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Listen on: AnchorFM / Spotify / iTunes Podcast Homepage In this special Mother's Day episode, Tanya and Jen talk about their moms, being moms, and how to help mothers in other parts of the world. You don't even need to be a mom to nurture and care for others. The two talk about the importance adults play in the mentorship of children and celebrate the magic of mothers and the societal need for them to create stronger, healthier, and more sustainable communities here and globally.There are many ways in which AFCA supports mothers in our programs.   Supplying medicine and medical supplies so moms can access what [...]

Harvest Family Village (HFV) was created to provide a safe space where children can live, grow and be nurtured. HFV now houses 22 children, and they are continuing to build housing for up to 96 children. AFCA has partnered with HFV in various capacities taking volunteer teams, building, setting up chicken coops, providing consulting, and now, helping build their sustainability by adding greenhouses on the land. Our first greenhouse was set up smack in the middle of the Covid pandemic, at a time when hunger had reached huge proportions for many people in the area and where markets were closed. Losing work and having no inputs to feed families caused [...]

Email received on August 25, 2021: “Dear great friend of Kilembe Mines Hospital, Tanya. I hope you are fine despite this COVID-19 pandemic globally. This is to inform you that on the 7th and 10th of May 2020, we were affected by floods that severely devastated and destroyed our hospital. Since then, we have been displaced/re-located to the premises of the Diocese of Kasese. This is where the hospital operates from currently. We know you also have challenges now in the USA, but we still beg you to mobilize for us some resources, to retool, build, restore and functionalize us again. We sincerely appreciate your kind-hearted humanitarian efforts. Thank [...]

In northwest Kenya, in the tiny village of Miwani, Mama Margaret works at an AFCA-sponsored sisal project. The road to the project is dusty, but everything on either side of it is green and lush, peppered with the odd rock and piece of wood in the fields. Small houses dot the countryside where children walk to school, dressed in greens and purples and blues, depending on the schools’ uniforms. Walking among them are mothers making their way to the sisal project on Restoring Hopes Ministry land, AFCA’s partner in this part of the country. Talking amongst themselves and laughing as they walk to work, these moms look and feel [...]

An AFCA-supported community garden project in Miwani, Kenya, is hoping for an expansion. Currently the garden provides daily meals to 13 children at an orphanage and ten other vulnerable people in the community. The project also provides work for 22 women, and some 130 other children and elderly people are able to eat, go to school, and have medical care because of the work of these women. While the gardens have thus far been a success, there are many more people in the community suffering from malnutrition and food insecurity. To address this need, AFCA is planning to add 10 vegetable beds to the community garden and develop a [...]

Listen on: AnchorFM / Spotify / iTunes Podcast Homepage In this episode, Jen sits with media executive, creator, adventurer, and founder of The Edge of Adventure podcast, Adam Asher who looks to live life #beyondstatusquo Recently, Adam had Tanya on his own podcast, and you can catch that episode here! AFCA has joined other organizations and adventure travelers on Adam's new app, Rugged Compass which looks to connect those that want to travel for a higher purpose and to truly see the people of the world. If you'd like to join the community where adventure and purpose intersect, you can do that here https://ruggedcompass.com/ Additionally, [...]

By Kathy Kirk, volunteer Many times I’ve been asked what I pack to go to Africa for these trips. You will usually get some wonderful advice from your team leader – but here is my take to add to that. These are some ideas of how and what you should pack when going on a Vacation with a Purpose trip, where you might be visiting remote areas of Africa with limited access to electricity, clean water or supplies.  Personal items Take enough for the duration. You won’t have a shop nearby so make sure you have  Deodorant Sunscreen! Sun protection is very important. lip balm with SPF Shampoo, conditioner [...]

Listen on: AnchorFM / Spotify / iTunes Podcast Homepage Jen and Tanya catch up on networking to build awareness around AFCA’s programs and Jen’s goal to raise the cost of a Greenhouse from Park Ridge to Zimbabwe. Tanya talks about her volunteer teaching geography and teaching kids “Game face” when it comes to trying other cultures’ food. Jen makes a mistake on social media and learns from it. Jen is feeling fried and frustrated with technology. Good news alerts sewing machines went to the Boyebi Center in Gemena, D.R. Congo. The Boyebi center trains women in hairdressing and tailoring, creating livelihoods, and stopping the cycle [...]

The joy of taking my grandson to Africa with AFCA. Contributed by Kathy Kirk, AFCA Volunteer In my experience, seeing the world provides you with enormous benefits. By this statement, I don’t mean going to Disneyland or Cabo or Hawaii. I mean going to places where you are challenged through all your senses – you see things you would never see at home; you smell things you never smell at home; your hear accents you may never have heard before; you experience being the ‘odd one out’ be it through skin color, language or other dimensions. I have been fortunate enough to see large parts of the world in [...]