Term II Report Cards!!!!

From Mama back in Canada, (with Lohai, Mary and Reward)

I have returned to Canada safely and soundly to family and friends and a mountain of paperwork and some wonderful projects and speaking engagements and hopefully . . . a soon to be newly launched website for Tumaini!  Thank you so very much to Robert and Orv for all your hard work and to all of our supporters for your patience.

L/R Kelvin, Lazaro and Francis with the model Lazaro received
from his sponsor Mama Bonnie for his birthday  . . . F U N !

I was driving down into the older part of the village of Usa before my departure and saw a goat depositing his business into the river running along the road while, just slightly downstream a woman filled an ndoo (bucket) with water she would take to her home . . . This is a recurring observation in these parts but it never ceases to amaze me how we survive with so little clean water . . . AND, how we manage in a “modern” world with such intermittent electricity although I will remind you that we at Tumaini enjoy solar living thanks to Baba Dave and friends from British Columbia and Ontario Canada.  In a night of no power Tumaini shines out brightly as the only illumination in the neighbourhood . . . thank you again!

Speaking of survival, we are well.  Most of us anyway.  Some have caught a nasty flu bug we cannot seem to shake and Nasma has acquired some ugly rashes on her legs I fear may be a recurrence of bed bugs but I have found no bodily evidence yet.  Please pray for us as the cost to replace what we must sacrifice in an infestation is exorbitant.

We celebrated little Daniel’s birthday with cake and gifts and must thank Robyn for remembering his day.  He loved his card and we will go to town together for new shoes and lunch.  Oddo’s 48^th birthday, shared with all the boys for whom we have no birthdate was celebrated and included Gaspar, brothers Lazaro and Stephano, Antony and Ayubu, all of us and cake and ice cream.  Familia Noah from Germany were special guests and joined us for dinner also.

Our August birthday days with Teacher Oddo and his new son Reuben . . . Happy Birthday!

 All of our primary students were home for the month of August and returned the first week of September to classes.  Secondary students have not had a break yet but Raymond is home until the end of October on his break from university and OH is it good to have him home!!!

It is difficult to judge people’s choices here in a country of such severe poverty but I was more than dismayed by a theft which could only have occurred from someone inside Tumaini.  One of us stole the week’s food allowance . . . the culprit is either one of our staff or one of our bigger children, as a youngster simply would not know what to do with such a large amount of money and its location prohibited a smaller person from taking it.  I respect the enormity of the “need” in this country but to take the food from our children’s mouths . . .

Five circumcisions . . . FIVE!  Said, Liadi, Emmanuel, Rashid, and Daniel all went under the knife!  Wanaume is the Swahili word for “MEN” and I was chanting it to the boys before our departure and they grunted back at me in unison . . . “Wanaume!  Hmph!  Hmph!”  All began full of courage but the tide turned after the anaesthetic wore off.  After reaching out for comfort due to the pain I told Liadi that now he was a man . . . he assured me he didn’t want to be a man anymore.   One week later, almost all of the boys had removed their own bandages (after walking around without chupis (underwear) and donned in kangas (African fabrics about a meter square), except for our little man Liadi who insisted Mama go with him to the doctor for the “removal”.  He was VERY brave, nary a tear and only a whimper or two.  Afterward, he even said thank you to the doctor and has been showing off his “doodoo” daily.  He marvelled that it was red but slowly, slowly (pole, pole) it has turned back to “Tanzanian”.  VERY FUNNY!!!

And Happy 11^th birthday to Christina!!!  We are so proud of our young lady . . . when she came to us we

believed her to be relatively learning challenged . . . she has surprised us with not only an astute knowledge of English (she was the first to write a proper letter), but has a special gift of remembering dates . . . EVERYONE’S birthdate . . . she is growing into a happy and studious young lady and we love her dearly.

