Update 15
Update 15
Aug 22, 2011
God continues to amaze us. He has done so much in the last few months. The finishing touches are being completed on the dorm. The little kids school and a toilet facility with a septic system are both done. Mollel our engineer has done an amazing job. Sometimes our walk of faith really stretches us but the results are so good!
We are moving ahead quickly with our scheduled return on Sept 28th. We are hosting three teams this year. The first team will arrive on Oct 8th. They include a doctor, registered nurse and a pastor from Grants Pass Oregon. They will hold a medical training camp in the mornings and clinics in the afternoons. Over 100 have signed up for this free training. We will also hold a clinic in one remote village. This team will help us set up a one room clinic in the room the girls have been sleeping in. The doctor’s specialty is obgyn and the team hopes to deliver at least one baby while there. We are hoping to be able to furnish some supplies for it. We feel that if we can get the clinic established, we might be able to attract a doctor to come out at least once a month to see the people in our village.
Team II will arrive Oct 21st. Pastor Richard Probasco from New Song Community Church in Portland, Oregon will be leading this team. He is the speaker for graduation. This team will then do pastor training and hold our first revival in Maasai Land. Part of the team will conduct a vacation Bible school for the children. We are expecting over 300. None of them have ever had any Christian training.
Team III will arrive on January 5th to install drip irrigation on our compound. We recently doubled the size of our garden. Domenic has been giving the trees “cow tea” and everything is growing quite well. Our goal is to get this project self-sustaining. We have the land and we have water and a temporary boma fence works for now. A drip irrigation system will teach the villagers how they can also water a garden. With students now coming to live at the school, our food budget is increasing. We are looking for ways to feed them off the land. This team will also have two pastors’ who will also hold pastor training classes
July 11th we received word that Lembera Karaing Laizer, the handicapped boy, had died. Domenic had first found him a couple of years ago living in the dirt just outside the boma fence of his family’s home. We had repaired his wheel chair then. Last year Dr Anna Marie had seen him and they had a special chair maid for him. Our last picture of him was in his new chair, wearing a uniform and going to school. Life situations like this are difficult but at least a difference was made for him to enjoy a better quality of life for awhile.
The middle of August a gas strike hit Tanzania. The country quickly began to shut down. There was no gas in Boma or Moshi and only a little 50 miles away in Arusha. There wasn’t much of it and it was selling for $ 3.33 a liter. The strike was settled and gas has returned to $.80 a liter.
Sept 6th our third class of students will begin their ISOM studies. So far we have 20 students registered. One is coming from Rwanda and another from Kenya. All of them will live at the school full time. So far we don’t have beds for them. Maybe we will have mattresses on the floor but we do have a place for them. We will now move from feeding them once a day to three times a day. We are looking for ways to do this from within our project.
Graduation is Oct 21st. Class two is completing their studies on Sept 17th. Rachel, one of our graduating students, will then begin teaching half of the little kids. Luka has done an amazing job teaching 105 kids every day. Classes will still be too big but we are moving ahead.
We have taken a different approach to raising funds for our school. Traditional organizations raise money for individual children. We feel this elevates one person or child above the others. We are raising funds to benefit them all. If one is fed they all are fed. We also don’t want to make anyone dependant on US dollars. We are working to bring this project to the point it will support its self. Some day we will walk away from it and it will operate well on its own.
When the Maasai gave us the land they poured out their hearts concerning their desperation to survive. The women reported that they had never had clean water, their children were uneducated and had no hope for the future and that they had to walk 21 miles to town if they were to have their babies in a clinic. In just 2 ½ years God has done so much. He has heard the cry of these people and He has moved on their behalf.
Thank-you for partnering with us in this amazing work.
Harry and Kathy
Update 14
July 20, 2011
Finishing work on the dorm is in progress. The roof is completed and ceiling installed. Again we are waiting for them to borrow a camera so we can see the completed work. Mollel is confident the building will be done by the end of the month. But this is Africa so we will see.
