Christmas Kindness!

As I was preparing for my 'Christmas in Africa', I started to think about the children in this world that will not have Christmas or may not even know it is Christmas time at all! My eyes started to tear as I realized how blessed and truly grateful I really am, to be here in Tanzania, helping to better the lives of 18 beautiful children at this special time of the year ~ Christmas Time!  Christmas is about 'Giving' more than receiving.  And not just 'giving' but giving yourself! It's about paying it forward and putting a smile on someone's face. It's about children's laughter and giggles and not about what's under the tree, but who's around the tree. You all know by now, I have always been inspired and continue to be inspired by Oprah. Ten years ago, in December 2002, I was inspired by Oprah's 'ChristmasKindness'  journey to South Africa, where she brought Christmas joy to 50,000 school children and orphans. I knew one day I wanted to do that. This will be my ChristmasKindness, on a smaller version of course, but there will be Christmas this year at Karim Orphanage! I have stufffed 25 Christmas stockings~ each with a name on it! I even wrapped each of the 8 gifts in each of the 25 stockings, which makes for about 200 gifts I wrapped! Alot of presents to wrap but it will all be SO worth it, come Christmas morning at Karim Orphanage. I have invited the neighbors, Ernest and Mama Ellie and their 2 children, as they are apart of this Karim family and my very good friends. I have also made up Christmas cards for 10 families, with a little bit of money, so there will be food on their table for Christmas. I put up a small Christmas tree and decorated it with the decorations the children made. The children are in awe of the beautiful little tree! They all had a peek at all the 'full' Christmas stockings under the tree, each one desparetly looked for one with their name on it and when it was spotted there was a smile from ear to ear along with a little squeal! Everyday, I am asked by some of the little ones "Mama Linda, is it Christmas yet?" It really is hard to hold back the tears sometimes! "Soon, very soon"!!  I hope, I have inspired some of you, like I have been inspired, to show some kind of 'ChristmasKindness' this year! Like Mother Teresa said "We can't all do Great things but we can do small things with Great Love!

 

 

 

 

 decorating the tree!

 

a little 2 year old Alex, putting a decoration on the tree!

 

Ibra carefully hanging his first Christmas decoration!
 




a whole lot of excited children to have a Chritmas tree and Christmas stockings !
 



a silly Sabrina!

 



the children making Christmas cards!



 

A Very Merry Christmas to all of you from all of us at Karim!

  









Alex

How can you not give this little guy absolutely everything he wants, when he looks at you like this with his big brown eyes and his big smile!  Maybe I'll sneak him in my suitcase and bring him home for Christmas!

Just a whole lot of Pictures

my turn for a ride!

Hawa and Mwana enjoying a little bit of 'Oprah' time with Mama!

a pyramid of kids ~  helped them all get on top of each other but the top one fell off before I could take the picture!



Alex trying to 'plank' on Sabrina's head!
 

Ibra & Alex giving me a hair do!

mmmmm ~ this pot of chicken feet, gizards and hearts turned into a delicious pot of stewed chicken and dumplings ~ just like home!


 

Saumu learning 'Gangnam Style'


 

another rain storm brewing!

 

an early xmas present from Mama ~ all the kids got a painted tire with their name painted on it! Who would of thought a used, painted tire would put a smile like this on a childs face!

 

a new swing set for Karim ~ the girls having a swing at 6am, while waiting for the school bus!

Ernest's New Home




from a cow dung hut & sheets of metal....
 

So, for those of you who are new, we have a neighbor, named Ernest. He has a wife and a son, Ellie and a new baby girl named Upendo. Ernest has helped me and Karim since day one. He does everything and anything and is one of the hardest workers ever! He is the first one to ask if I need help and never asks for a dime, or should I say shiling. But i do pay him and sometimes he has even tried to give some back and said 'No Mama, that is too much". Ernest lived in a cow dung hut with his family until just recently it was removed and a new brick home was put up! He was saving all his money and slowly buying bricks to build this. I saw the bricks & few bags of cement on one of my last visits and asked what they were for. When he told me, I cried! It made me happy and sad at the same time knowing he was saving his money for a home for his family but at the same time he could not feed them. This got me thinking and started fundraising for Ernest. One brick cost $1.00...."how many bricks can you buy for Ernest, so he can build a home?" Lots of friends and family started buying bricks and bags of cement. Then my husband and I had a pair of tickets to Elton John! They were sold to the highes bidder of $1800.00 to my good friend, Cindy Swarthout! That was the 'icing on the cake' or you might say 'the roof on his house'!! A  everyone, who was a part of giving this awesome young hard working neighbor and friend, a new home for him and his family. He is truly grateful and grins from ear to ear!