Congratulations!  Teacher Winner (2^nd grade) is off this month preparing for her wedding and will return September 25^th.  Our 2^nd graders have been working with volunteers Isabel and Renske who brought Kinnex and the children built a house and a piki piki (motorcycle) of which they are very proud.

Sadly, we have experienced a spate of robberies lately and the most recent one resulted in the death of an askari (security guard).  He was a friend of Tumaini and has left two children without support for their education and futures.  A band of armed (sticks, pangas) robbers forced their way onto the property and into the house looking for money, jewellery, electronics, etc.  They beat him . . . too severely . . . please include he, his children and Tumaini in your prayers.

Glory and her nw shoes 

And while you are speaking to the big guy would you please say a prayer that we finalize our land.  We have been negotiating for over a year now and things look hopeful . . . a delay in negotiations occurred as a result of the death of an executive officer of the village which left everything up in arms but please do say a prayer . . .

                              

And thank you to everyone joining us in Waterford, Ontario for our second annual Tumaini Tournament of Hope!  It’s a sellout!  And enormous thanks to Chairwoman Bonnie Wardell and Lisa Engelhardt – Robinson for your hard work . . . AND!!!  Asante sana Mama Korosho and friends (Becky, Diane, Bri, and others) for working so hard towards yet another successful Tumaini Yard Sale raising more than $3,000!

And I must say a very generous merci beaucoup to french friends of our Tumaini amie Maddye.  Thank you  so much for your kind donations Jean Christophe and Marie . . .

We are well.  This was one of my best trips to the children as they are beginning to grow and change and are learning empathy and appreciation and respect.  They are gentler with each other and more sensitive to what is occurring around them.  Each of them is so very precious and I am so terribly proud to be called Mama . . . to each of you thank you.  The beauty I see . . . the growth and the health and the changes are a reflection of the compassion you have shown towards us.  We could not take these steps without you.

We in Canada have some big help from several other countries including Australia who, chaired by Michael McCann put together a video with their fundraising objectives in support of Tumaini.  Please have a look.  It made mama cry, in the very best way . . . thank you Michael, Tay and friends for an incredible effort . . .  

Happy Birthday Tony!!!

Congratulations to Teacher Winner and her new husband Bernard.  Congratulations to Mary and Reward who have earned their university degrees.  Congratulations to Raymond who has completed his first year in university and anticipates a successful second.  To Lazaro who built his first model (a jeep) and our second graders who built a building and to Francis who will have his birthday AND his confirmation next month.  To Ayubu and Wema who are VERY confident (please pray for them) that they have passed their national exams . . . to our circumcised wanaume (men)!  To my partner Oddo who attended his first meetings as chairman of our parish . . . and to our volunteers who work tirelessly to ensure the happiness, health and future success of our children . . . congratulations . . . and thank you!

Back under the net from mama . . .

 I am writing this from under my mosquito net at Tumaini . . . an uneventful safari (trip) back to the children.  We (Canadian volunteer Tyra Swyck-Blake travelled with me) had an overnight in Amsterdam after getting checked in in Toronto with nine hockey bags, one small suitcase and two carry-ons. We are permitted two 50 lb. bags each on KLM and each additional bag costs $200.00 CAD so we need to pack efficiently, ensuring that the value warrants the expense.

Oddo pulled his magic and upon arrival and clearing customs I sailed back and forth until all nine bags, Tyra and myself exited the airport without the usual hassle for a bribe and we were welcomed by Oddo, Jeremiah, Mary, Reward, Raymond, Gaspar, Anna, young Mary, Kelvin, Rashid and Stephano.  I think Tyra was a bit overwhelmed with the enthusiasm AND the fact that she and I were separated into two vehicles for the ride home.  The girls claimed her immediately and we visited in the car until arrival.  Usually when I return to my Tanzanian family it is night and most of the children are in bed.  I creep into their rooms and disperse kisses and cuddles but our reunion occurs in the morning.  NOT THIS TIME!

