Holland Hall Students Visit Campus

Editor's Note: June and July are always extremely busy months on our campus in Kitongo. This is the time of year when several groups of volunteers come to visit, meet the girls, students, and staff, and help out in various ways around campus! Here is a brief highlight of activities that the group from Holland Hall School in Tulsa, OK participated in while they were visiting.

Community Service Project

Holland Hall student volunteers teamed up with members of the JBFC Girls' Government to implement a recycling program at Bibi Mimi's Girls' Home and the Joseph and Mary Primary and Secondary Schools. The mission of this new program is to regulate trash collection around some of the busiest areas of the JBFC campus, with the goal of eventually expanding the program to the local village of Kitongo.

After spending the first couple of days getting to know one another and brainstorming ideas, the girls labeled bins, created flyers, and delivered the bins to the proper locations on campus. The volunteers and Girls' Government girls then used their knowledge of both English and Swahili to write and translate a letter to the government about this new program.

Children of Africa Day
June 16th is Children of Africa Day, the day when we celebrate all the birthdays of the Tanzanian children on our campus. The day is always one giant party, complete with activities and games, food, singing, dancing, and a water fight. This year, Holland Hall students planned a celebration centered around the girls' favorite movie, Frozen. The dining hall was decorated with cut out snowflakes and the girls painted pictures of snowmen and reindeer.

The day began with JBFC girls and Holland Hall volunteers preparing food for the day's feast! The JBFC residential girls and guests were treated to pork, chicken, hot dogs, rice, kale, tomato sauce, plantains, mashed potatoes, pineapple, watermelon, soda, lemon cake and pineapple cake!

Thanks to volunteers Sydney and Darcy and their mother, Mary Kay, each JBFC girl received three pairs of homemade earrings! The volunteers also brought beads and string for the girls to make their own bracelets and necklaces, which the girls loved! Each girl also received a gift bag containing stickers, candy, pens, temporary tattoos, small toys, and glow sticks from the Holland Hall volunteers. The girls also received new kangas from the JBFC staff, which they proudly wore the next day! The day ended with a water balloon fight, which has become a JBFC tradition on Children of Africa Day!

"I loved getting to know the girls and spend time with them. I learned a lot about how kids are just kids and no matter where in the world they live, they all just want someone to care for them," said Erin, one of the Holland Hall volunteers.

Volunteer Rotation
Each group of volunteers that visits JBFC participates in a volunteer rotation where they experience the hard work that the JBFC staff puts in daily to keep the campus running smoothly. The Holland Hall volunteers worked on the farm with Edward, JBFC's farm manager, helping to spread fertile soil, till the ground, and thread passion plants onto vines. The also spent time working in the kitchen at Bibi Mimi's Girls' Home, cutting kale, sorting rice, and chopping onions.

As with all our groups of volunteers, the Holland Hall students also participated in our Reading Buddies program, participated in Swahili lessons taught by some of the older JBFC residential girls, and enjoyed dinner in the village with a local family. They were also able to eat lunch with some of the JBFC employees and learn more about the organization from a different perspective.

 "This trip reinforced relationships with the Tanzanian staff," said Nancy, the teacher chaperone. "It was very interesting to share lunch with JBFC employees; it made the overall experience more personal."

Special thanks to our Social Media intern, Kristen, for helping put this blog together!

Staff Spotlight: Katelyn Jackson

Editor's Note: As a continuation of our Staff Spotlights, we would like to introduce our supporters to a new member in the U.S. Office! Katelyn Jackson worked in our office last Fall as an intern while she was finishing her Bachelor's Degree at Oral Roberts University here in Tulsa. After months of impressive work, JBFC offered Katelyn a position as a Development Assistant in our office. She has been working as an official member of our team since January!

From a young age, I’ve been fascinated by different cultures and helping others. I remember in the 1^st grade standing up in front of the class on Career Day saying I wanted to be a missionary in a foreign country. That passion to help others stayed with me, but as I grew older I wanted to make a difference in a more practical and lasting way. Who knew that my journey would start in Tulsa, OK.

