I just recieved this email from Heath Dupree, a former Young Life staffer. She is doing amazing work full time in Tanzania right now. Please read her letter because she is such an inspiration...
on how things are going here in Arusha, Tanzania. I will try to be
brief because it is a lot!!! God has placed me with an amazing
organization called LOHADA. The director is a Tanzanian woman who has
started several projects which care for the disadvantaged and
vulnerable children in the community. There are 108 children which
range in age from around 3 to 14 years old. Many of them have parents
but still live at LOHADA as an alternative to living on the streets.
Many of these kids come from the poorest village in all of Tanzania
and if their parents are still living, they are most likely drug
addicts, prostitutes, or victims living with HIV/AIDS. Through the
help of LOHADA, these children are provided with food in their
stomachs, health care, and education. Camp Joshua is an English medium
Christian primary school. However, there are still many needs! One of
my main roles within the organization is to recruit volunteers.
Whether it be for two weeks or two years, we desperately need more
hands and feet!
I am also currently fostering a two year old little girl named Neema
who I met at Cradle of Love where I worked for about 5 months last year. When I arrived back to Arusha, she was living in a tiny shack in the village with a woman and three other
children. It was not a good situation and I now have custody of her.
She has been coming to LOHADA with me but she is younger than the
other kids and usually ends up in the office with me making it hard to
do much work. As a result, I am now looking for a ‘house girl’ who
could come a few days a week to stay with Neema while I work with
volunteers, speak at schools, write grant proposals, etc.
My days have been much busier this time in Africa and much more
exhausting (thanks Neema!) but God is good and has been faithful in
calling me back here. I forsee my time here being more long term, I
feel called to the children of LOHADA and to Neema and am praying that
God will provide for me financially to stay here for two years. Please
see the breakdown below and prayerfully consider supporting me on a
monthly basis. I understand the times are difficult, but whatever you
could contribute would be such a blessing. If you prefer you can also make a one time gift.
Rent: $300
Food: $250
House help: $30
Transportation: $100
Miscellaneous (power, internet, bills, unexpected needs, necessities
for Neema or LOHADA): $200
Total: $880 per month
You can make a tax deductible contribution through my non-profit Takes
A Whole Village. I am still working on the completion of the 501c3
status, but you can still make your checks out to the organization and
then when it is finalized you will recieve your deduction. If you
don't care about the tax deduction than just make the check out to me. Please make the check out to either Takes A Whole Villageor Heath DuPree. You can send it to my parent's home at the following address:
Heath DuPree
Takes A Whole Village
1000 Angelo Court
Atlanta, GA 30319
If you feel as though prayer is all you can offer at this time, that
will be greatly appreciated as well!
will be greatly appreciated as well!
I recognize that people have hearts for different types of giving, so if you would prefer to support LOHADA directly, you can give money for general needs or sponsor a child! You would still make the check out to Takes A Whole Village, but just in the memo line make a note LOHADA. My latest post is about a girl named Suzanna who needs a sponsor.
I am also looking for churches who may be willing to come and let me speak when I get back to the States, so if this is possible at your church, I would love to come and share what God is doing on this side of the world! Thank you for partnering with me
to bring hope and a better future to the children of Tanzania!
to bring hope and a better future to the children of Tanzania!
And dont forget to check out the latest blog
Love from Africa,
Heath
