You Needed Me!

Here is a short little video, to introduce you to the children once again and to show you how much they have grown since I first met them 3 1/2 years ago. These faces show you WHY I continue to go back to Africa and help these children. Also, in the video are a few pictures of some of the projects we did the last time, some landscaping, new water tower and tank and of course the new "Rotary Rafiki House" where all the visitor's of Karim will stay.

click on the link below

http://youtu.be/HtFQCgqabKE

I Love You to the Moon!

Every night when I tuck the children into bed, first the boys, then the girls, it is a VERY special time for both, them and me. First, there is a big squishy hug, with lots of giggles and smiles, then I give them a kiss on the cheek, they give me a kiss on my cheek and then I say "I love you" and they say to me "Mama Linda, I love you to the moon and back". You have no idea how this makes me feel! Little Ibra is only 3 years old and he says it every morning and every night to me. I miss their voices and the "I love you's" and this video reminds me how much I am loved by these children. I am so blessed and the luckiest Mama in the world to have 16 beautiful children in Africa and 5 beautiful children & 2 grandchildren in Canada, that Love Me to the Moon! :)

*This is little Ibra saying " OMG...good morning, I love you to the moon"*

It's Safari Time!

TANZANIA is one of the most beautiful places ever and full of some of the greatest National Parks around. It has breath taking scenery and some of the most majestic animals ever that are a MUST to see and a MUST experience. I am very fortunate to have taken in FIVE African Safari's! Yes, FIVE! And every time it is just as amazing as the first. I feel like I am front row and centre in a Planet Earth DVD. It is spectacular! I have not only seen the 'Big Five' (elephant, lion, buffalo, rhino, leopard) several times now but I have come so close to them that I could have touched them. Seriously, it was one of the most amazing, heart stopping, 'OMG' moments in my life. I have seen with my own eyes.... the migration of thousands of wildebeest's and zebra's; lion's take down a gazelle; leopard's in a tree; python's swallow a monkey; newborn zebra's; cheetah's hunting; a black rhino brush up against our vehicle; elephants come through our camp ground, zebra's almost knock over my tent, and the king of the jungle...the male lion with the biggest mane ever, roar at us.....YES, I have seen it all! So, I promise you, when you come to visit Tanzania one day, you will not only visit and hang out with the most beautiful children in the world but you will see and 'hang' with some of the most spectacular animals too!

*just a note...every one of these photos were taken by ME with my little camera and not by National Geographic!! Just thought you should know, in case you thought the photos were pretty spectacular!!

~a lioness & her cubs gnawing on a wildebeast~

~the famous tree, at Ngorongoro Crater, that is always shown on the discovery channel & the Planet Earth DVD's

~a beautiful cheetah~

~a hippo peeking out of the water~

~Hyena covered in blood, after his lunch~

~Mr Lion needs a snack, his ribs are showing~

~One beautiful green eyed, lioness~

~vultures waiting for the lions to leave, so they can have the left overs!  These things are really creepy~

~the giraffe's always stop what they are doing and pose for the camera~
~a hungry hungry hippo! These guys are so large and smell so BAD~
~some zebras cooling off in a hippo pond but could care less that there is a croc in the distance watching them~
~who knew there were Ostrich's in Africa...and they were so BIG, they towered over our safari vehicle~
~This is not a painting, I did take this picture with my camera~so cool~
~Mama Linda and Bibi Jane, ready for the dusty hot safari~
~oh yes, this would be a 'minkey'~
~a mother and her cub chewing on a wildebeest~
~a newborn wildebeest, 2 hours old, still wet, and 5 minutes later he was a lioness's snack~

~a couple of 'pumba's' or should I say warthogs~
WOW~ this looks beautiful, but if you look closely, it is hippo's swimming in it's own poop~

~nice wrinkly elephant butt~

Ernest's New Home

A big Thank you to all of you who donated, big and small, to Ernest's new home. You know who you are! Thank you, to those of you bidding on the Elton John tickets, you made it fun. The highest bid, from Cindy, of $1725.00 converts to $2.5 million TSH, which will be enough to complete our neighbors home. You have ALL changed someone's life forever.


~Ernest and Mama Ellie stand in front of 300 more bricks that were purchased by Babu Bruce, Bibi Jane, Uncle Randy and Auntie Dodo.

~A new window for Ernest's home~

~Ernest and his wife, Mama Ellie, stand proudly in front of the one complete room their new home.

Great Family Time

I was more than excited to have some family join me in Tanzania this trip. My husband, his brother, Randy and Dolores and his sister, Janie and Bruce, spent the last 3 weeks, of my 2 month visit, at Karim Orphanage. The six of us stayed in the new 'Rafiki House' and had a great time. It was a small space for 6 people but we had some big laughs. The bunk beds were a hit and no one fell out! Some nights were sleepless but the dogs barking, the pigs squealing and the loud snoring were music to our ears. It was all worth it. They got to meet the 15 beautiful children of Karim that I adore so much. They got to share in the love these children have so much of. They got to bond and fall in love with these children, like I have. We laughed, we cried, we danced, we had fun! Now, they know why I have returned seven times and why I will continue to return~it's because of these beautiful children. These children ARE my family too and I love them to pieces. I hope my family's experience was so great and unforgetable that they will all return with their families someday. The Karim children now have a Bibi Jane, Babu Bruce, Uncle Randy , Auntie Dodo and my husband will always be 'Mr Greg'!! Well, it wasn't all fun and games~we did work too. Bruce & Janie and Randy & Dolores paid for a 'garden project'. This consisted of putting up a fence to detain the goats so that they could no longer eat the garden or the plants and trees. Then a walkway of bricks and gravel was laid out so that they could get through the garden without too much walking through the mud. Randy and Bruce and Ernest and Juma did most of the work. Greg tried to help when he wasn't sick. Us girls did help a bit by hauling a few bricks until a scorpion was found on one of the bricks. Then we left the brick hauling to Ernest & Juma. We were good supervisor's! Then lots of corn and beans were planted just in time for the rainy season. Also, I purchased more plants, flowers and trees and had Ernest plant them around the yard. Some more bricks were purchased and painted with bright rainbow colours. The Karim yard is starting to look very beautiful! Thank you Mr. Greg, Babu Bruce, Bibi Jane, Uncle Randy and Auntie Dodo for all you did and for visiting and experiencing Karim with me. It was Great Family Time!

Me and the kids!