The Project Canaan Team of Five:Part One Written By: Janet Scott
Posted by Amber Nolen | Filed under Project Canaan
Our Team: The Project Canaan Five, Then Six, Then Back to Five
Jere and I left Medford, OR on Wednesday, June 15, 2011 and arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa where we met Mark Hackett, from Wurtsboro, NY, and Rose Smith, from Edmonton, Canada at the airport. Our team was short one person because Frank Tauau’u’s flight was cancelled out of JFK, NY due to a bad storm, so he didn’t leave Phoenix, AZ as planned. We worked with Mark last summer at Project Canaan and with Rose in 2006 on a double mission to Swaziland and Malawi. Frank managed El Shaddai’s Komati Campus with his wife, Jane, last year. Lisa Hackett arrived just before Litsemba and stayed on after Rose, who was the first to leave, returned home. From Johannesburg the four of us flew the final short hop to Matsapha, Swaziland. We picked up our rental Toyota HiLux at the airport and went straight to The Gables Mall in Ezulwini, to purchase our MTN Swazi SIM cards and airtime for our cell phones and bottled water at Pick ‘n Pay Supermarket and checked in to the Lugogo Sun Hotel.
Once Frank arrived, our team of five was split into two groups, with the men working at Kufundza Training Center and the women working where we were needed. Mark and Frank worked under Jere, until another team arrived and temporarily added Jimmy Wilferth, Mike Diamond and Bobby Ramjist as helpers, as well as Robert Smucker when he visited for a few days. (Robert and Jere worked together to design Kufundza.) Jere’s job was to finish Kufundza with a roof and a carpentry workshop equipped with machinery and tools.
Rose and I started with clearing construction debris at Kufundza and went on to reorganize the four 20-foot storage containers that Jere and Mark roofed in 2010. Rose and I were in the midst of cleaning up the Long Term Volunteer Lodge (the construction crew was still getting it ready for occupancy), scrubbing tile in the showers and the kitchen and bedroom floors, as well as cleaning Swazi windows when Ann Williams arrived with Jimmy’s team. Then while she and Rose worked on applying the finishing coats of lacquer to Jimmy’s wooden tables and benches for the Lodge, I continued cleaning. In fact, one day, I even had help cleaning windows from all the Maxwells.
Until our team moved into the Lodge on June 29, 2011, our days were divided between living at the Lugogo Sun Hotel in Ezulwini, having breakfast and dinner at the Ilanga Restaurant’s huge four-square buffet, and working at Project Canaan, a commute of about 35-40 miles, having sack lunches that were packed by the restaurant; lunches that seldom varied, with some kind of a lunchmeat and cheese sandwich, a boxed juice, a bag of chips, a fruit, a candy bar and Bulembu bottled water. We luxuriated in the hot showers, wifi connection, and incredible meals.
Once we moved into the Lodge, our weekly routine consisted of working from seven in the morning to six in the evening, Monday to Saturday, with Sundays free for church, and the rest of the day spent at The Gables Mall where we had lunch at Sheba’s Rock, visited the internet cafe, and shopped at Pick ‘N Pay Supermarket before heading back to Project Canaan to prepare dinner. Occasionally, we drove to Nelspruit, South Africa for a Saturday of shopping for things we couldn’t find in Swaziland.
Even though we occupied three rooms, the construction crew still continued working on the last two single rooms, the dormitory wing, the roof, the cement floors, the windows and security bars, and etc. In fact, when Jere and I left (we were the last of the team to leave) two months after we arrived in Swaziland, the crew was still working on the Lodge.
Moments To Remember: Summitting 3,717 feet Mt. Hope on June 25, 2011 There were 23 of us, 6 who rode to the summit, and 17 who climbed to the summit. Ian drove the Land Rover and Mark drove the Toyota HiLux, taking Jere, Rose, Shirley, and Mike to the summit. Our work team consisted of Frank, Jimmy, Ann, Bobby, Sherri and me along with 11 Kenyan and Swazi staff. We climbed for 5 hours and 15 minutes, leaving at 9:45 in the morning and arrived at the summit at 3:00 in the afternoon. Our climb was part of a larger cause called Summit for Hope 2011. Robert Smucker designed a way to raise funds for Project Canaan starting with the idea of climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and it grew to include simultaneous climbing in Taiwan, the USA (Colorado, Hawai’i, California, and Georgia), Canada and Swaziland, with all teams summitting on June 25, 2011.
