Feeding children in East Africa

It's difficult to explain all that we do at Kulea. Our goal is to build two Childcare Villages to take care of orphans or vulnerable children who have been surrendered to our care. We are building our first children's village in Tanzania where we have our first Kulea home.

Building the Land Caretaker's home on the site of our 1st children's village, Ubazi Village.

In addition to building the villages, we currently take care of children in three ways. Some children are in our total care program, some children are in one of our preschool & feeding programs, and some are in our vulnerable child support program.

Kulea Kids (Total Care) -- Children who have been surrendered to our care are in our total care program and often called "Kulea Kids." We support these children primarily through sponsorship funds which covers food, clothes, a bed, school fees, sports, and dental and health checkups. Currently we have 11 Kulea Kids and they live in the first Kulea home in Tanzania. Each child has five sponsors. Only one Kulea Kid needs one sponsor: Rama. You can sponsor Rama. We are grateful for our sponsors and their faithfulness!

Rama holding Naomi

A fun loving, smart kid -- I adore Rama!

Kulea Preschool & Feeding Programs -- We care for some children who have a care giver that is unable to provide school fees and/or three nutritious meals a day. Those children are enrolled in one of our three preschools run through our partner churches. The preschools are Kingdom Kids (Chalinze, Tanzania), Golden Hope (Mombasa, Kenya), and Hilltop (Likoni, Kenya). Each school provides two meals per day, small classes and excellent teaching. Kulea USA provides funds to each church to help with the cost of food. We are looking for donors to help us feed the children. In addition, our dream is to find two USA Preschools to come alongside one of these preschools in partnership. The partnership can include pen pals, providing funds through special fundraisers, etc.

Children sing at Golden Hope School, Mombasa, Kenya.

Happy children at Kingdom Kids Preschool,
Chalinze, Tanzania.

One of our three preschools has such a sponsor: Hilltop School in Haverhill, MA.  Hilltop School in Likoni, Kenya took the name of their sponsoring school. This partnership started over three years ago when the church members in Likoni assessed the needs around them and decided to open a school to help families who could not afford preschool. The director of Hilltop School USA, Tammi McGrath, heard about the dire needs in that community and decided to approach her teachers about helping. It was a unanimous decision to help and from that point on, Hilltop School USA has been the sponsoring preschool for Hilltop Likoni. Every year, Hilltop School USA finds around 25 people willing to provide school fees for one Hilltop Likoni preschool child (cost is $120 for the year). These fees cover the child's food, too. In addition, Hilltop USA has held a few special fundraisers and the money raised has purchased new fans, additional classrooms, school supplies, etc. They have sent t-shirts to the Kenyan school and the teachers at each school pray for each other regularly. The partnership has added value to both schools and is more than I can capture in this paragraph.

One class at Hilltop School, Likoni, Kenya.

First year at Hilltop School, t-shirts and logo from Hilltop School USA.

Kulea Vulnerable Child Program -- What happens when the preschool children "age out" of preschool and need continued help with school fees to be able to attend primary school? This question has concerned us. So often we hear that school is "free" after Kindergarten in Kenya and Tanzania. Well, as in many things, you get what you pay for. The free primary schools (government schools) often have missing teachers, no supplies or curriculum, inadequate buildings and latrines, and class sizes of 70+ children to one frustrated teacher. Children generally don't learn. School fees at a private school can range from very little ($20 per month) to a lot. Almost any private school is an improvement.

We have found that children exit our excellent preschools and sometimes are found at home, not attending school anywhere. Parents have no money for school fees, for uniforms, for supplies, etc and some parents cannot put three meals on the table each day. While our goal is to build a childcare village in Tanzania and one in Kenya, we cannot turn away from vulnerable children who need help today. We've set up a selection process to help a few of the most vulnerable children with food and school fees as needed for private school. Children in this program need one or two sponsors (at $35 per month). We currently need one sponsor each for Musa, Michele, Mercy and Dorcas. Children on our waiting list can then be added to our website, children waiting to go to school and not receiving adequate food -- their need of a sponsor is urgent.