I grew up in northern Alabama, and in the Fall of 2013, I set out to attend Oral Roberts University though still not knowing exactly what to major in. During that first semester, I discovered that there was a major called International Community Development (ICD). The next semester I enrolled in a couple of classes required for the ICD major, and I fell in love. I had a feeling of peace knowing that I was walking in my purpose, that this is what I am supposed to do.

Fast forward to the Summer of 2016, when I first found out about JBFC. I was looking for an internship for my last semester at ORU. As I was browsing ORU’s career service website, JBFC came up. The more I read, the more it was like a dream come true. It’s rare to find an international organization that has headquarters in Tulsa. That Fall, I applied for the internship and thankfully was accepted. I was able to help the staff with sending thank you post cards and preparing for the Trunk Show by counting and pricing inventory.

Katelyn teaching a group of local Girl Scouts about JBFC last Fall.

But soon my time as an intern was coming to end, and I was searching for my next steps. My last semester was wrapping up quickly too, and I needed a plan of action. My first choice was to stay in Tulsa working within my field. And if that didn’t work, I was willing to go anywhere else. I searched from Seattle, WA to Savannah Georgia, but nothing was coming up.

I was ecstatic when the position for a Development Assistant at JBFC became available.  Intertwined with the excitement was that peace of this is where I am supposed to be. This is where I belong.

Now my days are filled with data entry, thank you letters, creating videos, and helping around the office in any way I can. What I enjoy the most about working with JBFC is the teamwork. Every day I get to see how each staff members’ talents and ideas come together to create something wonderful. And it's all for an amazing cause to help girls have a place to call home, to help children receive a quality education, to help villages have their medical and agricultural needs met, all to ultimately break the cycle of poverty that has crippled families for too long. And yet at the same time I’m learning so much. The lessons and classes I completed at ORU are coming to life. These things I’m learning while at JBFC are knowledge and wisdom that I can take with me for the rest of my life. It’s molding me into the best I can be and developing my character as well with the challenges it brings. From pushing back the fear of failure to step out of my comfort zone and complete tasks I’ve never done before, to the patience it takes to be in the US and only hear and see from pictures and videos all the work being accomplished in Tanzania.  I look forward to that day of going to Tanzania like a child awaits his or her birthday. But right now I couldn’t ask to be in any other better place in my life. I’ve been blessed with this opportunity and I strive to make the most of it.

Wherever life takes me in the future with the surprises around each corner, I will embrace each with open arms and carry my experiences from JBFC with me. But as for now, I know I’m where I am supposed to be.

Children of Africa Day 2017

It's that time of year again - the time when the JBFC campus, particularly the area around Bibi Mimi's Girls' Home becomes one gigantic birthday party.

Children of Africa Day, or Watoto wa Africa as it's known in Tanzania, is celebrated every June 16th, and this is the time of year when we at JBFC celebrate the birthdays of all the children in our care.

"Birthdays and big holidays are exciting for any child, and this is true for our children in Tanzania. We are excited to be able to celebrate all of the girls' birthdays and give them the childhood that they so rightfully deserve," says JBFC Founder and CEO, Chris Gates. "Thank you to all of our supporters for helping make this day so special!"

This year, thanks in large part to the visiting group of Holland Hall volunteers, the girls will be treated to a "Winter Wonderland" themed Children of Africa Day celebration. They have planned necklace and jewelry making, face painting, a water fight, and a dance party. The dining hall at Bibi Mimi's Girls' Home will be decorated with snowflakes, snowmen and women,
and reindeer. We expect it will be quite the sight for the girls! Stay tuned for more pictures!

If you would like to help make Children of Africa Day extra special for the girls, you can donate by clicking here!

Meet Our Summer Interns!

Editor's Note: This summer, we are delighted to welcome back two college students as our interns on the Kitongo campus. These interns have both been to JBFC before, and we know they will be a wonderful addition to our team during these busy months! 

