Christmas trees, birthday cake and a naked man

Today is the big day that our children have been waiting for – home decorating for Christmas!  Each home where “big kids” live (ages 4-9) has its own Christmas tree.  The children get to put their own angel ornament (with their name on the ornament) on the tree and then further decorate it any way they want. Then a group of kids heads to the Oasis to decorate the dining hall for the Christmas season. They are so good at remembering where each decoration goes, and we all work hard to make sure it looks the same each year. Other children will start to make paper chains that will strung from the rafters to bring joy and color to the building.

This week one of our staff members that doesn’t live with the children asked them what some of their favorite Christmas traditions were at home?  The kids quickly answered that on Christmas day they ALWAYS get pancakes and bacon for breakfast, new pajamas as a gift and a fancy chocolate and then get to swim for the rest of the day (Christmas day typically sees temperatures well over 100F).  We have worked very intentionally to have traditions that the kids can look forward to every year for Christmas, Easter, birthdays and any other annual event that we would celebrate with Spencer and Chloe.  I was so happy to hear that it’s working and they love it.

 

This past week we had some local visitors (our first since lock down began on March 25^th) and they brought a Christmas gift of 116 large cans of baby NAN formula (a $2,000+ donation!). As we stood at the children’s campus it was lunch time and the toddlers (2 years old) were called to go in and wash their hands and use the toilet. Every small child started to clean up the yard, pushing or carrying their myriad of toys over to the area that we put them away where they belonged. At a young age they are being taught responsibility and to take care of their things, which they do with great pride. It was a magical sight, and one that I never tire of.

 

Later we celebrated a birthday at the toddler home, and as part of our tradition, birthday-girl Carol got her very own birthday cake to share with her brothers and sisters in that home. The Aunties always dress each child in brand new clothes and shoes and make them feel honored on their special day. Many/most of these clothes and shoes are lovingly purchased by our Canadian Chairperson and friend, Carol Hickman, who just loves to shop for our kids (little Carol is her namesake). 

 

We always pray a blessing over the child and then the children give thanks for the cake which they are about to eat. I will confess that my eyes were open during the prayer and I’m really glad they were so that I could snap these super cute photos!

 

 

This week wasn’t all Christmas decorating and birthday fun, it was also fraught with the usual challenges of working in Africa including a shepherd stripping naked in front of a supervisor for no apparent reason (drugs or witchcraft are expected) and the mysterious disappearance of 11 young cows (somehow linked to the naked man)?

 

We also had to further reduce our Khutsala Artisan staff, which is extra heartbreaking to do right before Christmas. We hope to be able to bring people back to work in 2021, but that can only happen if people buy our product on line.  Please consider shopping with a purpose at www.khutsala.com and enjoy Black Friday sales this weekend. 

 

Even with all the challenges we face, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

 

Live from Eswatini … It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Janine

We are isolated - can you help us?

These are difficult times, we all know that. Social media can be hard to read, conversations with friends can be stilted and hugs are still out of the question. We all have good days and bad days, and just when we think the good days are the new norm, something else happens.

 

For those of us in Eswatini, the government locked down the country in March and has now extended the lock down until December. Liquor stores have been closed for months, with rumors (and newspaper articles) that suggest politics and greed are at the center of the closing, leaving restaurants and golf courses facing closure, and those who enjoy a glass of wine from time to time, without.

 

The borders to South Africa have been closed, keeping us and our volunteers from our normal “escape” when things are too complicated, or just too hard here. Schools are still closed, with no plans for reopening, leaving a country filled with confused , frustrated and in some cases, despondent people (and remember, all of our staff who have children know that their children are at home all day, with no school to keep them busy, engaged or productive). Our church partners have a never ending list of children who need food because there is no food at home. No one sees jobs returning, hope for the future or even a light at the end of the tunnel.

 

We have so many people who want to come and visit us, to “share hope” with our staff and church partners, but it appears that we won’t be able to welcome volunteers until well in to 2021.