The vision for Kulea Childcare Villages is big -- so big it's often hard to describe -- but we try! We are thankful for each of our Kulea children. What a privilege it is to have a small part in their lives, whether feeding them, educating them, or taking care of all of their needs. We look forward to what God will do through them in the future. What a journey . . . what an honor, serving the "least of these."

What does it mean to 'spend yourself'?

One child among 151 million orphans. I try not to cite statistics, because they depersonalize the plight of one hungry child. However, it’s important to look at the numbers now and then. I saw a website last week that listed the total number of orphans worldwide against the world’s largest countries by population. Orphans came in #9 – (list was dated 2011). Check it out!

In a list of the most populated countries of the world, orphans would rank #9.

 1.     China – 1,331,580,000

 2.     India – 1,165,800,000

 3.     United States – 306,806,000

 4.     Indonesia – 230,512,000

 5.     Brazil – 191,416,000

 6.     Pakistan – 166,800,500

 7.     Bangladesh – 162,221,000

 8.     Nigeria – 154,729,000

 9.     ORPHANS – 143,000,000
10.    Russia – 141,835,000    

However, one blog reports that worldwide the number of orphans is no longer on the rise, but actually dropping.  In 2009 UNICEF reported 163 million orphans worldwide. In 2011 that number dropped by 10 million to 153 million. By April 2013, UNICEF reported 151 million. It’s encouraging, except that 151 million is too many. 151 is too many. 

Statistics . . .overwhelming.

Last week, I was asked to encourage a leader in Africa who was feeling overwhelmed by the number of children in need and the lack of funding for his project. He is a pastor, starting an orphan rescue project. I wondered what could I possibly say to encourage him because it IS overwhelming to see the children in need go without because of our lack of funds. After a few days I decided to just share what keeps me going through the hard times. That letter gives a glimpse into the struggles of this work.

Dear Pastor,

               My friends here in the USA, have told me about your orphan project.  I read over the proposal – your dreams are our dreams. Led by God, we have started a similar ministry in Tanzania and in Mombasa. (Kulea's website) It’s a long and tough road, full of many disappointments and huge “mountains” we see before us. I know you completely understand that. Often when flying home, I look out at the ocean and think that like a single drop of water in the vast sea, that’s what it seems we are doing. That is, compared with the 70 million orphans in need of rescue across Africa today – it seems we are doing nothing.

God is faithful and gently reminds me to stop and consider one child – one “Kulea” kid. Let’s choose one – how about Salima? When she was 3 and lost her mother, she went to live with her poor grandmother who begged daily for food. Every day for the next 5 years, Salima begged with her bibi. She didn’t have shoes and didn’t set foot in a school building. Sometimes they ate but often they did not. Finally at the age of 8, we brought her home to her “forever home,” a Kulea home in Chalinze, Tanzania, and put her in school, added nutrition to her diet, took her to doctor and dentist checkups, and began teaching her about salvation through faith in Christ. Today she is a bright, Christian girl of 13 with big hopes and dreams – dreams that are actually achievable! We may not be able to rescue 70 million kids or even 70 kids today, but for one, such as Salima, what we are doing is EVERYTHING. We are showing her God’s love daily, providing for her needs and loving her with all that is within us.  It is THIS that keeps you and I going.

Salima (with ball) a couple of years after she was rescued

              I want to encourage you, brother, that though you have 60 children in front of you and a huge project that is yet unfunded, God will take you one step at a time. He wants you to slow down and go at His pace – wakati wa Mungu. If He called you to this work, I believe He funds what He ordains. For us, He seems to come through at the last minute – often. Then He gets the glory because each time we could not find the way or the solution. We are humbled and privileged to serve such an awesome God as we help the least of these among us.

