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Murchison National Park March 28-29

Murchison National Park

March 28-29

Murchison National Park is situated in the northern part of Uganda boarding the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The Victoria Nile goes straight through the park making a lush park full of wildlife.  Murchison is just now considered healthy and the animals are making their way into healthy populations after being target practice for the rebels. 

The team and some friends back home raised extra money for us to treat the people at the farm to something special.  So, we loaded up a bus and made our way into the park with our team and 9 people from the farm, many of which had their first experience seeing African animals in person!  We were very blessed to see Giraffes, Hippos, Elephants, Warthogs, many types of grazing animals, Crocodiles, Baboons and Loins.  Everyone was filled with joy and laughter.  Our African friends entertained us on the bus ride with Acholi songs and wonderful conversations.  We stayed at a travel lodge and took everyone out for a spaghetti dinner.  One of the girls from the farm thought that the noodles were worms, and we were wondering why she did not finish.

On our second day at the park we took a Nile River boat tour up to Murchison Falls.  The waters were full of Hippos and Crocs with so many animals coming to the waters edge for a drink.  We had answered prayers when a family of Elephants showed up for a refreshing gulp amidst the blazing heat of the dry season.  

Our new friends are some of the purest hearted, humble people I have been in contact with.  They live out a joy with smiles that reach from ear to ear; it is hard to believe the stories of what has happened to them in their short lives.  They are stories that bring tears to my eyes and their smiles bring hope to my heart.   

Canaan March 21-March 31

Canaan Farm

March 21 through March 31, 2009

Our first week in Africa has been a refreshing intro to the continent.  After arriving into Uganda we had a 5-hour bus ride up to Canaan Farm.  Partly because of the excitement of coming to Africa, none of our team was really able to sleep on the plane.  However, for some reason we were able to sleep on the bus even over the pothole filled country roads.  We didn’t arrive at the farm until dark but when we got there, we were greeted with song and dance from the women at Canaan.  They were full of joy and welcomed us all as their family.  Just stepping off of the bus it is apparent that Canaan is a place of peace and refuge. 

The land that Canaan Farm is situated on is in the northern part of Uganda and houses families that have been displaced due to the war in the north.  Many of the boys on the farm have escaped from the LRA (Lords Resistant Army) who broke into their villages and kidnapped children.   Many more families have lost family members and everything they own.  They seek refuge at Canaan where they are given the chance to start over.  Canaan grows many different types of fruits and vegetables creating income for these families.

Our team slept in mud huts with grass roofs, a true Ugandan experience.  Everyday we woke up to many roasters and numerous birds.  One night about midnight a herd of cattle went through the camp.  Our food was cooked outside on a charcoal stove, as there is no electricity.  We were taken care of by two extremely hardworking women who cooked all day for us.

Thanks to friends in Colorado, we brought over heaps of clothes, school supplies and different medical and dental supplies.

While on the farm we held classes each afternoon underneath the shade trees where the bamboo jewelry is made.  Each day we were able to get to know the women and the few former child soldiers who all make the jewelry.   The classes that we held were about the difference between Ugandan markets and western markets, quality control, new techniques including how to use some of the new tools that we brought, and how they wanted to run their side of the business.  Canaan Farm has been working to teach the women how to sew, so Nicole (who went on the trip) taught them how to make bags to hold the earrings.  They turned out beautifully. 

Back from Africa

We are home!  Unfortunately, we were not able to find stable internet to write updates on the blog, but here they are just a little late...

London

March 21, 2009

During our 12-hour layover in London we met with Just Trade an English fair trade company that Donavan is good friends with.   Laura their jewelry designer met with us to talk about their experience in the fair trade business.  They work with Peruvian women and have their own project there.  Our first business meeting in London!  We soaked up Laura’s experience and knowledge like a sponge.  She was able to give us our own lesson of jewelry on the streets of London.  At that point we knew we were cool.  Laura gave us advise about doing business training as well as how to improve our product.  They have been working in Peru for a few years so their experience is very valuable to us on our journey and at the point of still being new in the business.

Supplies for Africa

We are leaving for Uganda in 9 days!  For our trip we are allowed to bring 150 lbs per person.  If anyone is interested in helping us fill these suitcases with things to bring to the people of Africa with us.  We will be visiting a few different people groups while we are in Uganda including Canaan Farm (where we will be for the majority of our time), an IDP camp (government run Internally Displaced Peoples' Camp), a Compassion International project to visit Donavan's sponsor child and the possibilty of an AIDs community (AIDs Orphans Education Trust).  Here is a list of items, if you are interested in helping us fill these needs email us at yobelmarket@gmail.com to arrange pick up/ drop off.  