We are now raising funds for beds, mattresses and school benches for the kids. We will begin using
the dorm as soon as we get there. The kids are using make shift benches made out of left over building materials. Our current need :
12 bunk beds at $133.00 each
24 mattresses at $30.00-$40.00 each
20 double school benches at $133.00 each. This provides a writing space and a bench.
We are praising God for the continued momentum forward with the school and building projects. But the Theology School cannot expand without more room. We are expanding faster than our buildings. With the completion of the dorm we will be able to begin work on the Community building this fall. This building will give Domenic a place to live and the directors a place to stay while working in Tanzania. The financial savings will be great. Domenic is looking forward to not having to drive 3 hours a day to and from the school. With the completion of the community building we can expand the one room clinic to three rooms.
Our day to day expenses at the school continue to rise. Since the beginning of the year we have seen an increase in expenses of about 30%. We have been able to keep up with this but we hope to expand into more areas. We would like to feed our 100 schoolchildren, they are hungry. Today we found out that Domenic has been personally subsidizing the 4 women who live at the school. Their only meal was lunch that we provided. With 24 students coming to live at the school we need to find a way to feed them for two more meals a day.
We are in the process of expanding the garden to provide more food. We have a man planning to come and install drip irrigation for us later this year. If our entire 12 acres was fenced we wouldn’t have any trouble producing what we need. We also need to hire a full time gardener who know what to do and when. Domenic has done the best he can but he has his hands full with the school.
The next area we want to expand is the medical clinic. With the death of five babies and a mother last month we feel we can’t wait on getting someone out to our project at least part time. The population of Tanzania is only increasing at 1.8% per year.
One time pledges have built everything you are seeing. Monthly pledges keep it going. We want to thank each of you who have joined in partnering with us. Great will be your reward in heaven. Matt 10:42 says “And if, as my representatives, you give even a cup of cold water to a little child, you will surely be reward.” We have clean pure water for this village but the famine is extreme, the kids are hungry.
We are looking for more people to join us in expanding this project to another level.
Advancing the Kingdom in U’Kambeni Village,
Update 13
June 14, 2011
Life in Africa takes on a different perspective when you live in a remote village. Last month 5 of our women lost babies during child birth and one woman died. The women are aged 14 to 35. It is hard to wrap around a 14 year old girl being considered a woman and facing delivering a baby in village conditions. Berta, one of our graduates and our school cook was one that lost her baby. There was no way for them to get to the nearest maternity hospital, 21 miles away, for help. There are midwives but they have no training and there are no sanitary supplies or a clean place to deliver a baby. We have plans for a medical clinic and a medical team will visit in the fall but that doesn’t help with the situation today. We have known of the needs in this village but have not been able to move ahead fast enough to meet them all at once.
Two weeks ago while at home in Kenya, Domenic was hit by a motorcycle at night. We don’t know why but in Africa they drive with their lights off at night. He was thrown around and banged up pretty good but had no broken bones. We are so grateful he was not killed. He is a key part of the work in UKambeni village. We greatly value him and what he does. His heart to work in the remote regions is an unusual thing.
The toilet/ Sewer project is completed. Pictures have been slow since Mollels’ phone was stolen and Domenic needs a new battery for his. Such is life in Africa. They plan to borrow a camera and send pictures this week.
Work on the dorm continues to move forward. Securing the bricks took a bit longer than normal because of the rain in Boma. The bricks are sun dried. Mollel reports the walls will be completed on June 16th. We have sent the funds for the trusses and roof. We are still $3,340.00 short for completing the building. We believe we will have the rest of the funding as we need it to finish the work before we arrive in Sept. With the dorm to soon be completed we will be able to use the room we made for the women to stay in to start a clinic. But it will need staff and supplies. With the completion of the community center the rest of our first building, that is now used for the school, will be available to use as a clinic.
