you know you wanna...

so the most pressing issue coming back from moshi, has been working on getting the rest of the kids at wisdom childrens center sponsored. there are 140 kids involved in the program and as it sits, there are about 47 with sponsors.

sponsorship is $35/month. this provides 1 meal a day, clothing, school supplies and helps with school costs. while school is technically free in tanzania, there are a lot of hidden costs associated, such as uniforms and supplies. team that with the fact that the older the child, the higher the associated costs. a typical school year can cost around $400 USD. the minimum wage in tanzania is $100/month, but keep in mind the vast majority of families there are WELL below minimum wage. in families that have more than one child, or are being raised by a family memeber, it's almost impossible to survive. every child involved in the program is either being raised by a single parent, aunt or uncle or grandparent.

this is probably the best case senario in terms of child sponsorship. while compassion and worldvision are great organizations, it's hard not to feel a bit of disconnect since it's so vast. we send groups at very least twice a year. this year alone, we'll send 4 groups. we get to know your child and sometimes their families. we visit some of their homes. i know the people who run the organization. i have complete confidence that all $35 goes to the child at their needs.

if you are interested in helping a child and making an impact on the future of tanzania, feel free to email me at mills.abbie@gmail.com for more information.

oh man!

well, i know it's been like eleventy-bajillion years since i've updated this, so here we go.

i'm now back in idaho...for the time being anyway. it's been a busy few weeks since returning from africa. i knew i'd have culture shock, so i was prepared, but it kind of came in waves. just as i thought i was doing pretty well, it'd hit again. God is so faithful though. right now, the main thing i'm praying about is what should my next step be. i might move back to seattle...or i might stay put for a bit. above all, i just want to be where God wants me. my prayer is that i will be able to get a job with a fairly low commitment level. i'd like to have the time to work on fundraising again and plan another trip back to tanzania to keep working on things on that side, as soon as possible. so, if you think about it, please pray for God's undeniable voice in all of this.

i've been slowly sorting through literally thousands of photos from the trip, so i'll get stuff posted in time. here is one to get you going though...just click on the photo and it should open to a full view. if not, leave me a comment and i'll fix it for you.

i'm back...

...and not completely stoked on the idea. i miss africa like mad and am already trying to figure out how and when i can go back.

i'm getting ready to leave for palm springs for a week to work on settling back in, so that'll be nice. i hope to go through photos with lindsey while i'm there and get some up here.

i'm not ready.

i haven't updated this is quite a few days cause things have been so busy. i've been more than a little overwhelmed. we've been working hard to finish up the project at yesuanaweza before we leave. the toilets are almost completely finished, the outdoor kitchen area is finished and plumbed and the walls to the school/pastors office are 3/4 of the way finished. lindsey and i have a little more painting to do, but it has rained the past two days, so we've had to put it off. we have one bathroom door to paint and 3 chalk boards to build, paint and put together.

we've been running all over tanzania, trying to see at meet all of wes' contacts as well. he knows some pretty great people here that are running some cool projects.

steve left yesterday. he was ready to get home. it was a pretty unsettling feeling dropping him off at the airport, knowing that in just a few days it'll be me. i've fought back the tears and disappointed feelings since. i'm not ready to come back.

this quite possibly may be the last time i update here until i get back into the states on monday. then i will do my best to fill in all the blanks and post a crap load of photos, so keep checking in.

i'm still alive!

...just been too busy to update. sorry.

projects

babu wes got in on sunday night, so we've been having all kinds of fun. (mom, he's kristen larsen's father-in-law)

yesterday, we spent the day running around visiting all the people he knows here and running errands. then we went out to yesuanaweza to talk with zachariah about the project we want to start this week.

we've decided that we are going to work on sanitation at the school/church building. right now, they have a squat toilet (it's enclosed like an outhouse), which is essentially a whole in the ground that looks almost like a bed pan with a hole in the bottom of it for waste to go down into the whole. it is a actual toilet system that many places use here. there is no plumbing on this one as far as pipes or water, but some in town have that. this one is just a very deep hole. get your mind out of the gutter. we will not be poo-diving!

considering the amount of kids through there everyday, you can imagine the rank smells and the absolute MESS inside. the walls are covered with bugs and it is just a breeding ground for disease, i'm sure. they have a 5 gallon bucket of water on the step that all the kids rinse their hands in. needless to say, IF they actually rinse which virtually does no good anyway, the water is just infected with everyone else's germs.

our plan is to pipe in water to a little outdoor kitchen area there. we hope to build a cement sink with a water nozzle to wash the huge pans that they cook the food for the kids in. their cooking area is very close there. they cook in huge pans set on cinder blocks over charcoal. next to that sink, we want to make a short sink for the kids to wash in. then we will start teaching them to enforce washing and cleanliness. this alone should cut down on a lot of the illness that they pass around. all the run off water from the sinks will be piped into the toilets to reduce the smell and have some type of sanitation. i'm mentally preparing myself for the possibility of lindsey and i having to wash down the insides of the bathrooms with bleach water. i can do it. i can do it.

so, this is our plan. we still have to put together a price list and see exactly what we can accomplish with our funds, but be praying that it ALL falls within our range. just this simple change will do so much.

not a whole lot today...

just wanted to check in and let you all know i'm still alive. i've been sick all day today, so no real excitement. i've had a headache, body aches and been really tired, so i'm sure it's just something i picked up from one of the kids. no need to worry. i did sleep ALL day today, so i'm hoping that'll kick it quick.

we have tomorrow off, so hopefully i'll be feeling a little better and can write more.