Our MGRC volunteers from the States are on Safari in the Serengeti National Park and have been sending me messages about their experience. They have committed to writing their own blog posts detailing their experience and what this trip means to them. Also, as part of their Safari experience, they decided to take a hot air balloon ride over parts of the park for their final day of the trip. When they return from Safari, I am sure they will have many stories and pictures to share with our girls.

The MGRC girls have been busy learning life skills – bead making, sewing, cooking – coupled with their academic education will help them become well-rounded individuals. Yesterday, I had a very nice surprise. One of the families from our local Church asked if they could celebrate their daughter’s birthday with the MGRC girls at our Center. We, of course, agreed but were most surprised that the family brought gifts for our girls.  Karatu is an extremely welcoming village. We are blessed to have been able to move here.

Sustainable Food Projects / ecoFarm Updates: The hydroponics fodder greenhouse is complete and will start to grow fodder for all our livestock soon. The pig pen is almost finished. We have found piglets to purchase and should do so in the next two weeks. The chicken house is finished. Thanks to a very successful fundraiser, we will be purchasing 100 Rhode Island Red layer and 100 broiler chickens. The rabbit hutch is complete and will house over 50 rabbits at one time.  We have been searching for quality breeders in Arusha, but it looks like we will need to import from Dar es Salam to get what we think are the best breed for us. The land has been cleared and we hope to get the tractor to plow the ground this week so we can start putting the vegetable plots in. We have already started the nursery, giving us a head start on the veggies for our girls. Fruit trees, shrubs, and flowers are next for the nursery. We are planning on being totally sustainable, except for rice and maize which we plan on purchasing, locally, in bulk at harvest time. An aquaponics system for growing organic vegetables is in the planning stages, and construction is underway for our bio-gas system.

MGRC Outreach: We continue to support not only our MGRC girls but also the surrounding community. There are many less fortunate people in this country, and we all know the importance of an education. To that effect, many thanks to the generous donor who funded the repair of one of the classrooms at the primary school. Our students will be able to do their best learning in a clean and comfortable classroom!