 

So that’s where we are. We are still working hard. Our children are being “tutored”, and they are happy and healthy. They miss our “friends”, who usually come to visit, and they do know that it is Covid-19 that is keeping us isolated. But it is what it is.

 

We are isolated. We feel isolated. But we are safe and healthy, and for that we are thankful.

 

If you read this blog on a regular basis, you might be asking yourself how you can help us.  Today I am going to give you several practical ways that you can support us from afar.  I pray that every person who reads this blog today will choose one of the following ways to get involved, TODAY. We all need encouragement, and this is a practical way to do that, without getting on a plane.

 

1.     Help us build a fire station - thank you to everyone who made a donation to help us build a fire station and security offices last week. We raised $6,700+ towards the $12,500 matching gift. We only need $5,800 to complete this. If you were thinking about it and didn’t get around to giving, or are considering it, please do so today by clicking here and help us get these critical buildings built.

 

2.     Shop with a purpose – focus your Christmas or other gift shopping at www.khutsala.com and help us bring back dozens of our Khutsala Artisans who are at home praying that they will be able to work again in 2020 and provide or their families.

2020 Christmas tree ornaments in three colors

Lucky seed bracelet with SwaziMud end beads.

3.     Sponsor a child – we still have many children who need monthly sponsorship, whether it’s $10 per month or fully sponsoring a child at $225 per month (or anything in between). We need monthly donors to help us provide the best possible care for our children.   

        In the US:  https://www.heartforafrica.org/HOPESTARTS/       

        In Canada:  http://bit.ly/hfahopestartsca

 

4.     Become an Affiliate for Khutsala Artisans - each Affiliate is given a unique URL to share with friends and family through social media, text or email encouraging them to shop. Our affiliates are then able to track any sales that come from their link so that they can see the impact they are making! As a way of saying thank you, each affiliate receives a 10% store credit for every sale that comes from their link.  You can get more details here.

 

Blood wood charcuterie boards will be in the US by the end of October. Pre-ordering is available.

 

5.    If you or your church wants to help us feed more children at one of our 30 church partners, please contact hannah@heartforafrica.org. We need to build cooking structures and buy new/larger posts to feed more children. We really need help with this 2020 Hunger Initiative.

6.      Pray for us – please pray for our staff and their children. Please pray for our volunteers who can’t travel home to attend weddings, funerals or comfort sick family members. Please pray for the babies who are not being found in pit latrines or not making it to the hospital when they are found because there is no diesel for government vehicles. Pray for wisdom and provision for everyone involved with Heart for Africa.

 

If you are feeling isolated, please know that you are not alone. We all need to remember that the Lord is with us always. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Let us all be confident and encouraged by that knowledge.

Live from Eswatini ... this too shall pass.

Janine

 

#sharehope with an "essential" person

These are difficult days.  As we sit in the relative safety of the mountain top in Africa, we can’t help but feel helpless watching the news, knowing that our friends and family are struggling. Ian and I are “fixers”, and we can’t fix this global pandemic, so we have been asking the Lord to show us what we can do, and we got an answer.  About two weeks ago I really felt the Lord telling me to be intentional about encouraging others on a daily basis through social media.  So, I started posting daily videos on my Facebook page and Instagram pages that would hopefully bring a smile to my friends and families faces.  Below is a short video that I posted this week of baby Treasure and I doing a video selfie. 

On Thursday I had a video call with of our US team and asked how we at Heart for Africa could serve as encouragers to the world.   We obviously don’t have volunteers traveling to Eswatini, we can’t have meetings and fundraising events, and those things are what the US team does on a day to day basis.  Heart for Africa’s focus is to bring HOPE to the Kingdom of Eswatini in the areas of Hunger, Orphans, Poverty and Education, but now we must expand our efforts to bring HOPE to the world. 