              Let me leave you with a scripture and quote that mean a lot to me:

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice

    and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free

    and break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry

    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—

when you see the naked, to clothe them,

    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,

    and your healing will quickly appear;

then your righteousness[a] will go before you,

    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

9 Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;

    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,

    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry

    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,

then your light will rise in the darkness,

    and your night will become like the noonday.

11 The Lord will guide you always;

    he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land

    and will strengthen your frame.

You will be like a well-watered garden,

    like a spring whose waters never fail.

12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins

    and will raise up the age-old foundations;

you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,

    Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

Isaiah 58: 6 – 12

"If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one." - Mother Teresa

Mungu akubariki!

Mama Lindsey  (Deborah Brown)

In July, Kulea sent a letter to those who helped us get Kulea started by sponsoring a child, helping buy land, praying, volunteering, traveling with us, etc. Most likely, if you are reading this, you are one of those people. We asked for an extra donation, for people to "stand with us" and help us continue what we've started. Since then, we've received donations totaling about $1,700 and are looking forward to that number growing this month. We are so grateful for each one who took the time to make an extra donation.

I am praying that during the month of August others will write a check - an extra donation - to help us  build a village for children who deserve life and hope. Kulea, P.O. Box 333, Atkinson, NH 03811. 

Deborah Brown, Executive Director

My "A-Ha" Moment

Pam holds baby Musa

Bucket brigade building the church . . . fun with a team of friends!

Reflections by Pam Beauvais, Kulea USA Board member

      It is a picture perfect summer day today here in New England. There is a cloudless blue sky, gentle breeze, flowers in full bloom and the garden has begun to yield its seasonal offerings. On this day I strive to slow things down, to savor each moment, and to give thanks to God for this wonderful gift of life. But don’t get the wrong idea. Most days are not like this for me. Too often I am caught up in the tyranny of the urgent, rushing from task to task and getting impatient with everyone and everything that gets in my way. Sound familiar?

     On this particular day I was voicing my frustration to God (yes, we talk often) about a situation that wasn't progressing fast enough for my liking. For four years now I have served on the board of directors for Kulea, and the plight of orphans and vulnerable children in East Africa has deeply tugged on my heart strings. Many of you reading this already know that Kulea’s outreach in Tanzania and Kenya is modeled after a wonderful rescue mission in Uganda called Watoto (www.watoto.com).  The foundational piece of this model is that any rescue effort needs to be borne of an outreach from a local church. This model resonated with me because it has local people helping other local people, and is a very sustainable model. It is also faith based, another important factor to me.

     So why the frustration?  In 2010 Kulea provided funds to purchase land in Chalinze, Tanzania to build our first orphan village. To date, we have drilled a well, installed a pump, have a caretaker and quick house on the property, and the beginnings of a crop of maize. But before the dream of the village can be realized, and in keeping with the Watoto model, we have also committed to help the Chalinze Baptist church replace their mud and stick church with an actual building. And even in Africa, church buildings are expensive. I have been to Chalinze. I have visited in homes there and seen situations that would break your heart. The need for orphan care is urgent. Yet we are building a church, brick by brick. So I inquire of God…“Is this really what you want?” “Shouldn't we be concentrating more on all of those children who are in peril now?”

     And in His gentle manner I can faintly hear Him whisper in my ear, “This church will be a sign of hope for everyone who sees it. They will come and hear about me and know that I see them, that I care about them. Out of this church will come life and hope for generations to come.” Don’t get me wrong; I am still anxious to be about the business of building orphan homes to rescue vulnerable children, to teach them about Jesus and to enable them to grow them up into responsible adults. But on this day I rest contented that God sees, He knows all this and He has a plan. And I am humbled and feel exceedingly blessed to be a part of it.

1. Preparing the church foundation

   

2. Beginning the church walls . . .

3. The walls are going up!

Note from Deborah Brown, Executive Director: 
Visit Africa Teams are forming now to travel to Tanzania in 2014 and continue building on this site as well as to begin building on our land,Ubazi Village. We also have our first team forming for Kulea Kenya!  Sign up today!

