Test Time

It is nearing that time of year again and nerves running higher than ever. Today and yesterday our second set of seventh graders will be sitting for two very long days to take their national exams. 

Not only does this year’s class have to live up to the standard set by our stellar class last year (which helped us place 64th in the nation), but the pass rate for all English Medium (private) schools has been raised by 25 points! 

For the past month, the rest of our school has been closed because of a national census in Tanzania, but due to the dedication of both our seventh grade teacher and students, studying has continued for this class. Before the break, they approached the administration about staying on campus during the week so that they could not only hold class, but have extended study days for the entire month leading up to the national exams. 

Even though the stakes are high- many who do not pass this exam are not allowed to advance to secondary school- we are confident in our students’ ability.


Please join us in thinking about and praying for these students as they enter their last week of school as primary students!


Chris Gates is the Founder and Executive Director of JBFC.

Close Bonds: My (extended) Stay at JBFC

After two weeks in Tanzania, this 17-year-old called her mom and begged to stay longer. Kat Weaver wrote this guest blog about how she and her classmates from a Tulsa high school spent part of their summer and the friendships they won't soon forget.

Upon arriving at JBFC, sixteen Holland Hall guests (fourteen students, two chaperones) including myself, all from Tulsa, Oklahoma were greeted with screams of joy, hugs and welcoming smiles from the JBFC girls and school children. Throughout the next two weeks, we were tasked with painting dorms and classrooms, doing inventory of classroom materials, working on a football pitch, fundraised by Holland Hall back in the US, and painting a Periodic Table mural in the new science lab.

However, it was not all work for us. We had the amazing opportunity to experience Children of Africa Day.  After decorating the dining hall Tanzanian-style, we sang, danced and played with the girls, and also gave gift bags to each of them for their “birthdays.”  

We enjoyed a hike on one of the campus’ scenic mountains, an unforgettable safari in the Serengeti, a trip to the city of Mwanza to explore the market, dinner with a JBFC Mama in the village of Kitongo, movie nights with the girls, attending church each Sunday, numerous jewelry-making sessions, dance parties and football games with the village children. We also had the privilege of eating at the new campus restaurant each weekend, experiencing all different types of cuisine with a gorgeous beach view of Lake Victoria. Whatever free-time we had was spent talking and playing with the JBFC girls, and bonding with them as much as possible before our departure.

The overall experience of living at JBFC for two weeks was both eye-opening and life changing. After becoming so close with the children and experiencing a lifestyle so different from the one we have in Tulsa, we all left with a new/strengthened connection to the JBFC girls that cannot be broken. After a job well-done and new friendship made, we all left with dismay, but also warmth in our hearts.  We all share a strong motivation to return back to the states to help JBFC grow and evolve even more and a mutual anticipation among all of us for our next opportunity to return to the children we have so closely bonded with. 

You Have to Change to Grow...

I had the opportunity to visit JBFC for a week in June, after an absence of two years.  I could not believe the changes that have taken place on campus--new dorms, updated guest and staff houses, the Secondary School, restaurant and bungalows, four new Mamas, and most importantly, fifteen new, beautiful, happy girls! 

 On my second night at JBFC I had the privilege of attending the opening of Papa's Cafe--the restaurant and training center on campus.  It was a very special night and our JBFC students did a wonderful job!

The students were all in finals at the time I was there, and I saw first-hand how seriously they take their studies, and how dedicated the teachers of JBFC are.  I would often see teachers staying after and helping students one-on-one with their study and preparation for their exams.  My daughter Liz had spent several weeks in May and June helping out in the Secondary School.  She was very impressed with the teachers as well!!  Once again, I got to bring a music class to the younger students, and we had a lot of fun!! 

It was a pleasure to meet George and Connie, two staff members, and spend time with them and Kris and Kayci. They are very committed to the girls and the students of JBFC.  Chris has a great team! 