to a brick home with a metal roof!



A little bit of fun with the little bitty guys!




Well, today I got to babysit these two, cute, adorable little guys!   Dada, the lady who helps Rehema take care of the children, cook & clean is away for  3 weeks. Her sister is sick in the hospital. Rehema had to go to town and get a few things done,  Juma had school and all the other children had gone to school, too.  So,  Mama, had to care for the two little ones. A little bit of this  and a little bit of that,  mixed in with a little bit of treats,  made for a great day with my little bitty guys!!!

 

 

a little bit of fun...


 

a little bit of silly...


 

a little bit of play...


 

a little bit of lunch....


 

a little bit of work....



 

When I Grow up......

I have been asking the children what they are going to be when they grow up and some would answer  "If I grow up,  I want to be...". I was telling them the 'positive' way to say it is "WHEN I grow up, I WILL be...." When you say it, and will it, then it will happen!

 

Here are a few of the children telling us what they will be:

 

 

                                 Sabrina will be a 'Doctor'

                               Samwel will be a 'Farmer'

Let's learn to 'Plank'

Andi planking at the Vatican!

A few years back, the thing to do was jump when you had your picture taken. Now, I guess the thing to do is 'plank'! This is where you lay as flat & straight as you can, across something, thus looking like a plank! I learned about planking from my daughter, Andi, when we went to visit her in Italy. She actually planked in Rome, at the Vatican, and was very good at it, too, I must say! Anyway, the children are always asking "What's new Mama? Do you have a new dance, new song, new game?" On the weekend, while outside playing with the children, they wanted to do jumping pictures. I had an 'AHA' moment! "Let's learn to plank" They all had this strange look on their face and said "We don't know plank, Mama."  So, I showed them a picture of Andi planking.... well, the race was on to find anything and everything to plank on! The kids were everywhere, high and low, yelling, "take my picture, Mama!" 

 

 

 

A great afternoon of planking was had by all!  What will we learn next weekend?  Maybe..................  'Gangnam Style' !!!!

Why do I come here?

Why do I come here so often, you ask?? Maybe, it's the smiles... maybe, it's the hugs... maybe, it's the small voices yelling "Mama Linda, Mama Linda" and maybe, its the warm feeling I get, Knowing I am changing their lives! What I do know for sure... is that these children will forever be in my life!

A picture says a thousand words and here are just a few reasons why I come here.....

Antonia

Sabrina

Godfrey



Hawa



Onesmo
 

Neema

Alex
 

Be Careful what you Wish for

I arrived in Tanzania, thursday evening, October 31 to a temperature of +31!  A nice change from what we were having in Lethbridge and Calgary. For two days it was HOT, DRY and SUNNY! Great weather to play outside with the children on the playground but not so great weather for all the trees, plants and flowers and garden. There has not been a drop of rain since I left last time, which was March 10th, and they were in desperate need of rain.  I told Rehema I would help her pray for rain and then she yelled out "I need rain, rain, rain! I need BIG rain" and she danced around and we laughed. Well, that night it started to rain...and rain...and rain. It has NOT stopped! I told her should have just asked for "rain" and not "rain, rain, rain" Well, she got what she wished for. I wont be going to far these next few days because we cant get passed our gate and cross the road because we now have our own river and the road to town is IMPOSSIBLE to even walk down, let alone drive down!  So today, we might put our swim suits on and swim in the playground!



Our new swimming pool!



Outside our gate! Ernest's new home is right in the path of this flooding road!