I know many of you are familiar with the Heifer Project, a terrific organization that provides livestock and small animals to needy families in developing countries. Families receive a good milk cow, or a goat, or a flock of chicks, then they pass along some of the offspring to other families, thereby spreading the blessings. When you donate to Heifer, you can choose which animals you want to "buy". You can learn more about Heifer Project at www.heifer.org and see what they are doing around the world.
Erwin is the director of Heifer Project in Tanzania and a new friend to Mark. Originally from Vermont, he has been here for over 20 years and raised 3 sons. His wife just passed away about 3 months ago from cancer. Her funeral was one of the most inspiring tributes to a person I have ever witnessed. I had only met Esther a few times through Bible Study but I was surprised at the sense of loss I felt--I was never going to have the chance to get to know her the way so many others did. Their faith, their marriage, and their commitment to Tanzania provides a wonderful model for how life should be lived.
I wanted to share some of Erwin's message about some Heifer work from a trip he recently took. It's a wonderful view of how transformation can take place in the lives of people here and how the recipients of Heifer's blessings actively participate in that change.
We begin a half kilometre walk to our first farmer, Nicholaus Mwakabelele, who with his wife and three children live on one side of a dirt track, the other side of which has been constructed four fish ponds. Nicholaus is the village fish farmer motivator, a farmer volunteer who promotes adoption ofthe improved farming methods he has learned at a special, two-week training. He and his wife immediately take us across the track to view his fish ponds. They each measure approximately 14m by 12m. His wife brings some groundcorn to throw out over the water to entice the fish to the surface forviewing in two of the ponds. Suddenly the water appears as if to boil withthe activity of fish accustomed to regular feeding. As she describes how she feeds the fish with regular placing of manure in the small cages at thepond edge, her young child whimpers at her knees. Without stopping mid-sentence but lifting her daughter and beginning to suckle her, Mrs. Mwakabelele continues to describe the benefits which the fish have broughtto their family. A new red fired brick house has been constructed besidetheir older thatched mud brick house. Two local cattle feed behind the house, oxen which were purchased from fish sales. They have also purchased a plough, and are very proud of their achievements.We go behind the house to view the oxen, and Nicholaus and his wife bring out four trees which they want us to plant together with them as a memory of this day on which we have visited. We feel humbled by this demonstration of significance they have given for our visit, and their thankfulness for the work of Heifer.
Nicholaus describes how in 2003 after receiving training he began promoting fish ponds among three of his neighbours in his village and the adjacent village. Since then the project has expanded to 9 villages and 142 farmers.From 5 original ponds, there are now 207. Farmer group trainings have been successful, as members have learned by doing, sharing the heavy work of digging ponds together. Group leadership is also diversifying; one of their leaders recently returned from group leadership training, and another has attended training on tree nursery management, both courses offered through Heifer assistance. The larger portion of fish farmers are women who have seen this as a veryimportant project for nutrition and income for their families.
Before we are taken to visit another nearby farmer, Nicholaus tells us that he is relieved. Just last week the case which was raised against him was settled by his paying a fine. He spent two nights in jail in July, and made several trips to the district headquarters 30 kilometers away to try to clear this case. It was becoming too expensive for him to pursue, so he simply asked to be found guilty and pay a fine. The reason he was arrested was that he was implicated through his fish farming promotion, being one of many who have caused the water levels in the Ruaha River to decline seriously over the past few years. Of course this is misdirected zeal by the district authorities - there are several more direct reasons for this decline: from the accumulative effect of several consecutive years of drought, from the destruction by over-grazing and denuding of large areas of the Usangu Plains by in-migrating herds of thousands of local cattle, goats and sheep by Maasai and Sukuma from areas to the north, from the increased area of irrigated rice farming in the district, and from the denuding of hillsides and hilltops in many parts of the Southern Highlands which feed the headwaters of this great effluence. While there are so many who can take responsibility for contributing to this decline in water in the Ruaha River, there are few who could be so easily implicated as Nicholaus. He was an easy target, and it was cheaper to pay a fine and be relieved of the harassment of prolonged litigation. Meanwhile, his fellow fish farmers arepreparing an application to the district authorities in order to be allowed to continue their fish farming activities, their defence being that their water use is having a relatively minor impact on the declining watersources, and is a highly productive use of that scarce resource. Furthermore, out of the fish farming groups, village environmental committees have been formed in some villages, and are already starting to plant indigenous trees to safeguard the headwaters at the springs where the streams begin. The project holder and project supervisor both feel that the farmers will be heard and the impending restrictions dropped.