Chris brought me out to see the farm and livestock facility.  That is all new too since I was last at JBFC.  With goats, cows, and tilapia ponds, JBFC’s agricultural program has grown into an amazing operation.

I spent a number of mornings with Esther---the young girl you have all read about.  Esther came to JBFC very malnourished, weighing just 14 pounds at four years old. Despite her rough start in life, JBFC’s nurturing has helped her start an incredible turnaround. She was recovering from a broken femur, and had to spend much of her time in her dorm room on her bed, in order to let her leg heal.  She is amazing, and is growing and thriving.  She is speaking a lot more now and is blowing kisses and singing!  Her smile and laughter are heartwarming, and she is loved by all the girls. 

While there have been many changes at JBFC, there are some things that have stayed the same.  There are still the squeals of joy and delight when you arrive, and tears and hugs when you leave.  And music still fills the air with the girls voices raised in song.

  

It is so special to see how these girls are growing into beautiful, caring, capable young women. 

Guest Blogger Kristin Bender is JBFC's Board President. She has served on the board of directors since 2008 and is an avid volunteer.

Fundraising Isn't Just For Grown Ups

Through Rites of Passage and Pajama Parties some young JBFC supporters are making a big impact.

For those who worry about the next generation, I only have to point to JBFC’s young supporters to prove that the world will be in good hands.

Hanrahan and Forst with JBFC students

One of JBFC’s most successful fundraising efforts this year has been spearheaded by a group of teenagers from Bronxville, New York. Brian Forst, Ellie Hanrahan and several of their classmates visited JBFC last summer. When they got back to the US, they were determined to help raise money to finish JBFC’s secondary school. They sold virtual bricks. And brick by brick, they’ve raise more than $38,000 to date.

Davis and Gardner walking with JBFC Student

These two Tulsa students, Tamarco Davis and Hogan Gardner, were also motivated to help by their visit to JBFC last year. Both are back on our Tanzania campus right now, helping to dedicate a soccer field they raised money to build.

Goldberg

Emma Goldberg, also from Tulsa, is barely a teenager. She just celebrated her Bat Mitzvah this spring. And she asked all of her friends and family to help celebrate her rite of passage by giving money to JBFC. She’s raised a whopping $5,000 just by sending out a simple lavender card asking for their support.

Weinberg

And one of my favorite young fundraiser stories comes from Henry Weinberg, who’s also from New York. Henry wanted to raise money for JBFC, so he gave a speech about JBFC to the entire student body of 90 kids. He asked everybody to bring $5 to school the next Friday and wear their pajamas. The PJ Party packed in more than $200 in less than a day.

JBFC wants to thank all of these impressive young people and all of the others who do great things for our organization. We are blessed to have such committed and inventive supporters. This year, we’re really trying to galvanize the power of young people by launching an official JBFC Ambassadors program. If you want to help raise money for JBFC and spread the word on our mission, please click on the link and fill out an application.

We hope our young supporters will continue to do good works and show us adults how it’s done.

 Sims with JBFC Students Saleh & Eliza

Guest Blogger: Ashli Sims, JBFC Director of Development. Sims is a former television reporter who joined the JBFC Team in January of 2012.

2012 JBFC Olympics

JBFC catches Olympics fever, going for gold on its campus in Kitongo, Tanzania. Hundreds of students at JBFC’s Joseph & Mary School participated in an Olympics-themed field day last week.

Students were assigned to represent eight different countries in nine different games. While some of the events were modeled after Olympic sports like the long jump...

...while other activities you would never see at the London games. Students teamed up for three-legged races, hopped to the finish line in sack races and tried to stay dry in a water balloon toss.

But the day wasn’t all fun and games. All of the
participants had to research the country they were representing and draw paper replicas of their flags, which were worn during the games. Form 1 (8^th
Grade) and Form 2 (9^th grade) students gave presentations detailing each country’s population, geographic area and culture.

For more pictures, check out our JBFC Olympics Photo Album on our facebook page. 

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.