Real Talk About HIV/AIDS

(Photo: Students attending our Health and HIV/AIDS class.)

"Why are Tanzanians dead because of HIV/AIDS? Why are Americans not dead because of HIV/AIDS? Why?"

The questions left by students in the question box last week were nothing if not frank.

HIV awareness campaigns are not new to the gritty urban settlements of Africa. What is less common in these communities is an environment of freedom where every question can be asked. But can this subject of HIV/AIDS, taboo even after years of education, really be dealt with candidly?

Enter: a little team of folks from Trinity Presbyterian, Santa Ana, California, and a little team of Wild Hope staff here in Tanzania.

Now, give them five days with forty high school aged young people and let the learning begin!

To our great delight, the team from Trinity stepped up to the challenge with grace and boldness. The forty Tanzanian students who attended Wild Hope's Leadership Academy module, Health and HIV, were truly blessed.

Every evening, the questions/comments box was filled with slips of paper--

"What can I do when I know I have HIV/AIDS?"

"Most of the bosses they want sex with girls to give the job and the girls say yes because they don't have job, nothing to eat, so they agree."

"I know 20 people who have died from HIV."

Preparations each evening were sobering, yet God was faithful to grant wisdom and insight. By the end of the week, the comments reflected the thankfulness students felt for what they had learned and the environment in which they had been led.

Seasoned teachers from a local school affirmed that the permission to speak openly was a big step forward for all of them. The students already know, first hand, what HIV/AIDS is. Yet for many of them, this was the clearest information they had received on cause and prevention, not to mention the myriad of related issues that surround the disease.

This is the beauty of bridging cultures-- we can take each other to new places and be changed for the better as we journey together.

Our visitors from California might not be able to quantify exactly how their experience with forty kids in a severely challenged neighborhood within Arusha changed their lives. They'll just know that it truly did. The young Tanzanians who attended won't forget what they heard in honesty and freedom regarding topics of grave importance. From practical health tips to matters of hope and faith, they've been impacted and inspired.

And we are the lucky ones! What a joy it is to bring our friends from opposite corners of the globe together. What a pleasure it is for us to play matchmaker :-)


(Photo: Ashley Sparks of Trinity with one of the students.)

Sharing a Link...

Read Lisa's blog entry, "Watching Africa Blow Away" at her BLOG

Reflections on Summer: What Others are Saying :-)

(Photo by Joel Phillips)

We just wanted to share a couple of lovely comments we’ve received from students who participated in our summer adventures.

Liz Thaete, a recent graduate of Westmont College, says:

“I went into my trip to Africa knowing that it would be a series of unbelievable experiences, including teaching and playing with Maasai children, hiking along beautiful waterfalls, and getting up close to amazing animals.

What I didn't expect is what truly made the trip so rich, and is what I remember most fondly: the community that was built amongst everyone in the group, that emerged in the simple times of sitting around the fire or sharing tea on the front porch. I can't imagine a better opportunity than getting to go on a wild adventure that will stretch you, getting to do that alongside people who are your brothers and sisters in Christ, and being led by an amazing family who calls the area their home and knows how to make the most of the time spent adventuring.

I absolutely loved it and can't wait until I end up returning for a second visit....”

Sara Humes, beginning her second year at Westmont now, writes:

“The Safari With a Purpose was a wonderful, creative way of immersing us, in every aspect, in local culture. I loved working with the children and unconditionally loving on them. Teaching and interacting with them sparked my interest of teaching English and helping cultures that might not receive the essentials that they need. I liked that we were able to help with local villages in even the smallest ways, while still seeing the countryside and going on exciting adventures.

The pace of the trip was also very steady and was not too tiring. Every day brought new adventures, even when we relaxed in Arusha or at the campsite. I also loved talking to people and praying with others. I felt truly at peace with myself and joyful many times throughout the trip. I felt that our group grew very close while we were there and it was nice to relax and have time to reflect on the trip. Now that I have had a taste of Africa, I have a hunger for the place and am very confident that I will be returning in the near future.”

As for us, we loved having these amazing folks with us. Every blessing on each of them as they get back in to life on the other side of the pond ☺

Safari with a Purpose

Our second team of the summer is off and away on their safari of service and adventure!

This particular team has been brought together by Jesse and Trevor and they are leading the crew of college friends. While this is their initiative, we can't help but be pretty involved. There's too much work in the preparation and too much fun in the journey for just 2 Borden Boys :-) And having older, (read "More years in Africa,") folks around is never a bad thing.