This time there was an army of little ones singing and shouting and grabbing for the car door the second our vehicle entered the gate.  It was a welcome I will never forget . . .

They are well for the most part except everyone has a cold because it is FREEZING here!  Yes!  COLD!  And we are struggling a bit with our wonderful ringworm . . . AND . . . we have some upcoming circumcisions, and are working on vaccinations but otherwise we are well.

 

Rashid

Report cards will be out next week.  Teacher Winner gets married in early September and is excitedly sharing plans for that.  Did I say it is cold?

Mary

We have been without water since the day before I arrived but things are looking up.  We hope to have it restored before the weekend.  With the cold, nothing dries, and with no water, nothing gets washed so we are in a bit of predicament until things warm up.

Glory

CD4 counts are good for the most part.  Mary’s last was 494, Neema is strong enough that they haven’t measured her lately and Rashid is 866.  Our only problem is Glory’s CD4 which has dropped almost 400 points to 1048.  She was dehydrated on her last check and so we are concerned . . . we will ask for her blood to be retested on her next clinic day, August 29

Nasma is speaking English!!!

THEY ARE SO BIG!  In just three months the change in our little (getting bigger) ones is dramatic and Nasma is speaking English!  Joining us in just January of this year she has picked up sooooo much English and chatters away making simple sentences already!  The development is amazing!

I will forward reports next week and hope all is well.  Off to play football!  Ahsante!!

Kwa heri (Goodbye) from Mama . . .

Kwa heri from Mama . . .    

          

I am leaving today for six weeks with our children in Tanzania and am anxious to reunite with our Tumaini family although it is bittersweet when travelling to one part of my family entails me saying goodbye to the other.

All of our primary students will be home for the month of August and I have some special “Christmas projects” lined up while they are home.  Additionally, we will replacing school shoes, book bags, football cleats (soccer), and pyjamas thanks to (in photo -  Emma & Jaslyn Chevers, Ryan & Ben Peever, Lisa Chevers & Joanne Long, Charlene Cleland and myself, missing Debbie Peever) of the Avondale United Church in Tillsonburg, who, after being introduced to Tumaini in May, worked incredibly hard to bring us dozens and dozens of soccer cleats, school shoes, book bags and pjs!  Thank you SO very much for your love!

Additionally, Millie, Karen and Jim Baetz and the Fitzpatrick family oh so generously donated some of those needed watches, pjs and SOAP! for our little ones!  Remember that it is winter in Tanzania right now, being on the other side of the equator, and although we don’t usually conceive of cold in Africa, it actually DOES get quite chilly at night so warm pjs are invaluable to us, not to mention the fact that with all the good food we are providing our family they keep GROWING!!

Further thanks go to Bibi Isabel for HER incredibly kind and generous donation towards watches, as well as Lisa Engelhardt-Robinson of The DolMor Salon.  Asante Sana!  As Mama Diane Goodman asked when I put the request for watches out, “does this mean if they have watches they’ll learn to be on time?” (Tanzanians are notoriously late)  We can only hope they’ll at least learn how LATE they are!!  Thank you so much!!

Lohai is back!  He has returned for his third summer and will spend time here on the farm with “Baba”, improving his farming skills AND his English and then take those skills back to Tumaini to help us there.  Feel free to call the farm to say hi!

August 3 and 4 are rapidly approaching and Tumaini supporters are hard at work getting set up for our fundraising YARD SALE at 857 Norfolk St S. Simcoe, Ontario.  If you have something you’d like to contribute to the sale or would like to come out and support us, please contact Charlene Cleland at char.cleland@yahoo.ca.  to make arrangements and THANK YOU!!

AND!  Our second Charity golf tournament is fast approaching and we’d love for you to join us September 29^th at Springview Farms Golf Club in Waterford, ON.  Please contact BonnieWardell@hotmail.com for registration information and please know that we always need donations for golf prizes if possible!  I know that Bonnie has more special fun planned for us this year (such as a “Pimp Your Ride” contest), AND . . . two of our older Tumaini children will be joining us, in addition to Lohai so you should get a chance to say hello and ask some of your Tumaini questions!