The goal of raising $150,000 is to support the building of phase two of El Roi Baby Home, Kufundza Learning Center, and the ISO (International Standards and Operations) Building. El Roi will be a home for babies who have been abandoned or “dumped” by desperate young mothers. The Kufundza Learning Center will provide training in carpentry and other skills to help increase knowledge and employment in the area. The ISO Building will allow standardized packaging and exporting of vegetables and sale to hotels and restaurants.
Mt. Kilimanjaro (19,340’) in Tanzania, the tallest mountain in Africa, was led by team leader Robert Smucker, our friend who served with us for the past five years. Team Taiwan summitted Mt. Jade (12,966’), the tallest mountain in Taiwan. Team Colorado summitted Mt. Elbert, (14,433’) the second tallest mountain in the lower 48. Team Hawai’i led by Howard Hodel, who served with us in 2007 in Kenya, planned to summit Mauna Kea (13,796’) the tallest mountain in Hawai’i; however, the expense was too great so Mt. Palehua, on the island of Oahu was summitted. Team California, led by Wolfgang Buehler, who funded the building of Kufundza Center, summitted Mt. San Antonio (10,068’), highest point in Los Angeles County. Team Georgia summitted Mr. Brasstown Bald (4,784’), the tallest mountain in Georgia. Team Canada summitted Heart Mountain (7,005’) in Canmore, Alberta.
The day was gorgeous, cool to start off and sunny with a few clouds. We were all wearing jackets, but soon shed them as we progressed up the mountain. Jere made sure that I used a cane and that acted like a third leg, supporting me throughout the hike. The trail was gradual for the first fourth of the hike but the remainder of the hike was brutal. The ground was littered with rocks, ruts, forest debris, sometimes water to be traversed, sometimes plants to avoid, and sometimes, great big sinkholes formed by previous summer rains. There was a lot of land that was covered with various sizes of beautiful white quartz. The last two miles was the hardest with tall grass and rocks littering the landscape and boulders to climb, while we were climbing steeper and steeper. We stopped for water breaks as needed but everybody ran out of water before we reached the summit. As we neared the summit, we could see the tiny figures of those who had gone up in the vehicles. I gave out a high-pitched African call and I could see Jere waving his arms and I knew that he had heard me. Most of us were tired when we reached the summit but very happy that we had finally made it to the top.
After the traditional picture taking, Jere said a few words on the topic of hope, as we Christians see hope. We had our sack lunches and traveled back down the mountain in the two vehicles. If we had walked back down, it would have taken us at least three hours and it would have been much too dark to see the trail by the end of the hike. After dinner, I thought I would have passed out from fatigue, but Jere and I watched a video that lasted past 1:00 in the morning. Wow, what a day!
Part Two is coming next week.
Share on FacebookImportant announcement: Babies have arrived at the El Roi Baby home on Project Canaan
Posted by Amber Nolen | Filed under El Roi Baby Home, Janine Maxwell, Project Canaan, Swaziland
It was Easter morning in 2003 that I first witnessed the rescue of a child who lived on the streets of Lusaka, Zambia. It was an earth-shattering, life-changing event that changed the entire trajectory of my life. I saw hope in the face of six year old boy named Kantwa, as he said goodbye to the filth, the terror and the hopelessness of life as a “street kid”. It may have been in that moment that I first truly understood the power of the resurrected Jesus, and it was Easter morning.
It is now the week before Easter 2012 and I am overwhelmed as I reflect on all at all that has happened in the past nine years. I have experienced intense pain at the death of children I love in Africa and I have cried a thousand tears and wondered if they would ever end. But I have also see miracles with my own eyes, seen buildings built, funding appear from the most unexpected places and felt the hand of God on my life in a palpable way.