Madeline's Experience

Our friend Madeline traveled to Africa with Kulea and her family in August 2012 when she was 12 years old. 

Today she shares her experience: 

I was so excited when I found out I was going to Africa last year. When we got there everyone acted like they knew us. The Kulea girls gave us hugs and the boys shook our hands. I felt like I didn't have to be anyone but me. I didn't have to have the best clothes, perfect hair, or coolest accessory. They just accepted me for me. It made me feel so natural, like the part of me that was waiting to come out.

Most of my serious thinking happened when I returned home. I cried, but in that time I found strength. I have to remind myself that I don't have to feel bad about having luxuries. It just made me more grateful. I did not want to sit in my bedroom and cry. I wanted to go out there and help people.

Madeline is looking forward to returning to Africa in 2014 with Kulea. Will you join her? 

I found an excellent article about taking a Vacation with a Purpose on Jan Johnson's blog. She has good insights for Growing Compassionate Kids. You can find out what types of projects volunteers help with on a Kulea Visit Africa trip, or learn about the costs, climate, or air and ground transportation details.

VISIT AFRICA TRIPS:    

• July 2014 Mombasa, Kenya   
• August 2014 Chalinze, Tanzania (family trip) 

Sign up now!  Applications are due in September. 

The Smells of Fire in Africa

Journal writing at Vuma Hills tented camp,
Mikumi National Park

One of the joys of working for Kulea, is taking volunteers to experience Africa, to see the beauty, to feel the needs, to meet our friends, and to serve on a Kulea project. Each evening, we gather as a team to share reflections on our day. Additionally, some travelers keep a journal. It's a pleasure to share this excerpt from the journal of one team member, Walter Huston. Thanks, Walter!

20 August 2012

Kimotonge Hotel, Chalinze, Tanzania

8.30 PM 

Building a church in Chalinze, Tanzania

     The smell of a wood fire as I walked back from the other guesthouse reminded me of home. However, it is also my first sensory reminder of Africa. The smell of a burning fire is everywhere here in Chalinze. It was present in the homes we visited yesterday and it was present as we walked home tonight. It smells like it does when one walks through a campground on a summer night. The difference is that the campers back home are choosing it to relax, to get away, to connect with nature. Here, it is a way of life. There is no other house to return to, no other life to continue. This is it. They live, they breathe, and they survive by the fire.

     God does not call us to live by a campfire but by a different fire, the refiner’s fire. Not just a fun,‘get away’ fire, but a fire that consumes, devours, and causes only the purest to survive. A fire that glows with the highest, hottest flames and is so brilliant, we close our eyes due to fear and also in sheer reverence. As we walk closer, we tremble with fear but a Guiding Hand comes around us and assures us that though it may hurt, the fire will never completely destroy us but will only refine us in order to purify that which is hidden by human eyes.

Playing Simon Says in Chalinze

     We walk through the fire feeling the flames as they touch us and begin to feel the scorching of our flesh. We cringe, we cry, and even begin to scream. We don’t think we can go any further, but further we must go. We beg to stop, for something to ease the pain, but there is nothing except the Hand that continues to push us through to the other side.
     And to the other side, we finally emerge. Not as a lump of rock or coal but the most brilliant gem we are supposed to be. Some will be like diamonds while others like rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. All will be precious to the King. 

Kulea's August 2012 Team visits the future site of Ubazi Children's Village

Busy days in Exeter, NH

This weekend the United Methodist Church in Exeter, NH welcomed Kulea for the weekend! I enjoyed every minute -- busy, fun days! On Friday and Saturday, church members held a yard sale to benefit Kulea's September travel team. We met church members, and enjoyed the air conditioned indoor sale! We appreciate Amy Salyards-Frye, who took the lead in organizing the yard sale. Her son is currently on a mission trip for 7 weeks in Malawi  with Teen Mission -- see Teen Mission's Travel Update. He is 16 and hasn't been able to communicate directly with mom and dad (can you imagine that?).  However, the family gets updates from the ministry.  He's been away 4 weeks, so 3 more to go. Wow! What a huge sacrifice from this family. Hang in there, Amy!

