls received their birthday gifts (new Kitenges from the directors and gift bags full of candy, pencils, chapstick, notepads etc.). Each girl also got a personalized birthday card, which the volunteers and JBFC Staff. Then the girls cashed in their points for prizes like lipgloss, erasers, pencil sharpeners, notebooks, and finally the most popular prize for 10 points: a coupon for one storeroom item.
After a bit of relaxation, they all went down to tackle the pinata, which held up surprisingly well. It took several tree branches, a broom that broke in 3 pieces, and finally a Masaai stick to break the bright green fish made out of newspaper and tissue paper.
The day with a dance party at the girls dorm.
A Big THANK YOU to tall of the volunteers who helped make this day special for the JBFC girls!
See more pictures on JBFC's Facebook page - www.facebook.com/jbfctanzania.