The need for the community building has now taken on a higher priority. We hope to begin working on it this fall. Domenic will live on the compound and be able to do emergency medical transport at night. We are looking at the need for a bigger vehicle to help with transportation for our villagers. Right now we are limited to taking three people and if the directors are there only two.
The completion of the community building will save us rent and utilities on a house in town and the daily mileage and expense on the car. Also save Domenic from his grueling 3 hours of driving every day.
The break down for the community building cost is:
1. Foundation $23,166
2. Walls $10,310
3. Roof $29,217
4. Doors & Windows $18,205
5. Plumbing, electric and
Finishing $10,457
Total $91,353
Along with our day to day work on building projects and the ongoing schools, we must continue looking ahead at the next 3 to 6 months. We expect to be back in Africa in the next 10 to 12 weeks. Graduation will be in October. The Lord has given us some very specific instructions about what will happen this year during our visit. Now we are praying about how to walk them out.
Our key verse for the year is “As it is written in the prophets, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his path straight.” Mark 1:2-3, and “And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Luke 3:6. We have been preparing the place for the Maasai to come meet with the Lord. Just as God prepared a place to meet with Adam and Eve. Holy Spirit has been brooding over this place, preparing the hearts of the people. Now is the time for the fullness of the plan of God to manifest in East Africa.
Advancing the Kingdom in East Africa
Harry and Kathy
Update 12
May 25, 2011
April 14th we began a five week journey throughout Oregon and California. We worked hard at seeing as many people as possible. Sometimes driving hours and then seeing 4 different groups of people in a day. It is always exciting to share what God is doing with our continuing building project. Scheduling becomes a challenge at times but we had a great time seeing everyone. Our only mishap was the air-conditioning went out on the car when we hit the California border. We had two days of really hot driving but did not break down. The mechanic said we were fortunate to arrive in Fresno as the air conditioning belt and the alternator belt are the same and if the air had frozen up, we could have been stalled along the road.
On our return trip back thru Oregon, a church in Grants Pass held a yard sale for us. The church agreed to match any funds we raised. Kathy also donated a bear for a raffle. The outcome was amazing. Yard sales are a lot of work but this group is a real bunch of troupers and we built some great relationships.
It is exciting to see projects finally checked off our list. The car now has new tires and the de-fluoridation system has been recharged. On a larger scale, building projects have also been moving ahead. A wall was built in our school room to provide safe housing for the four women who had been living in the storage shed. A temporary metal building was constructed to house the little kid’s school. The building to house the restrooms is up and the masonry is curing before the finishing work can be completed. Rather threatening looking Asian toilets have been installed for both the men and women. The septic system is about ready to be hooked up to the toilets. It is about 110 meters from the toilets to the tanks. It has been a long process but we are excited to see it almost finished.
The end of March, funds were sent to construct the foundation for the new dorm. It is finished and this week we sent money for the construction of the walls. This will take about three weeks and we do have funds for the trusses and roof when the time comes to put them up. We are still raising funds for the windows and doors.
With the completion of this building we will be able to expand our student base to include people from outside our region. Many have wanted to come to school but since there was no housing available they couldn’t come.
As it has been in the US, expenses continue to rise. Gas is now 2050tsh a liter or $5.18 a gallon. The cost of food is also ever increasing. We are making plans to increase the size of our garden and hire a gardener to help us with better techniques. Because it never freezes here, insects never die. There is an ongoing problem on how to control them. They ate all the first planting of the garden this year with the exception of the zucchini. At least we have one bug resistant crop.
We have received a pledge for funding to hire a second teacher for the little kids. We have 140 children registered and about 80 attend on any given day. They range in ages from 4 to 12 years old. It will greatly benefit them to have two smaller classes. Unlike the US, most African schools have very large classes. The teacher has a small switch and maintains good control of his group.