On a truly sad note . . . Bad things do happen to good people and we are not immune to it, even at Tumaini.  Negative politicking exists everywhere and in Tumaini’s almost four years we have been challenged several times by people who come with their own agendas and are, unfortunately, unable to work together harmoniously, even when the beneficiaries are poor, orphaned children.  Recently, this has happened again at Tumaini and our precious Katy, I am so very sad to say, has become a part of the fallout and found the need to leave us . . . Katy has resigned from Tumaini for her own, personal reasons and we wish her all the best and absolutely EVERY happiness in the future.  She has been a Godsend to us at Tumaini, a beloved sister to the children and like a daughter to me.  I am heartbroken, but respect her decisions and let her go with a heavy heart full of love and gratitude and do hope that one day things will be different.  There are many, MANY things we can hold and control in this world, but alas, this is not one of them.  We love and will miss you Katy but know that good and beautiful new adventures await you.  Thank you so very much.

An outstanding and deserving student, Omari.

We are working on our Christmas giving campaign and this year we would like to focus on an educational theme.  We spend millions of shillings every January outfitting and paying school fees for not only our unsponsored children, but many, deserving, yet desperately poor kids who simply do not have a chance at furthering their educations without help.  Often, there is nowhere to turn and at Tumaini we have worked hard to give those chances to dozens and dozens of children, but it costs money . . . meet a boy named Omari who pulled a virtual miracle out of the air by earning all As and Bs from a terrible public school with few teachers and little to no support.  He has no parents and only an older sister to help care for him and a younger brother.  His sister’s baby developed a heart condition and “poof!” any chance of secondary school went out the window with every dollar being spent to save the five month old infant’s life.  We helped save not only the baby but Omari also and he has rewarded us with OUTSTANDING efforts, but . . . it costs money!  And there will be another Omari (or David, or Abdi, or Ayubu) this year!  The campaign will begin in October with gifts ranging from $10.00 (to be applied towards school books), up to $500.00 (school fees for one year) and we will send you a photo of the child you helped along with his or her bio and supply ongoing updates!  Please keep this in mind when thinking about your Christmas giving!

As I said, the children are off for the month of August.  We will be busy with games and activities and I’ll update you with photos and stories!  They are busy this week finishing end of second term examinations (I hope) and will be ready for some fun I expect!  Report cards will be forthcoming.

From each of them (and their Mama) I would like to wish each of you a wonderful August shared with your families and friends and say enormous thank yous for your continued love and support.  I cannot say it enough . . . we need you.  Your heart and your financial contributions, in order to provide our children (who are oh so very deserving by the way), with a healthy and safe life . . . with a quality education . . . with love and with hope for their futures.  We work hard to ensure all of this happens with minimal dollars spent on administration (only 9%), and are very proud of our performance thus far and we intend to continue to use your dollars as efficiently as is humanly possible in order to continue to care for our children. Please be well and thank you!

A Message from Mama . . .

Happy Birthdays to Anna (Big) July 21^st and Rashid (only) July 5^th!  We love you!!   

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNA (JULY 21)

HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY RASHID!

Lohai has been ill with typhoid

The children are for the most part, well.  Anna (Liadi’s sister and not little Anna) was fighting malaria AND typhoid but I understand is on the mend. 

Lohai has just had typhoid and Liadi has gone to the hospital with an interesting but unknown rash like “blisters” on his leg.  Please send them your prayers.  The rest of the brood are busy with studies.

Tumaini is struggling with water again . . . as in “none”, or “little” and bucket showers and severe water management is in practice . . . all of our little ones running around dirty . . . ONLY WASHING THE DIRTY BITS . . .