So, here is one of the ideas that the team came up with.  What if we could provide a way to share hope with one another through Khutsala Artisans product?  They quickly created a special page with all of our HOPE products and we are asking you to consider ordering one of those products and send it to a front line “essential” worker who is working at a hospital, pharmacy, grocery store or any other essential position.  We will insert a special card that tells that special person that the gift is from YOU.  For as little as $10 you could bring a smile to someone’s face and let them know that you are thinking about them.  I will start by sending this HOPE bracelet to my cousin Carelle McKellan who is a Public Health Nurse in Canada and she is dealing with 400+ COVID-19 patients in the Fraser Health system. Carelle, we are sending love, prayers and thanks to you and all you are doing.  Stay safe!  

Please note that our Khutsala warehouse is in Michigan and product will be shipped from there, but we have limited quantities and we are not able to ship more product from Eswatini as Khutsala Artisans have all been sent home and airlines are not flying any non-essential product.  The good news is that if we sell a lot of product during this time, there will be work for our Artisans when they are able to come back to work. 

Some of you might be wondering how Spencer and Chloe are doing and I wanted to give you an update. Spencer is working in a consulting firm in Chicago and can do so from the safety of his apartment.  We are thankful that Jane and her puppy “Swazi” are nearby and they can spend lots of time together.  Chloe is finishing her last year at Brock University, but just started a job on Monday making COVID-19 testing kits!!!  Can you believe it?  She does her school work during the day then works from 4PM to 11:30PM at a biotech company called Norgen Biotek.  Two nights ago her team made 22,000 kits and they posted an hilarious video to celebrate. You can see it below.   We are so very proud of our two children and miss them so much.

 

 

Spencer working at home

Please join me in shopping, post a photo of yourself with your own Khutsala product and use our #sharehope hashtag to help spread the word.

Live from Eswatini … sharing hope.

Janine

A bitter sweet day for me, and a gift for you.

Thursday was a really hard day.  We were asked to bring a 6-day-old baby boy to Project Canaan whose mother died two days after his birth.  The boy was born on the floor of a stick and mud house where his young mom lived with her parents and 13 other people. The baby’s father is nowhere to be found, his family is very poor and there is no food, no clothes, no diapers and now, a mountain of grief and sorrow.    They have no money to bury their daughter, so are trying to borrow funds and bury here next week.  I took the 5+ pound baby from a distraught Grandmother who knew the boy how had a chance at life and a future.

Thursday was bitter sweet. The sadness of the family was bitter, but bringing the newborn baby back to Project Canaan, while our whole big family was celebrating US Thanksgiving (complete with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy!) was nothing but sweet.

Today is a new day and it’s the beginning of the Christmas season.  We celebrated here with our annual Project Canaan Academy Christmas pageant, and it was magical.  The children performed beautifully and the true meaning of the Christmas season was celebrated.

As you sit and read this blog today then move on to some online shopping I ask that you please start your shopping at www.khutsala.com.  We have 110+ workers who have worked all year to have product on our website and are depending people like you to buy their goods.  The handcrafted jewelry and beadwork is beautiful and very high quality.

As a special gift to YOU for being loyal blog readers, I am offering you a 50% OFF discount for everything at www.khutsala.com (excluding tree ornaments) by entering the code JANINESBLOG. This offer is from today until Monday only.

PLEASE shop today and help us care for our 174 babies PLUS the 100+ Khutsala artisans.

Christmas with children is wonderful and I am thankful to have 176 to celebrate with.

Live from Swaziland … praying that you will shop www.khutsala.com.

Janine

Happy birthday to me - and a gift for YOU!

Today is my 53rd birthday (I heard you say “Happy birthday Janine!” – thank you!).  I am really not sure how I got to be 53, since I was only 33 last year?  But alas, the wrinkles, the graying hair and the waistline all seem to point to 53.