We walk back along the track through other small farms of Igurusi now dry, awaiting the rains. On the way we meet a young blind man to whom we are introduced as a fellow fish farmer. He beams with pride as we take pictures with him. We cross the road where several underemployed youth are just hanging about, and on to the farm of Eliabu Mwisa. We are astounded as we approach his mud brick house compound flanked on one side by huge ponds larger than we have ever seen constructed by hand. Eliabu is the one of the original farmers in the fish farming group, and is proud not only of his own ponds, but of those of his neighbours' nearby, one of whom is a crippled woman there leaning on her stick. He shares how his neighbours worked together to enable her to have a pond, how they assist her to harvest her fish, and to periodically replenish water in her pond. She approaches us and listens intently as we discuss levels of production and the importance of emptying the ponds regularly and restocking with appropriate numbers of fingerlings before the tilapia fish have reproduced in such numbers as to be too numerous for the size of the pond.
We visit a few more fish farmers, including the group chairperson who is a very energetic woman. We hear more testimonies and are gratified by the sharing and caring which has occurred within the group. We learn of their resilience in the face of adversity as some of the original farmers have described how they were derided at first, like Noah for building the ark. Once fish started to be harvested the derision promptly ended. We hear howthe fish farming has brought a number of other spin-offs such as the environmental protection of springs, the more intensive integration of livestock in order to better utilize the manure, and upon drying of the fishponds between seasons, the use of the pond sediment as rich fertilizer for the fields. We are inspired to hear from a woman that upon harvesting her pond it was the first time she had ever held Tsh 100,000= (about $85). We are impressed that the project is able to help people from all strata within the village - that it is not exclusive like some of the other livestock enterprises which Heifer promotes which may be too difficult forthe poorest families to manage.
Erwin is the director of Heifer Project in Tanzania and a new friend to Mark. Originally from Vermont, he has been here for over 20 years and raised 3 sons. His wife just passed away about 3 months ago from cancer. Her funeral was one of the most inspiring tributes to a person I have ever witnessed. I had only met Esther a few times through Bible Study but I was surprised at the sense of loss I felt--I was never going to have the chance to get to know her the way so many others did. Their faith, their marriage, and their commitment to Tanzania provides a wonderful model for how life should be lived.
I wanted to share some of Erwin's message about some Heifer work from a trip he recently took. It's a wonderful view of how transformation can take place in the lives of people here and how the recipients of Heifer's blessings actively participate in that change.
We begin a half kilometre walk to our first farmer, Nicholaus Mwakabelele, who with his wife and three children live on one side of a dirt track, the other side of which has been constructed four fish ponds. Nicholaus is the village fish farmer motivator, a farmer volunteer who promotes adoption ofthe improved farming methods he has learned at a special, two-week training. He and his wife immediately take us across the track to view his fish ponds. They each measure approximately 14m by 12m. His wife brings some groundcorn to throw out over the water to entice the fish to the surface forviewing in two of the ponds. Suddenly the water appears as if to boil withthe activity of fish accustomed to regular feeding. As she describes how she feeds the fish with regular placing of manure in the small cages at thepond edge, her young child whimpers at her knees. Without stopping mid-sentence but lifting her daughter and beginning to suckle her, Mrs. Mwakabelele continues to describe the benefits which the fish have broughtto their family. A new red fired brick house has been constructed besidetheir older thatched mud brick house. Two local cattle feed behind the house, oxen which were purchased from fish sales. They have also purchased a plough, and are very proud of their achievements.We go behind the house to view the oxen, and Nicholaus and his wife bring out four trees which they want us to plant together with them as a memory of this day on which we have visited. We feel humbled by this demonstration of significance they have given for our visit, and their thankfulness for the work of Heifer.