It seems that our work in U’Kambeni is growing faster than our buildings. We are becoming desperate to see our community building built. The Theology school cannot increase in size until we have a larger building. They could meet in the mornings and the children could meet in the afternoon. Then we could use the little building for a clinic. One end of the community building will be an apartment for Domenic. This will save us rent and utilities in town and the daily wear and tear on the car driving three hours a day. We also plan a two room unit for us to live in when we come. This will also save us about $600.00 each visit.
Sunday we were checking in with Domenic and he reported he had been hit by a motor cycle. His leg and hands are swollen but he had no broken bones. We are so thankful he is ok. Many are killed in these types of accidents. He is very gifted in his teaching and managing abilities. We are excited to be teamed up with him in this work.
The last 6 weeks have been very encouraging. We are confident the dorm will be finished in time for school to begin again in the fall. We also believ that we will be able to begin work on the community center. The total cost is $93,000.00. The working phases will be larger than what we have had in the past but we are confident that “He who has begun this work will complete it.”
Advancing the Kingdom in Tanzania,
Harry and Kathy
Update 11
April 10, 2011
The work on the current projects is moving ahead nicely. We are looking forward to four things checked off our list this month. The toilet, sewer system; the little kids’ temporary school; the temporary dorm fix; and the water filter system being recharged. It is exciting to see God take care of these things as they come along.
We now can focus on tires for the car and the 1st dorm.
The total cost for the dorm is $10,200.00. We have broken it down into five Phases:
Phase I Foundation $1,725.00
Phase II Walls $2,520.00
Phase III Trusses & Roof $2,685.00
Phase IV Doors & Windows $1,440.00
Phase V Wiring & Finishing $1,895.00
What we have experienced in the past is that when we finish one phase the money is there to begin the next one.
March 30th we were able to wire the money to build the foundation of the dorm. Work began on April 4th. We are believing we will have this building completed by the start of school in September.
The rains have come to U’Kambeni. Along with the rain come the mosquitoes and malaria. Most of our students’ are out sick. Oh the need for a clinic and a doctor.
More to come soon!
Harry and Kathy
Update 10
March 2011
During our fall visit to Tanzania we were able to complete Phase I on our fencing project. This Phase was done with barb wire and goat resistant plants, that were planted all along the fence to grow up into it and make it sturdy, along with looking better. We only fenced three sides of the water fetching station, then added a boma, traditional thorn bush fence, on the forth side. This will move out as we continue to add more fence along the sides. When the fourth side of the fence is completed we will no longer need the boma.
In December we were able to complete Phase II of the fence that now protects the well, solar system and water tank. Again moving the boma fence out for the fourth side. We have about half of the fencing project completed.
We are now at a point with the conditions of the pit latrine that it can no longer be used in the current condition. Before we can repair it we have to show the government officials that we were actively working on building a regular toilet facility. In December we began work on Phase I of that project, the soak away pit. This tank is twenty feet deep and has a thick cement cover. The water from the septic tank comes into this tank and leaches out the bottom.
We finally have raised the funds to complete Phase II and Phase III of the toilet, septic system. The actual septic tank and the house for the restrooms. There are two separate rooms, one for men and one for women, each with one flush toilet, “African style,” and a sink. The expected completion of this project is mid April.
It is again time for the students to pay tuition for the next term for school. Several students came to Domenic saying they had no money for school. He was able to direct them to Mollel and he hired them to dig the foundation on the toilet facility. This is a beginning in changing a culture where men do not work. The boys have earned money so they can continue school and the work is being completed ahead of schedule.
The much anticipated March rains finally came. At 5:00am we first got a call from Domenic and then two hours later Mollel our engineer to report that it was raining. Then another two hours later Domenic called again to ask “What are you going to do with your children?” The children had been having school under the trees.
Just as we get a little money ahead there is the need. A temporary school building was drawn up and is also in process of construction. It is made out of corrugated steel that will later be replaced by a brick building. It should also be completed in mid April.