Today I also share my birthday with Rachel and Leah (twins of my beloved and deceased Nomsa – see http://wednesdayswithnomsa.blogspot.com/2014/09/chapter-20-dear-nomsa-things-that.html) and a new little guy who joined us a few months ago, and the name on his health card was “Maxwell”!  Imagine a Swazi boy named Maxwell, with the same birthday as mine? We knew he was ours!

I can't recall who took this photo, but it's just the best!

So what does a girl who lives on a remote mountaintop in a tiny Kingdom in Africa ask for on her birthday?  That’s easy.  Rain.  And it is raining!  We have had what they call “small rains” on and off for the past few weeks and everything is green again.  The small rains typically come in September softening the ground for the “big rains” that should be upon us now, but we give thanks for gift of rain, period!

I also share my birthday with an amazing young woman named Nqobile, who is our HR Supervisor at Khutsala Artisans and lives at the Sicalo Lesisha Kibbutz on Project Canaan and it is with her in mind that I make this birthday wish and give YOU this birthday gift.

Birthday girl Nqobile is on the right.

For the next 48 hours I would like to offer you a 30% discount at www.khutsala.com so that you can start (or finish?) your Christmas shopping (or buy a few things for yourself)?  Our artisans have worked SO hard this year, but it doesn’t matter how much they make if it doesn’t sell.  We have a massive amount of beautiful and new inventory in the US right now and we need it to sell!  With that in mind, I am offering you a special discount for today and tomorrow if you will start your shopping. It would simply be the best birthday gift that Nqobile and I could ask for. 

The discount code at www.khutsala.com is: HAPPYBIRTHDAY (all caps).  It’s just that simple!  We have cool wall signs made of Lucky seeds (thanks for the idea Larenda Casey), coasters made of wood from Project Canaan and of course our stunning beadcraft.

Now that this blog is written I will go back to enjoying the sounds of the rain, the thunder of an angry sky and reading my birthday present from Ian, Ellie Weisel’s “Dawn”.  At 3:30 I will go and enjoy cake at the toddler home with little Maxwell and then head up to the Oasis for cake with Rachel and Leah.  A perfect day (but missing Spencer and Chloe).

Live from Swaziland …THANK YOU for shopping today!

Janine

PS - if you haven't seen the YouTube video done by my friends Gabe and Kayla Ferris, you MUST watch it now. It will simply make your Saturday!  Click here to watch now.  Thank you Ferris family!

Hope in a bag? Seriously.

Add caption

I can’t believe it’s October already!  And living in Africa that means that spring is in the air, the blossoms are starting to bloom and the trees are flowering.  But Christmas still comes on December 25^th (even if it’s 110F) and so my Christmas shopping has begun.

Has yours?  If not, maybe today is the day to start.

I am THRILLED to be able officially launch the 2016 Heart for Africa Christmas tree ornament made by the talented Khutsala Artisans on Project Canaan in Swaziland, Africa.  You will see that it is a stunning “Classic” ornament shape made with “oilslick purple” glass beads.  Each one is carefully handmade and each person trained and employed to make them cares for an average of 13 people back at home. 

2016 Classic Christmas tree ornament

100% of the profit goes directly back to helping us care for the 139 babies who call Project Canaan home. The profit allows us to buy diapers, pay for caregivers, medical care, food and everything else that goes in to raising these precious children.

This is baby Michelle in a costume made by Gwyn Puckett and the hat knit by Becky Fern. The image is one of the inserts in each of the Christmas ornament packs that tells the Heart for Africa story and who made the ornament.

Today I am asking you to think beyond your own tree decorating and to think about buying a “Bag of Hope” that includes 26 assorted ornaments that you can give to your friends, family, teachers, small group, baby sitters etc. OR you can buy a bag and then sell them for us!   The profit generated by buying one bag of 26 ornaments for $312 US allows us to provide care for one of our babies for whole month!  Almost everyone reading this blog will buy Christmas gifts for loved ones – why not start shopping today and crossing many people off your list at the same time by giving a gift with a purpose. https://heartforafrica.myshopify.com/collections/christmas/products/bag-of-hope-26-christmas-ornaments

Of course if you only want to buy a few, you can do that at https://heartforafrica.myshopify.com/collections/christmas.

