We have to move on with life

Kids helping Ian bathe the puppies with ringworm shampoo.

 

Even though our borders have been closed and the country-wide lock down has been extended ANOTHER two weeks, we still have to keep going.  The rains have stopped for a few days so we are able to get to town to buy groceries and run errands. Babies still need to be rescued, food still needs to be grown and buildings still need to get built, so we must move on with life.

 

This week I spent a lot of time trying to help a 21-year-old girl who is pregnant, has a heart condition that will require her to have a C-section rather than give birth vaginally, and has a blood clotting problem which his preventing the C-section from happening. She is alone in the hospital and completely abandoned by her mother who is angry that she got pregnant in the first place. As the story continued to unfold I learned that she had been raped by her biological father for FIVE years while she was in primary school, and while she did report it to the authorities, and the father was arrested, he was released on bail. Her brothers threatened to kill the girl if she continued to press charges, so she dropped it and she moved on with life. We are doing what we can to help her and anticipated receiving a newborn baby in the days ahead. Please pray for both mother and child.

 

We are expecting a wave of newborn babies coming in the weeks ahead based on the number of teen pregnancies that we hear about around the country. As one social worker said to me, “Janine, it’s everywhere. Fathers are raping their daughters, brothers are raping their sisters, grandfathers are raping their granddaughters and uncles are raping their nieces. They are hopeless and unemployed and hungry and locked down at home with nothing to do. It’s terrible”.  So, we too must move on with life and prepare for the babies that are coming. As a part of that preparation I am thrilled to announce that we recently promoted Khosie Mamba to the position of Manager of the Project Canaan Children’s Lower (baby/toddler) Campus and Gcebile Shongwe to Manager of the Middle (Emseni) Campus. They will both report directly to me and the Senior Supervisors in each house will report to them. I LOVE my children’s campus team and am so very thankful for their love, support and commitment to the Lord and to the mission.

Khosie Mamba

 

Gcebile Shongwe

 

In the kitchen departments we welcome Collin Pheiffer and Siphelele Sibandze to the team. Both are helping us to streamline our purchasing, control inventory, better manage our farm-to-table practices and spice up our menu! My goal is to get burgers on the menu at least once a month!

 

On the farm we hired a young man from Zimbabwe this week to be our animal technician. His name is Simbai “Allen” Maruve and he has his Bachelor of Veterinary Science degree from the University of Zimbabwe. He has just completing his Master degree in Medical Science at the University of Kwazulu Natal in South Africa and recently submitted his thesis on “Assessing knowledge, attitudes and practices of animal health professionals in South Africa pertaining to antibiotic resistance in animals”.  Allen brings a unique knowledge base to the farm team and oversee all the animals from chickens, goats and cows to fish and bees.

 

 

I know that things are tough all over the world with a global pandemic, crazy weather conditions, lockdowns and the normal day-to-day challenges of life trying to wear us down and tear us down, but I want to encourage you today to just keep moving on.

 

Romans 5:4 says, “The strength to go on produces character. Character produces hope.”

 

The world needs hope right now, so “keep on keepin’ on” (as my friend Rose Smith always says to me) and let your strength produce character which brings hope to the world. How cool is that idea?

 

Live from Eswatini… moving on.

 

Janine

Jack was a good sport today.

The heart of Project Canaan is pumping again

Jonathan

Many people think that Project Canaan is all about our children, but some of us would disagree with that.  Project Canaan is so much more than a home for orphaned and abandoned children, it is truly a place of hope in many other ways.

When the drought hit in 2016 the country was devastated.  We had to suspend our farming initiative and I distinctly remember all of the irrigation drip tape being rolled up from the fields and the pipes being put away. It was very depressing.  We had just finished building the greenhouse where we had planned to start a hydroponics program, but there wasn’t even enough water to do that, and so it sat empty.  It wasn’t until our friend Billy Nolan from North Point Community Church asked if we had heard of Aquaponics (which we hadn’t) that we were able to at least start working on that project while we waited for rain and started the monster project of bringing water from the top of our mountain.

While the rains have not yet come, we are now water secure and we have been able to fill our dams, roll out the irrigation drip tape and start planting crops again.  Our greenhouse is full to overflowing with all the tomatoes/cucumbers/peas/red peppers and broccoli that we can eat (and sell).  The aquaponics system is providing us fresh tilapia fish and all different types of organic lettuce that we serve every day. It’s simply wonderful.

Ian checking out the newly planted beet root

But when I say that the heart of Project Canaan is beating again, it is the whole agriculture part of the farm that I am referring to.  We live on a farm, and when nothing is growing on a farm it is disheartening and depressing for all.  The farm is the heartbeat of Project Canaan and while there is a buzz throughout the project as everyone sees the spinach and cabbage flourishing in the fields, it is the rows and rows of beet root that has got everyone talking.

Who would think that beet root would be something that we talk about every day?  I sure didn’t. In fact, Ian is down in the greenhouse and fields multiple times a day to oversee this incredible new crop. We have hired a Farm Consultant from Zimbabwe and he is an expert in his field (and now in our fields 😂) and he is passionate about all things agriculture.   We have a customer who will buy as much beet root as we can produce, so we are planting 150,000 beet root seeds every two weeks in the green house.  They live in the greenhouse for three weeks and then they get moved outside for a week to “harden”, then they get planted in the fields.

We planted our first 150,000 seedings this week and will plant another 150,000 in two weeks. We will start harvesting the beets in eight weeks and then “double crop” the field by preparing and replanting it again.  In the next 12 months we will produce and sell more than 1,100 tons of fresh beet root, which will help feed the country, and also help generate income for Project Canaan.

In addition to this, the beet greens (tops of the beets which are extremely high in nutritional value) will be cut off and distributed to our church partners to add to our child feeding program, providing extra nutrition to children around the country.

The heart of Project Canaan is beating again, and this would not be possible without the 9.5 KM (6 miles) of piping which brings water from the top of our mountain.  Without water security we would not been able to risk the investment for the beet root with the knowledge that the rains still may not come.

Water isn’t just for the crops though, it’s for our swimming pools!!! Now that we have lots of water, and summer has arrived, the pools are open and our sprinklers on on!!  I just had to throw in a cute video and couple of photos for your enjoyment.

Roderick

Live from Eswatini … water is life.

Janine