When it is time for the rains start it is time to plant a new garden. The first planting of the garden failed because of the bugs. Domenic was gone for a week and they ate everything but the zucchini. At least they had planted one thing that was bug resistant. A second planting has gone in. There is more variety this year. Last year it was mostly tomatoes. Now there is a good variety of vegetables.
January 2010 we had three women arrive at school declaring they were here to go to school and they weren’t leaving until they did. Domenic finally relented and let them move into the metal storage shed. They didn’t start school until June 2010 and now there are four of them sleeping in one bed. Conditions were terrible. The crises came when the poison snakes found it was cooler in the shed at night. An emergency fix was to build a wall in the end of our class room and let the girls sleep there. The immediate need was temporarily met but it was now time to begin work on our first dorm.
Domenic has many students that are ready to register for school in Sept if we have a place for them to stay. It is hard to say no you can’t come just because there is no dorm.
We try not to drain our finances too low each month because we have regular additional expenses almost every month. Property taxes, work permits, rent for the house. Now it is time to recharge the de-fluoridation system on the well. It is looking like the filter is good for about a year. The cost to recharge it is $500.00.
As all of this was going on the police, who stop you on a regular basis, decided our tires were in need of replacement. The first bid was $800.00. I guess they will have to last for one more month or until we can find a better price.
Thanks for listening!
Harry and Kathy
Update 9
Oct. 2010
We are sorry for the confusion on where we are. The trip here is actually longer than our trip home. We are still in Africa and will finish our journey home 0n Oct 25th after some vacation time.
I forgot to tell you about Harry’s first incident with pick pockets in Arusha. We had been warned that the area around Meat King and the forex beau we use was really bad. We parked and he walked to the forex and I went to look for belts nearby. We met at the belts and Harry got a decent price on them. We walked back to the car. Three boys had been watching us and waiting. As Harry unlocked the driver’s door they moved in. One to distract, one to block and one in the back who quietly tried to slip his hand into Harry’s front pocket from the back. Harry felt the motion, grabbed his arm and about threw him into the path of an oncoming car. They had the audacity to stand there and argue with him. He quickly got into the car and we left with no more trouble.
Wed Kathy sewed more on curtains and began packing. Time is too short.
Thur 9/30 Our last day at the school. This was our first look at the sign installed, it is amazing. Kilimanjaro came out to say goodbye. We got an amazing picture of it with the sign.
Kathy had to greet all the students first. They were in their small study groups. The tears couldn’t be contained. We challenged the students and had a most tearful goodbye. All the students were crying and even the young boys hugged Kathy for the first time. It was an intense time.
Domenic told us at the airport that the girl that was pregnant went home after class and delivered her baby. She really wasn’t that big.
Friday night we were dropped at the airport at 6:00pm. Domenic drove Mollel and his wife out to say good bye. They were having a hard time with us leaving. Finally had to tell them to leave at 6:30 as it was getting dark.
We checked in OK and they checked our bags to our remote destination. Didn’t say anything about our Maasai sticks until we got to the second check point. Had to take them back and check them. They didn’t make it.
Our flight was on time but delayed in Dar, making that leg 10 ½ hours. With the KIA part and the hour in Dar it was 12 hour. In Amsterdam they took us by cart out to domestic and parked us at some lounge chairs, for our 11 hour layover. We had a child that screamed for entertainment right behind us. Then the mother kept putting her foot up on Harry’s arm rest. Kathy’s back was screaming more than half the way, it was a hard flight.
The flight to Rome was OK but no one met us. At ticket transfer they said the hotel was in the airport. It is not. It is a long way away and the other side of the highway and parking lot. $250.00.00 is way over our budget, but with a 12 hour layover ahead of us we had to get some sleep.
We were met in N Africa and got to travel by car to our final destination. We stopped half way and ate at TGIF for lunch. Had a chicken salad. It was the greatest. It had been two months since I had a real salad.
Life here is busy but quiet and relaxed. The weather is perfect and the water is clean. The food is great and the company is the best.