Our precious Mary happily reports that her CD4 count has climbed to 495!  You will remember she was VERY sick when she came to us and that it took two years to get her count over 200 from just 21, full blown AIDS . . . this most recent climb has occurred since I left in April.  Congratulations to our young lady!!

CONGRATULATIONS MARY AND REWARD!

Some Hongeras (Congratulations)! Brother and sister Mery and Reward Minja are our FIRST Tumaini university graduates (Mery is home already and Reward will come home on Friday).  Mery has earned a degree in Archaeology and History and Reward, in Information Technologies.  Just a reminder that less than 4% of children complete even secondary school, so, for these two to have accomplished this milestone is most impressive . . . (I suspect further studies are in the works for them . . . I’ll keep you posted). 

AND WHAT ABOUT RAYMOND???  Weeeelllllll!  You may remember the story of this young man who, in 7^th grade, while being quizzed by his teacher, asked, “Why should I study?  There is no chance for me to go to secondary school?”  Raymond not only discovered hope in a future he could not yet see, but has completed his advanced level secondary education and is today just a “little bit” proud of his successful first year at university!!  I will confirm when I return to Tumaini at the end of this month but I heard hints at one “A” and the rest “Bs”.  Hongera sana motto wangu!!!  Congratulations and by the by Raymond you look more and more like your father!  Such a handsome man!!

And I would be remiss if I didn’t, from the bottom of my heart, thank each of you who have been fundamental in helping these children along the paths of their dreams.  When we look at photos of our Tumaini children today, it is easy to forget their pasts, but each of them came from suffering and I know, because I help do the bookkeeping, how important your continued support of us is.  I processed this month’s paypal contributions and I marvel, (and I am so very grateful to say it) at the longevity, the commitment of your support.  These children, Mary and Reward and Raymond and ALL of our Tumaini children will only continue realizing their dreams with our help so, “AHSANTE SANA”!  “THANK YOU VERY MUCH”!

Our second annual Charity Tournament of Hope is in the works and we look for your support again.  It will be held on September 29^th at Springview Farms Golf Club and we are looking both for golfers (another fun filled day planned with a “pimp your ride” contest and a “Swahili styled swap meet”, not to mention two special guests from Tanzania who will be joining us!  See our flyer and get registered!!

And not that all of our volunteers aren’t special but we have a particularly “special” volunteer joining us this December.  His name is Christian and he will join us from Germany.  Chris (aged 22) lives from a wheelchair and it is one of his wishes to volunteer in Africa and, as the stars would align, he and mum Susan have found us and we couldn’t be happier.  You may remember that most handicapped people are isolated and/or stygmatized in Tanzania and our own Esther came to us both for protection and an opportunity to go to school, something she would not have enjoyed in her very tiny village.

Chris, and his very special wheelchair tires will allow our children, and our entire village, to learn that just because a person is white (caucasian/mzungu) does not mean that everything in their lives is PERFECT.  The perception is for many that non-Africans have no challenges and Chris’ energy and presence will help educate us on the realities of life throughout the world.  His and mum’s energy sound amazing and I am so very excited to welcome him to Tumaini!!

And in closing I have been negligent in my thank you to Clark Robinson and friends Jordan McInally and Eric Grice for a) trekking to Tumaini and b) trekking UP Mount Kilimanjaro in a fundraising effort for our benefit, not to mention bringing your teaching skills to local schools in our village AND being incredibly cool big brothers to the children!  Thank you Clark, Jordan and Eric whose efforts raised almost $3,000.00!

I will return to Tumaini and our children at the end of this month.  This has been a challenging time home for me as, with each trip, the children and I become closer and closer and being apart becomes harder and harder.  Despite this, I couldn’t imagine doing anything more fulfilling with my life and I am incredibly grateful to my friends and and family, especially my husband Steve who celebrate my appearances and withstand my absences with acceptance and understanding and to each of you, from the very bottom of my heart, thank you . . . for continuing to love us . . .