What a blessing it is for us to host people as they experience Tanzania. How awesome that we get to be a part of their service and growth. We love to see hearts and minds opened by God as friends engage new cultures, new landscapes, new issues, new joys and new relationships. Culture, the environment, hunger, justice, service, poverty, wealth, wildlife, responsibility, faith, values and fears are all things that a trip like this brings up in the hearts of the participants. Conversations around the campfire are good.

Challenges are always a part of it as well. This photo was taken on Saturday before the early Monday departure...



But they pulled out on time this morning, big grins on all their faces.



May this be a beautiful time for each one. May they be a blessing where they serve and may there be lasting benefit in each of their lives as well.

We Harvest the Beans :-)

The April/May rains failed in parts of Kenya and Tanzania, leaving many of our friends struggling as the dust blows where grass should be growing for their weakening herds.

With this reality close to us, we don't take for granted the rains that we received on Wild Hope's acreage outside of Arusha. For whatever reason, this general area was blessed with quite a decent rainy season and we have been harvesting the first fruits off of the land.

What a precious thing to be involved in the rhythm of the earth as dry ground softens under the rain, nourishing the hidden seeds and encouraging them to sprout and grow. What a lot of fun to watch the plants mature and produce and then to finally bring in a harvest.

Our bean production (grown amongst the maize and replenishing what maize depletes) wasn't on a very large scale but we're pleased with it none-the-less. We celebrated the good gifts of our Creator as we enjoyed our first meal with home-grown beans in our burritos.

This is a beginning for us. We look forward to years of multiple types of harvests grown in sustainable, environmentally responsible ways. With hunger and the degradation of the land being ongoing concerns in sub-Saharan Africa, we hope to work together with our neighbors to see these issues decrease.

We sure wish you could stop by for a plate of beans and rice with us :-)

Bundles (and Bundles!) of Beads

Every month bundles of beaded products are brought in to the Wild Hope team here in Arusha. But Wild Hope's artisan-made products begin to take shape miles and miles and miles from where they end up on display. Carefully threaded onto the stiff wire and bent by the strong, skilled hands of our Maasai friends, the products first take shape in the remote villages where our friends live.

From the village, the product is loaded onto the backs of donkeys and walked for half a day to connect with a friend who has a Land Rover. The Land Rover delivers the product along dirt trails to the closest "public transport vehicle" which travels along the paved road to Arusha. It can be a 2 day process just to bring the product in to town.

Each month, Peter Ole Kukan and 2 or 3 of the Artisan women deliver the wares to Tammy, Grace and Philemon. Together, they now begin the 3 day process of sorting, counting, scrutinizing for quality control, paying, making new orders, assisting the women as they supply with new stock, and sending the little party of Maasai friends back out. When the delegation gets home, the process begins again with 80+ women launching into the work to fill the new orders.


The lovely ornaments and decorations move along to buyers. Some of them end up in high end tourist shops in our town. Some of them end up in Europe, New Zealand, Australia and the U.S. All of them provide a fair trade for traditional artisans who would not necessarily find employment otherwise.

We love the story of how the product gets from village to town. Even more, we love the stories of families provided for by the faithful work of these skilled women. Proceeds go back into the project, building communities in far away places.

Dreaming Bigger :-)

The Nyota Football Academy is dreaming bigger dreams. Why stop with just over 100 young men being coached in soccer AND life skills? Why not press out, expand boundaries around our ideas and reach for the stars?

Our stated purpose is to transform a community through sports-based character development and life-skills training. And that's been off to a great start. We believe that Whole Life Coaching can train Africa's next generation to be leaders of influence on a community and a national level. We want to see these young men live up to the name Nyota, ("star" in Swahili) and be just that on the field and, even more importantly, in life.

In order to implement the dream, we have qualified coaches teaching skill and strategy to our U-10, U-12, U-14 and U-16 teams. Along with the soccer skills, we provide after school training modules to insure that these young athletes have what they need to reach for all of their potential. The foundation of education is still not strong enough in Africa so we're also keeping kids in school with our scholarship program. The Nyota Scholarship Fund helps current students on track and gives assistance to those who are looking for further training after graduating.

But why stop here?

The Nyota guys and all of us at Wild Hope are excited about our friendship with the well-experienced leadership of MYSA in Kenya. As we've invited them down to get to know us, they are calling up bigger dreams in all of us. We'll be talking much more about this as plans get under way but here's a little taste of the ways our dreams are taking shape...

Let's build a real football pitch (soccer field) with level ground and drainage!
Let's start this September with 30 boys teams and 5 girls teams!
Let's get more intentional about HIV awareness training!
Let's up the ante on community service and get all the kids involved!
Let's have 50 boys teams and 10 girls teams by 2010!

We're excited :-)

If you want to know more, please write us at team@wildhopeinternational.org