Sorry this last update got out of order but thought you would want to know that our last week was ever so busy.
Blessings,
Update 8
We apologize for getting so far behind with our communication with you. It seems like the longer we are here the busier we get and there is less and less time to sit in the office and get caught up.
The day after Domenic moved he went home for his week with his family. We thought we would have lots of time to rest and relax and maybe do something fun, well…
Sunday arrangements had been made for us to speak at Tukay’s church, they would furnish an interrupter. Went out to leave and the car wouldn’t start. Finally Harry, with the help of a neighbor girl, called a dolla dolla, a motorcycle in front with a covered bench behind it, and we went to church. This is a service that is broadcast over the radio and the message would go out to 1 ½ million listeners. They gave him an interpreter that couldn’t follow him, it was the first time he had interrupted. He kept saying what? And Harry would have to repeat himself. We can only trust that God got the message to those who needed to hear it..
We came home and dropped on the bed. Spent the afternoon sleeping and just laying there too tired to even get up. I am sure it is just that we finally have been able to let down.
Tuesday 5:45 It started to rain. It rained hard, like we know it to do in Boma, for a couple of hours.
Women now wear the tightest pants you have ever seen, everywhere except in the Maasai villages. When we took a picture of the new class one of the girls removed her shuka to reveal a spaghetti strap tank top. The other students were horrified and really got on her about it. There is defiantly a dress code in Maasai Land.
Took the compute in to the guys next to Shoprite. They tried to replace the “s” key but had to replace the whole key board. Lucky for us they had an old Toshiba that they were already piecing out. It cost us $54.00 for parts and labor. Finished our errands, picked up Mollel our engineer and finished his errands and headed home.
Jackson from the Mango had called to say the girl had come for an interview as a house girl . She was the one who had cleaned for us when we had stayed at the Mango apartment. Mollel came alone to interpret since she doesn’t speak much English.. She wants between 70 and 100tsh a month.
Jacob Mills said that average salary per day is 6,000tsh or $4.08. One of our neighbors on the compound teaches English in a middle school and gets 500,000tsh or$340.00 a month. This is difficult for us to wrap around. We feel like we are cheating people by not giving them more but we have to remain within the standard of what is correct here.
Friday we decided to go check on the fence project. It looks better than we expected. The horizontal wires on the fence were done and they had about two sections of the vertical wire done. It is all done by hand. It is a far cry from chain link but it will protect the project. They have dug trenches just inside the fence to plant bushes the goats won’t eat. We need 300 plants, they are 300tsh each. It will cost us about $150.00 more for plants and labor and someone to water it. It will strengthen the fence even more plus add something green.
Monday when we went out to leave for school we discovered the chaser had a flat tire. Got it changed and then the battery was dead. We were able to jump it. Will this never end? This was our last day to teach at school. Now they will return to their ISOM studies.
We got the battery tested for the chaser. Two cells were empty and one completely dead. We got a maintenance free one.
Thur 9/23 This was the day the medical team was coming to our village to access bone and joint problems, all of what is caused by too much fluoride in the water. Anna Marie is the orthopedic surgeon, the man who makes the orthopedic appliances and a nurse plus two visitors from Denmark. One girl totally paralyzed and strapped into a chair and her care giver.
As typical for Africa, not many had arrived yet for the clinic. So we showed everyone the work. They were all amazed. This clinic was only for bone and joint problems. I don’t know how many were seen but 31 names got written down with serious problems. Most there is no hope for. Anna Marie was very kind and gentle. She gave them a month’s supply of pain medication and instructions on how to be more comfortable. Most all the complaints were fluoride related. It was just as Professor Eli’s reports had said. With the very young the instructions included drinking the purified water. If they were young enough the symptoms would be turned around. They saw tiny babies to the very old. It was very sad. But at least if the people of this region continue to drink the purified water their children will not have these problems. We thank the Lord that we found the professor and a solution to too much fluoride.
Advancing the Kingdom in Tanzania,