I returned Sunday to the UMC in Exeter for worship, anxious to hear Reverend Cynthia Nickerson preach. Cindy is the Pastor of UMC, Exeter and has recently joined the Kulea USA Board of Directors.  In September she will travel with Kulea's Visit Africa team to Tanzania. She wore an Africa themed stole as she spoke and The Kulea Story 2013 video was shared at the end of service. The video moved some to tears, including me! Each time I watch this simple slide show, I am moved to tears, so overwhelmed with gratitude to our Father who has rescued these precious children.

 I'm so thankful He made a way for them to be in a loving family and to get an education.  I rejoice that I can be a part of His plan. I'm overwhelmed that this vision or dream he put in my heart in 2008 has become a reality! Each little face has a story and I know them well. I've held them and hugged them and reminded them they are loved by us but so much more by their heavenly Father. Their past stories of hunger, abandonment, brutality, or neglect do not define them. God has given them a new life and their future is bright!
After the worship service our September team gathered for lunch and a travel planning meeting. I shared my testimony, how God pursued me despite my stubbornness to start the Kulea ministry.  Seriously, I was a rebel when He asked me to do this work, telling Him he had the wrong person! (I think Jonah is my distant cousin. I completely understand why he ran to Nineveh - Story of Jonah). In the end, I am so thankful that God did not give up. I feel so privileged to participate in His work.
Our Visit Africa team is full of talented women preparing to go to Tanzania in September! Our project is three-fold: to paint the exterior of the Kulea home, facilitate an afternoon women's ministry event, spend time in the Kingdom Kids preschool providing training for their teachers. This team will visit the local clinic, a secondary school, the Maasai, local markets, and our land called Ubazi where the children's village is being developed. In addition, we will participate in a special dedication ceremony, thanking God for the well and the pure water now flowing at Ubazi, Kulea's land. At the end of our meeting, we took a photo

and named ourselves Timu Wanawake 2013 which translates to Women's Team 2013. I cannot wait to serve with these women in Tanzania! We look forward to the challenges and joys, expecting God to do great things!

Playing for good health!

Kulea volunteers had a great time Saturday, attending the African Health Cup 2013 in Lowell, MA.We met many people, had perfect weather, enjoyed African music, exciting soccer matches and of course, vendors selling African food, crafts, etc.  It was exciting just to be present and network with so many people. One of our volunteers for the day, SaRah LeBlanc, said she felt a little like she was back in Tanzania!

The Health Cup, an annual soccer tournament, is held to increase HIV prevention and education to African refugees and immigrants living in Massachusetts. It is organized by AFIA, Africans for Improved Access, part of the Multicultural AIDS Coalition. www.mac-boston.org

At the event, free onsite rapid HIV testing was available as well as other screenings for things such as diabetes.  Between the games, speakers addressed the players and spectators, sharing knowledge and testimonies from those living with HIV.
We enjoyed meeting Delfine Masongo, keynote speaker for the day. She is passionate about this work and is able to break down barriers and reach young people with her message. Delfine works as a peer advocate for AIDS Action, www.aac.org.

We met people interested in traveling with Kulea and the Head Men's Soccer Coach from Roxbury Community College, MA, Joseph Ashley, stopped by to visit. He offered to come with us to Tanzania or Kenya and teach soccer for a week to community youth.

We are looking forward to another community event this week in Exeter, NH -- a yard sale, benefiting Kulea! Join us if you can, at Exeter United Methodist Church, 307 Epping Road.  Friday 7/19 from 3pm - 7pm and Saturday, 7/20 from 8am - 1pm.  http://www.exeterumc.org/

It's a privilege to meet new people and share the Kulea mission with them. We continue to pray for God to open up the hearts of people because if everyone helps a little, we can make a big difference for orphans and vulnerable children in East Africa! Truly, it takes a village!