Meeting the Needs of Others

It's hard to write a post today. Earlier today I received an e-mail from the UVA student I student-taught with in Charlottesville letting me know that one of our students had been shot and killed in a random act of violence. This is one of the moments they don't teach you how to handle in ed. school, especially when you're thousands of miles away in a third world country. I still want to work in a poor, urban school where this is a reality. I just wish I were in a better position now to handle my first loss.

At the moment, the best I can do is fill you in on some needs that need to be met in our village. I'll be attempting to post any needs on the blog that I believe you can assist me with. You can either comment or e-mail me to let me know how you could be of assistance.

Need Request 6/12/08:
1. A Kenyan, Christian missionary is staying at our host family's house. He is in his mid-twenties and speaks basic English and fluent Swahili. We spoke with him for a long time last night and he filled us in on his deep passion to visit the United States, particularly Los Angelos. He would like to come and work with a local church in the states to learn from them and bring his skills back to Kenya. If you have a church in your area or know of anyone in the Los Angelos area that might be able to assist him, please let me know.
2. We are in need of creative ideas to use in the classroom. There are little to no resources available, the classroom is shared with two other classes, and the teachers have no formal training. We are also dealing with a language barrier. We're in particular need of introductory English reading and math lessons.
3. Our host father, Pastor, would like to connect with Americans who can assist him in meeting the needs of his village. Pastor has an incredible heart and has given everything he owns to help his community. He has no money (he can't even finish building his own home), yet he has found ways to pay for street children to attend boarding school, to feed and house orphans, and ways to empower the local widows. If you are connected with any organization or are personally willing to speak with Harry about his visions (IE: HIV/AIDS prevention training in the village, funds to complete the village orphanage, and others), please let me know.

The most important thing I've learned thus far is that you can't rely on a middle-man in Tanzania. This may be a problem in all third-world countries, but it is a particular problem we've noticed in Tanzania. Because of this reason, I am only going to post the needs of people who I trust and feel as if I can truly serve. There are a plethora of needs that need to be met in this area, but all too often corruption is involved and the people who need the most assistance don't receive it. My hope is to directly impact the lives of the people I meet and not allow corruption to seep into my assistance.