A Bag of Hope - 26 assorted ornaments.

Our goal is to sell 40,000 ornaments in 2016! And I know we can do it!

I am proud to announce that we have a brand new Khutsala Artisans website and it is BEA-UTIFUL!  www.khutsala.com It is also FILLED with new items including fabulous new beaded zebras, and very soon Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer and a stunning angel tree topper/mantel decoration.  We will even have wooden ornaments

We have not received a baby in the past two weeks, leaving us with 139 lives that we are caring for “in sickness and in health” (like my husband of almost 25 years :).  The babies have had bouts of Rotavirus, many rounds of vomiting and diarrhea and too many babies rushed to hospital for IV antibiotics.  But isn’t it encouraging to know that by shopping at the new Khutsala Artisans website you are directly helping us to care for these children?

As you may know we needed to cancel our 25^th wedding anniversary trip to the US and Canada due to Ian’s dislocated/broken knee.  We are taking a few days in Durban to look at the Indian Ocean and give thanks for all that the Lord has given to us in these past 25 years, including YOU, our friends and family who support us “in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health”.  We give thanks for you each of you.

Live from South Africa … hoping you will start shopping today at www.khutsala.com  (and yes, Canadians can now shop on this new site!).

Janine

Beautiful jewelry made by beautiful women. Now available to you!

“Khutsala” means “hard working”.

The Khutsala Artisans Shop is a building that has been designed to employ, train and empower Swazi women through the art of jewelry making, crocheting and sewing. 

The Royal

The Khutsala Artisan Shop is located within the gates at Project Canaan near the chapel and it sports a magnificent view of the vegetable fields on the farm.  A huge concrete pad was poured and three 40-foot containers dragged in to position to make a unique work and retail destination at Project Canaan. Next week we have a team of men going to Swaziland from the US who will cut holes in these containers to make doors and windows and finish the insides of each container with shelving, storage and office space for the Khutsala Artisans.  It will be nothing short of extraordinary when it is complete (thanks to the wonderful and talented Jamie Klee!).

On October 1^st we plan to officially open the Khutsala Artisans Shop and begin working with two special women who we have come to know and love.  They are two women who have been chosen to live in the Sicalo Lesisha Kibbutz and want to be gainfully employed at Project Canaan. We know that in the future there will be dozens of women (and some men) who will work at the Khutsala Artisans Shop and be able to provide food, clothing, education and a future for their children and extended families.  Employment and training is at the core of this important new project.

Hand painted Batik infinity scarves by Baobab Batik.

In April 2013 a group of talented and wonderful women came to Swaziland to work on designs that would incorporate local materials (i.e. hand made ceramic beads from the wonderful women at Imvelo in Manzini), with current western fashion so that all items made would be quickly purchased in the US and Canadian markets.  We have dipped our toes in to the market place here with a few pieces and have been met with positive response beyond our imaginations.

There were SO many outstanding prototypes designed that our greatest challenge was which ones to start with. I have attached photos of a few of those pieces. The scarves and Project Canaan Angel Christmas tree ornaments are available now in our online store.  The other pieces will go in to production on October 1^st. 

Nomsa's necklace

Litsemba "hope" bracelet

Project Canaan Angel Christmas ornament

Heart for Africa key chain or Christmas tree ornament

Stay tuned for more information on this new and exciting project in the weeks and months to come.

Live from Atlanta, Georgia … I LOVE selling African jewelry!

Janine

Ian lead me down the garden path.

It’s Sunday morning and I just woke up in Johannesburg and checked my email and Facbook.  Thank you Penny Smucker for asking if I was okay?  Why?  Because she missed my blog yesterday.  What?  I forgot to blog?  How could that be?  It was all Ian’s fault … he lead me down the garden path.