Clothing- all ages, sexes and sizes.  Mostly children.  Avoid heavy branded clothing. 

Shoes-all sizes and types

Books in English- with pictures or not.  They love spiritual commentaries

Toys for the children- Deflated balls, learning toys and durable toys

Hard candy- Nothing that melts

Bubbles

Medical- Multi vitamins, over-the-counter meds, first aid supplies, baby formula, colic formula

School Supplies- pens, pencils, crayons, creative material, learning books, notebooks

Bags- Bags to carry the school supplies in and to help bring supplies to and from the market

Material scraps

Craft supplies- beads and string, scissors, needle and tread

Calculators

Flashlights with batteries

Blankets, Jackets

Soaps and lotions

Dental supplies

Disposable Cameras

If you have any other ideas let us know.  

Soup for Africa

Soup for Africa at Woodland Park High School was a great success.  The student body proved they have much to offer and today’s youth has vision and purpose.  The Student council decided to partner with us to help raise money to build a school in Uganda for a group of people we are working with.   Student Council worked very hard to put the event on, thank you. 

Kids Can Change the World, a local group of kids with big hearts also participated in the event with a dance inspired by their desire to change the world and be involved in fighting injustice.  They are definitely people who are making a change locally and globally.  Yet another encounter with how the youth are making big impacts. 

The goal of the event was to raise money for a school for a population in Uganda that Yobel works with.  We are working together with Canaan Farm in Uganda with a group of women and former child soldiers to start a business with them.  The model is simple, to empower the people to become self-sufficient without the need for foreign aid.  At Canaan Farm, they grow their own food and can take care of many needs of theirs but they have no money for more, like education.  There are around 100 kids that live on the farm who have grown up around civil war and have seen someone they love killed right in front of them.  Our vision is to partner with them to build a school on the farm for these children.  Education is key in battle of poverty.  It is a building block in life.   We asked the women of the farm who are working with us to make bamboo jewelry what is their community’s biggest need and most of them said a school.   Yobel believes that the youth of Canaan Farm have the opportunity to change their nation and rebuild what war has destroyed.   

Uganda has seen so much evil in the past years; evil has run havoc on this nation and displace thousands of people from their homes.   It is estimated that 30,000 children ages 7 to 17 have been kidnapped and forced to fight for the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army).   These children are forced to fight, to kill and forget who they were to participate in the battle that has destroyed a nation.   Learn more about this issue and what you can do to make a difference in someone’s life.    

The night was wonderful.  We had all of the soup donated by Garden of the Gods’ Gourmet Catering Company.  They were so generous to make so much soup for the cause.  We are looking forward to work together on more projects.  Einstein Bagels and Whole Foods donated the bread for the event, thank you.  The community of Woodland Park also rallied together and donated the tablecloths (Swiss Chalet) and many items for the silent auction. 

Thank you everyone who supported us and our vision.  We would like to especially thank our friends for their support and help pulling the event off.  Yobel would not where we are if it was not for you all. 

 

 

The Oasis

This week has been a tall glass of water for Sarah and I.  We traveled to Juarez to work with our friends, Matt and Misty who live in Juarez.  They work with an organization called Amigos that does a number of projects within the city.  They have a vision for change and beauty in this neighborhood that just a year ago or so had no paved roads and most of the homes were made out of pallets.  There has been a number of changes so far over the years partly due to Carmen's Cocina.  One of our new friends that has been cooking for up to 400 kids a day in a poor neighborhood in Juarez.  It is a story of success.  Partly due to media attention to Cocina De Carmen the government has poured more money into the school and as of now the first and only school in Juarez to have an after school program.  Their home is an oasis in the dusty, forgotten neighborhood.  We talked about starting gardens and working with them to build greenhouses and teaching the neighborhood to grow some of their own vegetables.  

 

After our time in Juarez we started heading south to Creel, in the Sierra Mountains.  Mid December, we heard about this people group, the Tarahumaras, who are natives to the region.  This people group is keeping to their culture amidst the pressure of the Mexican culture upon them for a couple hundred years.  They are very traditional and live in simple homes with no electricity or water.  Surviving off of the land and by selling handmade gifts.  They have one of the highest infant mortality rates in Mexico and are pretty much outcasts by society.  Yobel had hopes of making connections with a family of Tarahumaras whom Matt and Misty had known in the area to start a new fair trade project.  The area is famous for its baskets and woven goods made from palm leaves and pine needles.  We were able to go to the family's home and play soccer with the kids and spend quality time getting to know them.  They are lovely people with wonderful smiles.  We were able to buy some handmade goods from the locals down there and will continue working with this family in hopes of providing education options for them as well as their neighbors.