But today I am writing to tell you of a new story of hope and it comes with the news that the El Roi Baby Home on Project Canaan, in the tiny Kingdom of Swaziland, is now open. El Roi is the Hebrew name for “The God Who Sees” (read Genesis 16:13) and we know that He sees the babies who are being directed to us just as He sees you and me.
In late February 2012 we opened our doors and wondered when, how and even IF any babies would be brought to the El Roi Baby home. Swaziland has the highest HIV/AIDS infection rate in the world and this murderous and relentless pandemic has a left a wake of orphans and vulnerable children. It has also left women (often young girls) with a feeling of utter hopelessness that results in them “dumping” or abandoning their new born babies because they have to possible way to care for them.
On March 1st, 2012 our first newborn baby arrived. Please allow me to introduce you to the newest members of our family and of the El Roi Baby Home.
Baby #1: Joshua was a three-day-old baby boy was brought to us because his mother couldn’t care for him and had planned to “dump” him as soon as he was born. The child’s father had been murdered months prior to the baby’s birth and a caring Social Worker convinced the mother to bring the child to life safely and she would help find him a home. El Roi is his new home.
Baby #2: – Esther was a 14-day old baby girl who arrived a couple of days after Joshua. Esther’s mother was young and planned to commit suicide in her eighth month of pregnancy. Again, a caring (and life-saving) Social Worker convinced her to save her own life and the life of the baby. The baby was abandoned at the door of a man who delivered the child to a local hospital. The mother is HIV positive and Esther was treated as soon as she was born. We will know in a few weeks whether she is HIV positive as well, and what her future care needs will be. El Roi is now the home for this little girl.
Baby #3: Fortune is a baby boy and is 8 months old and only weighs 12.3 pounds. Fortune was delivered to a local hospital in a cardboard box, by his father who is in the final stages of HIV/AIDS. His mother had already succumbed to the disease and the father was no longer able to care for him. Fortune is HIV positive and is being treated with ARV’s. He has active Tuberculosis and is covered in terrible sores and lesions. If that wasn’t enough for this little guy, he is severely malnourished and is struggling to survive. El Roi is now his home.
Baby #4: Sizoluhle (which means “a good helper”) arrived TODAY (March 29, 2012) and is 8 weeks old. His mother was raped in South Africa and as a result is HIV positive and while she does not want to have anything to do with the child, the Social Worker encouraged the mother to care for the baby for a time to see if she would change her mind. Today she brought the baby to the hospital and left him there. El Roi is now his home.
Baby #5: Anna is a baby girl, is a month old and has been living in a government hospital since she was found in a pit latrine (outhouse/toilet) just after she was born. She has been struggling with a chest infection since then and getting treatment in the hospital. While she has not arrived at El Roi yet, we are praying that she will be released to our care in the hours/days ahead and El Roi will be her home.
As you can see we have much to be thankful for and much to pray for. The emotional and physical cost to care for these babies is high. Please join us in praying for Helen Mulli and the others who have been hired to provide 24 hour care at the El Roi Baby home. As some of you may know, Helen was rescued by Mr. Charles Mulli at the tender age of eight-years old and was raised by Mr. & Mrs. Mulli at the Mulli Children’s Family Home in Kenya. She has grown to be a wonderful woman of God, married Peter Mulli (Charles’ youngest brother, and Kaleli’s Uncle) and is now living at the El Roi Baby Home to care for “the abandoned and ignored” babies who are brought to us.
As you would expect there is also a high financial cost to care for these babies so that they get proper and immediate health care, the right nutrition for their situation and all the love that can be poured on them. Currently we only have 6 people helping on a monthly basis and are asking if you would consider becoming a Heart for Africa HERO by committing to a monthly donation to support the El Roi Baby Home. It is as simple as clicking here and signing up today.