ABIGAIL CAMPBELL

My name is Abigail Campbell from Tulsa, Oklahoma. I am a student at Auburn University in Alabama and I am studying Biomedical Sciences and Spanish. I graduated from Holland Hall, which is where I first heard about JBFC. When I was a freshman at Holland Hall, a group of students who had gone to JBFC gave a presentation to the school about the organization and some of their fondest memories. After that presentation, I knew I wanted to visit JBFC sometime during my time at Holland Hall, and it finally became a reality the summer after my senior year.

I have only volunteered at JBFC one time, so I am excited to be back on campus to get to know the girls better and learn more about Tanzanian culture and customs. One of the best things about JBFC is definitely the people. Not just the people that work for JBFC, but all of the people that JBFC brought my in contact with while I was on campus. For instance, working in the Joseph and Mary School and meeting so many of the students, meeting and getting to know the residential girls living in Bibi Mimi's Girls' Home, working on the farm with Edward, meeting some of the people that live in the Kitongo village during village night, spending time with the Maasai, and interacting with the matrons and mamas that work in the guest house and in the girls' home. The relationships and personal interactions that volunteering at JBFC gave me are invaluable.

I applied to be a JBFC intern this summer in hopes of being able to experience it all again. I am eager to work with the Joseph and Mary students, eat Tanzanian food, laugh sing, and dance with the residential girls, among other things. This summer, I will be working as the Assistant Volunteer Coordinator, which gives me the opportunity to work closely with the residential girls and students, but also with JBFC staff and volunteers. This internship will give me the unique ability to help ensure that each volunteer who visits campus has an experience as rewarding as my first trip to JBFC. I am so lucky to have been selected for this internship and I can't wait to see all of the girls again this summer!

KRISTEN GRAYBILL

Hi, I’m Kristen Graybill from Tulsa, Oklahoma. I’m a senior at the University of Oklahoma studying Elementary Education. I first became involved with JBFC through Holland Hall. While I was still a Holland Hall student, alumnus Chris Gates spoke to the student body about JBFC. His vision for and stories about JBFC, made me immediately interested in visiting Tanzania to find out what JBFC was all about. Since I first heard about JBFC in 2011, I have been to JBFC three times. In the summers of 2012 and 2013, I visited JBFC as a high school volunteer with Holland Hall. Last summer, I visited JBFC as a college intern. I can’t wait to serve as a college intern once again and return to JBFC for my fourth time this summer!

Stepping out of my comfort zone and into the small village of Kitongo in Tanzania, Africa, I never imagined falling in love with a place halfway across the world. A lot of people tell me how amazing it is that I am willing to sacrifice my summers to influence the Tanzanian people. But, I can assure you that that is not the case. These people are the ones changing my life and are what I love most about JBFC and visiting Tanzania. The people I have met through JBFC have opened my eyes to an unexplainable joy I have not experienced anywhere else. The singing during prayer time, the chatter on the dorm porches, and the laughter on afternoon walks to the library are what I remember most between visits to Tanzania. My trips to Tanzania have allowed me to develop and maintain deep relationships characterized by silly stories, inside jokes, and friendship bracelets. I can’t forget all of the priceless pictures, videos, and selfies the girls have taken on my camera!

I desired to be a 2017 JBFC intern because I have fallen in love with the organization’s mission, the community’s people, and the Tanzanian way of life. I consider it a privilege to return to campus year after year. Especially, since girls have started graduating from Joseph and Mary School, maintaining long term relationships with them is particularly important to me. Not only do I appreciate coming back to JBFC’s campus to spend time with the girls, I also value experiencing how campus evolves over time. During my visit to campus in 2012, I helped establish the first plants in what is now JBFC’s permaculture garden. In 2013, I dug holes for what is now the fence around JBFC’s girls’ home. Last summer, I helped the girls make crafts and write letters that are now in the homes of many JBFC supporters. 

As an intern this summer, I am most looking forward to not only observing changes throughout campus, but hopefully contributing to campus growth as well. By serving as JBFC’s social media intern this summer, I hope to share JBFC’s mission with as many people as possible.