Class of 2015

Tito

The 2015 school year began on Jan.19th. This year's class is a little smaller...we have only 12 students compared to last year's class of 14 students, and the average age is younger this year. We have four 4-year old students, five 5-year old students, and I think the other students are 6 or 7. Most parents aren't sure of the child's age, and we only turn away a student if their age interferes with the other student's progress. This was the case with little Tito. We loved him...he made us laugh...and he was full of personality but he was just too young. He had no desire to learn.

My skills as a teacher are really being challenged this year. These children knew very little when they came to Shaloom. I was fortunate last year because the kids were a little older and seemed excited to learn. That's not the case this year, but we're hoping that attitude will change. We've also determined that a couple of the children have learning disabilities. That fact is adding to our frustration but the Lord is giving us what we need, when we need it, so we are making a little progress. Our biggest challenges are probably in the fact that I am an accountant, not a teacher, and Rehema, my assistant, has only about a 7th grade education! Thank God the parents are just happy that we've accepted the children into our program, and we are doing our best.

Students in the "main stream"

Students needing a little extra help

I must say, though, the students are picking up English quicker than I expected. We work on greetings and familiar objects, as well as body parts and animals. I would like to teach them the alphabet but that would really confuse them because, although we basically use the same alphabet, the sounds are different and the letters aren't "named" in Kiswahili, like they are in English. The children seem to be enjoying learning the animal names most of all. Who knows, this information could come in handy some day!

Benson likes to be creative.

Elias does his best.

Mwaju & Denis work together.

Okto shows off his work.

Besides practicing numbers and Kiswahili sounds, learning shapes and colors, the students enjoy showing us their creative side. They like to use the scrap pieces of wood we have available to make houses, cars and other interesting things. 

Rehema also taught the children the "duck-duck-goose" game. In Tanzania they call it "bata-bata-jogoo", which translates duck-duck-rooster...........not sure why!

Bata - Bata - Jogoo game

Jered

Juve

Anita

Samueli

Our students come from different religious backgrounds, but since Shaloom is sponsored by the Catholic Church, sometimes we receive visitors interested in sharing their faith. Mama Agnes came to visit the children and, after praying with the students, she handed out bars of soap to each of them; a very practical gift, for sure!

 

Finally, I'd like to give you a glimpse of some of our playtime activities. Here is a little clip of the students doing one of their traditional children's songs. Last year's class performed this dance/song, too. I'm still not sure what they're singing but they do seem to be enjoying themselves!

FOUNDATION KARIBU TANZANIA

Within these walls, the heartbreaking reality of our human weakness is evident, while at the same time, a renewed hope is found to encourage us to carry on the fight for every child's right to be loved and protected. In early September, Fr. Tony Gill (SMA) invited me to accompany him as he delivered a sack of rice for the children at Foundation Karibu Tanzania (FKT). Fr. Tony is on the board of directors for the foundation. He told me a little about the work being done here before we arrived, but no words could have prepared me for what I witnessed during our visit. When we first entered the office we were greeted by one of the staff members and given the guest register to sign. We talked briefly and then were asked if we would like to see photos of the children, taken before they were admitted to the center. We were warned that it would be very difficult to view the photos. A large display board, which had been facing the wall, was turned around, exposing the most horrifying pictures of child torture and abuse I've ever seen. After a few short moments the display board was returned to its original place and the children were brought in to the office to meet us. One by one, they filed in and greeted Fr. Tony and I. Some looked happy to see visitors. Others looked apprehensive, and a bit unsure, but they were all respectful. I saw many of the visual affects of the pain and suffering they had endured, and my heart was breaking. One little girl, about 3 years old, walked with the help of a walker. She had only one leg but moved along quite well. She parked her walker and crawled up on my lap, looked up at me and smiled. Her leg had been so severely burned that it was impossible to save it. She is shown in the bottom of the photo below, wearing the white blouse and pink skirt.

 We were given a tour of the facility and shown one large bedroom where the girls stay and another for the boys. At the time of our visit there were 20 girls registered and 13 boys. Fr. Tony and I visited again in mid December to deliver a few toys and some treats. Again the children filed into the office one by one, greeting each of us and shaking our hands. This time a little boy, who was being carried by an older boy, leaned over to sit in my lap. He cuddled up and eventually fell asleep. The woman on the staff told us that he was suffering from severe malnutrition. He is 3 1/2 years old but unable to walk or even sit for long unattended. 

  

The coordinator of FKT asked Fr. Tony if he would celebrate a thanksgiving mass at the center on December 31, 2014. By the Grace of God, many children had been helped at the center throughout the year and it was fitting to give thanks. Fr. Tony agreed to celebrate the mass but wanted to be sure that no child would feel left out if he or she was of a different denomination.  I am often reminded of Fr. Tony's loving, caring nature, and this day was no exception. He brought along pictures depicting African figures representing different stories from the bible. He explained why we celebrate the birth of Jesus and he emphasized how much Jesus loves all of us, especially the children.

After the mass, Fr. Tony was asked to bless the facility. There wasn't a room or building that didn't get blessed! Even the goats and the garden were blessed! The mother goat was a Christmas gift, and was pregnant at the time the center received it. It has since given birth.

"Are you not better than them?"

The banner above has recently been hung as you enter the center. It shows a variety of different baby animals who are being loved and nurtured by their mothers. This banner hopefully speaks to the "abusers" by saying ... "Aren't you better than the mothers in these photos, who are nurturing and loving their little ones"? Human beings have been blessed with a reasoning mind, a level much higher than that of the animals. Our prayer is one of hope that, as the abusers are counseled and healed, they will realize the gift they have been given in their children. May our Loving Father reunite these broken families, that they may experience the joy and peace promised to all who trust in the Lord.

