It seems that the world is so weighed down at this time, that I thought I would write a blog with some fun updates from “Project Canaan during lockdown”.
First, I am writing a third book. For years people have asked me when I was
going to write another book, and my answer has always been that this blog, that
you are reading, is the third book. It’s current and free! But I realized recently that there is no real
documentation of the history of Project Canaan, the trials, tribulations, joy,
miracles and wonders that we have experienced. I don’t have a title yet, but I have
been able to get seven of the twelve chapters written during the lockdown. The book will also share what we see for the
future of Project Canaan and our children and I hope to provide some “key
learnings” to people who want to start a project of this nature. Hoping for a
book launch in the fall (even though it might be virtual with our borders
likely still closed ).
Our construction and maintenance departments have never been busier (and perhaps never less busy, as they are always working at full steam). We have dug and poured the foundation for both Emseni #7 and the new Oasis building (O2). They are focused on finishing the next Project Canaan Academy building, which will be home to 3rd and 4th Grades, Fine Arts and Life Skills classes in the new school year in January 2021.
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| Project Canaan Academy Primary School |
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| A newly redesigned Emseni #7 |
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| Emseni #7 (bottom left), Oasis #2 (center) |
Goat is a very popular source of meat protein here, and
goats breed like rabbits, but they are also popular to wild jackals, and hungry
Swazi’s, so Ian decided to build a separate goat management program, protecting
them from wild and human danger. We have
fenced off 4.5 hectares/11 acres with three separate fenced areas for
controlled grazing. There is a handling
center, complete with maternity ward (really) and treatment center (complete
with foot bath – I’m not making this up, Ian is dictating) as goats are susceptible
to hoof rot.
Last week I wrote about the idea of a UNITY Collection at Khutsala Artisans, and we received very positive response to the bracelets being used as conversation starters in this time of conflict. We even received an order for 80 bracelets from a friend who wants to give them to the staff in their medical office. We continued with design this week and have created this beautiful UNITY necklace, circular bracelet and keychain. Last week’s bracelets are on their way to our US warehouse and will be available next week. You can preorder those here.
Two more buildings of note are the Dairy Manager’s home (Arlyn and Maria are pretty excited about that! And we are building a cooking structure where we will not only be cooking a daily meal for our farm workers, who do back-breaking work through extreme heat, cold and rain. This structure will be the model for what we want to build at our 30 church partners, once we launch our Hunger Initiative 2020, which will allow our churches to expand their cooking from 2-days per week to 7-days per week. If you are interested in more details on that now, please contact hannah@heartforafrica.org.
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| Dairy Manager House |
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| This is how we cook for our farm workers. |
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| Cooking structure with locked food storage |
You likely know that we have an abattoir on the farm so don’t buy beef or goat meat anymore because we can slaughter and carve up our own. Today the guys were making mince for the children’s campus. Ian and I love seeing so many pieces and parts coming together, and we often catch these small details when we walk around the farm.
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Last, but most certainly not least, we received a sweet little baby girl this week whom we are calling Mary Lou. She comes in a malnourished body and a broken heart, but we will love her back to life, and she will be whole again.
There is hope here in Eswatini, and His work is continuing despite the confusion, disruption and chaos in the world. Thank you for helping make this possible.
Live from Eswatini … sharing hope with the world.
Janine
PS There will be a Facebook LIVE event to see specifically what is going on at the Project Canaan Academy on June 25th at 9PM EST on our main Heart for Africa page: https://www.facebook.com/heartforafrica/
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