For my friends out there you may be happy to know that Ian and I spent a fun day together just doing “stuff” in Johannesburg as we wait to pick up Jimmy Wilferth and the 2013 interns from the airport today.  We checked prices on furniture and blinds for the toddler home, we spend the whole morning at The Bead Shop, we had a nice lunch together and then spent time doing some other miscellaneous shopping that can’t be done in Swaziland. Then we had a date night at one of our favorite restaurants called Adega (Portugese restaurant specializing in seafood).  It was a wonderful day, and I forgot to blog.  It really wasn’t Ian’s fault at all, it was my “almost 50-year old brain” combined with a fun day that distracted me from my weekly intention.  Thanks for sticking with me.

Some of you (men) are wondering why Ian would spend the whole morning at The Bead Shop?  And for those of you who know me well you are wondering the same thing about me.  Let me tell you a bit about self-sustainable farming and jewelry making and how they go hand in hand.

One of the goals of Project Canaan is to become totally self-sustainable.  Specifically, that means growing the food/animals that we need to provide for those of us living on the farm and generating enough income from what we produce to be able to run the farm as well as care for the children living at the El Roi Baby Home.  It is a daunting task.  While we are proud to be able to create employment in a country where there is close to 70% unemployment and we love that we can produce good quality vegetables to sell in local markets and stores, it simply isn’t enough to generate significant income.  The harvests are never quite what we would hope they would be, new insect varieties continue to challenge the team to maximize productivity and weather is a variable that we can’t control. 

What does that have to do with The Bead Shop? 

As marketers Ian and I are always trying to think outside the box.  What can we “produce” on Project Canaan that can be sold within the country and/or exported to generate more income? That is where the Khutsala Artisans Shop comes in (and our Saturday morning at The Bead Shop).

Becky, Dana, Gwyn, Barbara, Mela and Eleasha

 At the beginning of June we had a wonderful team of volunteers from the US who are brilliant designers of jewelry and accessories. I had the privilege of working with some of them in Kenya a few years ago and now we found ourselves gathered together in Swaziland to create new designs for the women of Swaziland to produce and the people of the world to purchase.  We had a fun-filled, action packed week together and they created infinity scarves, handbags and every type of jewelry that could appeal to all ages and tastes.  It was amazing to see them at work as a team and use the gifts that the Lord has given them including knitting, crocheting, sewing and pure jewelry design.

Yesterday we spent Saturday morning at The Bead Shop in Johannesburg buying “ingredients” or “findings”, as they are called in the jewelry world, so that we can start teaching a special group of women in Swaziland how to make these beautiful things.   Not only will they be able to earn an income to provide for their families, but the Khutsala Artisans Shop will be able to help contribute to the overall sustainability of Project Canaan and the children at the El Roi Baby Home.  

Swazi coins make these bracelets very special

 While I am not a “beader” myself, I will admit to being more than overwhelmed in a store with 15,000 SKU’s all requiring reading glasses to see individually.  It was exciting to be able to pick up this order knowing that many people around the world will enjoy wearing their new jewelry designed in Swaziland while supporting the work at Project Canaan.  Thank you Jamie Klee for taking the lead on this project and having the spreadsheet and samples so perfectly prepared. I/we would not have survived Saturday morning without your incredible preparation.

You the reader may not be able to buy the cabbage produced on Project Canaan to help us, but you can buy our jewelry once it is being made and made available.

Litsemba Bracelet

I have included a couple of sneak-peak photos of some of the first pieces that we plan to produce.  We will let you know how and where you can buy them, but in the mean time, we will get busy producing them and preparing to help the entire project generate income.  Self-sustainability is a team effort and we are bringing in more people to join the team!

Infinity scarf made with traditional cloth from the country of Mali.

Never ending variety of earrings

Live from Johannesburg … it’s Sunday morning and I had a great day yesterday.