The founder and project manager of Foundation Karibu Tanzania, Manon Fleury, opened the rescue center 7 years ago. I had the pleasure of meeting Manon at the thanksgiving mass on the 31st. She is from Quebec, Canada. I won't try to explain all the services provided by the center. Attached is the most recent brochure with the best explanation. You may also visit their website at www.foundationkaributz.org. This website was created in 2014 and is due to be updated. Anyone interested in donating to this very worthy cause can do so by sending a check payable to SMA Lay Missionaries with a note in the memo line "Jean Dowell - FKT". The check can be mailed to SMA Lay Missionaries, 256 Manor Circle, Takoma Park, MD 20912.Thank you for your consideration.

CHRISTMAS DAY 2014

For to us is born this day, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord! (Luke 2:11)
The crib at the Bwiru outstation church

Our Christmas celebration began with midnight mass, which actually began at 9pm at our Bwiru outstation church, but lasted until almost midnight because Tanzanian people really like to talk and the announcements lasted longer than the homily! There weren't near as many in attendance this year, due to the heavy rain that fell during the day and into the evening. Most everyone walks to church.

Bwiru outstation church during Advent

I'm always impressed with the way the church is decorated for the different liturgical seasons. So much time and effort goes into the decorations.

Bwiru outstation church for midnight mass!

There were a number of young people who made their 1st Holy Communion at the midnight mass. Most all of the baptisms, first communions and weddings in our parish are celebrated during the Christmas and Easter seasons. The day after Christmas over 200 babies and small children were baptized at the main church! (posting to follow)

Because there wouldn't be a meal served at our regional house on Christmas Day, Corine had an opportunity to show off her culinary skills. She prepared a variety of different dishes, beginning the preparations days in advance! Those in attendance were Fr. Tony (Ireland), Fr. Jean-Baptist (Benin), and Fr. Robert (France), Lucas (an SMA seminarian from Ivory Coast studying in Nairobi), Marga (Holland) and her three "adopted" children (Tanzanian), Corine (Holland) and myself (USA). It always fascinates me that our SMA gatherings are so international but we always feel like family. What a blessing!

Some of Corine's Christmas decor

Corine, Marga & Fr. Robert

 

Lillian,  Ally  &  Careen

Fr. (Santa) Jean-Baptist

Lucas & Fr. Tony in the background

 I don't enjoy cooking nearly as much as Corine does. My pleasure is in baking. One of my students from last year stopped in for a visit while I was baking some of my Christmas cookies. He was fascinated with the whole process and was eager to lend a hand. I couldn't refuse!   

Omari helps out in the kitchen

Christmas cookies make a colorful gift

My contribution to our Christmas dinner

 

CHRISTMAS 2014 (pre-celebration)

Merry Christmas!!

This Christmas season was very different from last year! There was no big gathering at the Fortes home, and our regional superior was needed at one of our remote SMA parishes "in the bush", so we didn't have a celebration in our regional house either. I decided I wanted to do something to celebrate Christmas with our neighbors. I found a nice little artificial Christmas tree in the market. I had bought some pretty homemade ornaments at our local charity craft fair last month, and there were just enough to decorate the tree nicely. I made a garland chain using construction paper, and one of the previous lay missionaries who lived in my house had left a set of lights. Perfect! I was very pleased!!

The Saturday before Christmas Mama Ana came to my house about 10:30am and began to prepare a Tanzanian meal. Although we only prepared a traditional rice dish, beef in gravy and a cabbage dish, we weren't finished until almost 2pm! Most everything was done outside. Mama Ana is used to cooking over an open charcoal fire, so that is how she cooked the rice. It is possible to buy packaged rice here in the supermarket that has already been cleaned but it's much more expensive. We used the basic rice which needs to be cleaned to pick out the stones and other foreign objects, and then washed to get rid of the sand. A special pilau seasoning is added to the rice after it's cooked, which gives it a unique taste. This dish is prepared and served by the local women on all special occasions here in Tanzania. Dinner would have taken much longer, had I done all of this myself! I did help in the kitchen with the beef, gravy and cabbage. After all of our guests had eaten, Mama Ana and Mama Dani even washed the dishes outside! We all tend to do things in ways that are familiar to us.

Ana crushes garlic

Mama Ana washes the rice

Mama Ana cooks pilau

Kelement supervised as I cut the cabbage

Together, Mama Ana & I cook the meat and cabbage

After dinner, Corine played her flute and we all tried to sing Christmas carols in English. I was the only American in the group so the songs that were most familiar to me were a bit of a challenge for the Dutch in the group, and especially for the Tanzanians. Fortunately, Mara brought song books from the chapel and everyone did their best. We did have a nice time. A few gifts were even left under the tree so Ana tried reading the name tags and distributed the gifts one by one. It was very special to see the delightful expressions on the children's faces when they saw the Christmas tree lit up and the shiny gifts underneath. This was something very unfamiliar to them.

Mama & Baba Dani & little Dani

Corine holding Little Angel Joakim (see the star above?)

Corine plays the flute

Ana opens a book for her & Kelement, while Kelement is happy to just watch

Ana tries to read the name tag

A gift for a very special person

Mara enjoys some time with our little angel, too!

Corine receives another kanga (you can never have too many!)

Corine's girls made this batik (which will be made into a skirt)

Moni (niece of Mama Dani), Mama Dani & Dani enjoy some special photos

Mara receives a gift because she's special, too!

Venant, our parish catechist & his family

Now it's time to play!

We all enjoyed the day and our time together!