This has been a long read, but I hope that you are inspired by it and will join me in prayer and thanksgiving to the Lord who is the giver of life, and to El Roi, the one who SEES us all. Thank you also to Annie Duguid, from the Watoto Baby Home in Uganda, who came to Swaziland to help prepare the El Roi team to be ready to receive babies (including hiring and training women who will love and care for these children). We are thankful for the leadership team at Watoto who invested in the El Roi Baby Home by giving Annie six weeks of paid leave to come and serve with us. Thank you to our Staff at Heart for Africa and on Project Canaan and to our Board of Directors in the US and Canada who have stood by us through the highs and lows as we have prepared the way for the little ones to arrive.
Happy Easter everyone! He has risen indeed!
Janine Maxwell
Share on FacebookAn Auction Fundraiser By: Britta Jarvie
Posted by Amber Nolen | Filed under Fundraising
My friend Burgess had the brilliant idea to do an online charity auction to raise money for my internship with Heart for Africa this summer. She had done an auction previously and offered to help me put one together. It was such a great idea and has been a very rewarding and fun experience. If you are in need of fundraising ideas, I highly suggest an auction! We hosted our auction through a blog online. But you could also do an auction event on location instead of doing it online.
Although it was a lot of work to organize and prepare for the auction, it has been very worth it. Here are a couple of things that we learned along the way that may help you with your charity auction:
First – Give yourself time and plan ahead. We had about two months to ask for donations, take pictures, write descriptions and get them posted. It took a lot longer than I thought to do everything but luckily we planned ahead and did a little at a time. It didn’t feel as overwhelming because we did a little bit each day.
Second – Don’t be afraid to ask for donations. I know it can be very intimidating to ask others for help so if you feel scared just think of those perfect little babies and children who need us and are counting on us. I think you will be very surprised by the generosity of others. People love to help…you just need to ask! We had all sorts of donations from family, friends and even local businesses. Our auction also had a variety of items from baked goods to headphones to photos shoots…even laser hair removal! The more variety the better…it gives everyone a choice and people are sure to find something they like. Remember to thank the people who donated and give them a tax receipt if possible. Burgess and I made sure to mention the people who donated on our Facebook pages. We also included a link on the auction site to all of our wonderful sponsors. We thought it was important to give credit where credit was due – the auction would not have been possible without them!
Third – Have faith! There were many times during the auction that I was worried that no one would bid or that we wouldn’t make very much money. But it was a total success and we were able to raise a large amount. It’s important to work really hard to have a successful auction, but then stand back and let God work his magic. He will make sure things work out just the way they need to. As we serve Him, our lives will be blessed – even if it’s just through a charity auction.
If you are interested in hosting a charity auction and have any questions, please feel free to contact me. I would love to help in any way that I can. You can email me at britta.jarvie@gmail.com. You can also check out our charity auction site for more ideas and information at www.auctionforafrica.blogspot.com.
Good luck and happy fundraising!
Share on FacebookSinging Valentine Goat Fundraiser By:Julie McKone
Posted by Amber Nolen | Filed under Fundraising, Uncategorized
Heritage Hall’s motto, To Learn, To Lead, To Serve, shapes our curriculum and school attitude each day. Our school truly believes in inspiring in each child the curiosity to learn, the self-confidence to lead, and the compassion to serve. These ideals are taught at every grade level, from the pre-school program through the twelfth grade.
Our kindergarten students attend a Community Service class once a week. This year, our kindergarteners have made Braille flags for disabled veterans, collected band-aids for children’s hospitals, collected canned goods for a food pantry, and, most recently, collected money to buy goats for the organization, Heart for Africa.
The Kindergarten students at Heritage Hall, along with the sixth grade chorus, learned three Valentines songs with motions.
They, then, sold “Singing Valentines” throughout our Lower School for $5 each. Students, faculty, and parents were able to buy the valentines and have them delivered on Valentine’s Day. The sixth graders and Kindergarteners delivered valentines all day across the campus.
Even though we charged only $5 per valentine, we were able to raise $1820.00 and sold almost 300 valentines. We chose to donate our money to Heart for Africa. The children were interested in donating enough money to buy at least one goat for Project Canaan Farm. We were thrilled to know that we raised enough money to buy more than 30 goats. This turned out to be a wonderful learning experience for our entire school, and we hope to make it a tradition each year.
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