Nicholaus describes how in 2003 after receiving training he began promoting fish ponds among three of his neighbours in his village and the adjacent village. Since then the project has expanded to 9 villages and 142 farmers.From 5 original ponds, there are now 207. Farmer group trainings have been successful, as members have learned by doing, sharing the heavy work of digging ponds together. Group leadership is also diversifying; one of their leaders recently returned from group leadership training, and another has attended training on tree nursery management, both courses offered through Heifer assistance. The larger portion of fish farmers are women who have seen this as a veryimportant project for nutrition and income for their families.
Before we are taken to visit another nearby farmer, Nicholaus tells us that he is relieved. Just last week the case which was raised against him was settled by his paying a fine. He spent two nights in jail in July, and made several trips to the district headquarters 30 kilometers away to try to clear this case. It was becoming too expensive for him to pursue, so he simply asked to be found guilty and pay a fine. The reason he was arrested was that he was implicated through his fish farming promotion, being one of many who have caused the water levels in the Ruaha River to decline seriously over the past few years. Of course this is misdirected zeal by the district authorities - there are several more direct reasons for this decline: from the accumulative effect of several consecutive years of drought, from the destruction by over-grazing and denuding of large areas of the Usangu Plains by in-migrating herds of thousands of local cattle, goats and sheep by Maasai and Sukuma from areas to the north, from the increased area of irrigated rice farming in the district, and from the denuding of hillsides and hilltops in many parts of the Southern Highlands which feed the headwaters of this great effluence. While there are so many who can take responsibility for contributing to this decline in water in the Ruaha River, there are few who could be so easily implicated as Nicholaus. He was an easy target, and it was cheaper to pay a fine and be relieved of the harassment of prolonged litigation. Meanwhile, his fellow fish farmers arepreparing an application to the district authorities in order to be allowed to continue their fish farming activities, their defence being that their water use is having a relatively minor impact on the declining watersources, and is a highly productive use of that scarce resource. Furthermore, out of the fish farming groups, village environmental committees have been formed in some villages, and are already starting to plant indigenous trees to safeguard the headwaters at the springs where the streams begin. The project holder and project supervisor both feel that the farmers will be heard and the impending restrictions dropped.
We walk back along the track through other small farms of Igurusi now dry, awaiting the rains. On the way we meet a young blind man to whom we are introduced as a fellow fish farmer. He beams with pride as we take pictures with him. We cross the road where several underemployed youth are just hanging about, and on to the farm of Eliabu Mwisa. We are astounded as we approach his mud brick house compound flanked on one side by huge ponds larger than we have ever seen constructed by hand. Eliabu is the one of the original farmers in the fish farming group, and is proud not only of his own ponds, but of those of his neighbours' nearby, one of whom is a crippled woman there leaning on her stick. He shares how his neighbours worked together to enable her to have a pond, how they assist her to harvest her fish, and to periodically replenish water in her pond. She approaches us and listens intently as we discuss levels of production and the importance of emptying the ponds regularly and restocking with appropriate numbers of fingerlings before the tilapia fish have reproduced in such numbers as to be too numerous for the size of the pond. 
We visit a few more fish farmers, including the group chairperson who is a very energetic woman. We hear more testimonies and are gratified by the sharing and caring which has occurred within the group. We learn of their resilience in the face of adversity as some of the original farmers have described how they were derided at first, like Noah for building the ark. Once fish started to be harvested the derision promptly ended. We hear howthe fish farming has brought a number of other spin-offs such as the environmental protection of springs, the more intensive integration of livestock in order to better utilize the manure, and upon drying of the fishponds between seasons, the use of the pond sediment as rich fertilizer for the fields. We are inspired to hear from a woman that upon harvesting her pond it was the first time she had ever held Tsh 100,000= (about $85). We are impressed that the project is able to help people from all strata within the village - that it is not exclusive like some of the other livestock enterprises which Heifer promotes which may be too difficult forthe poorest families to manage.
Realistic or not, we have been so blessed to have him as a father and a husband. It's also our 19th wedding anniversary this week--we've actually been together, though, for 25 years. How's THAT for realistic?!
