News from FFCC!

July 20, 2012

FOOD PACKAGING EVENT UPDATES

FFCC will partner with the Poway Boy Scouts (July 27th) for our 38th Food Packaging Events. This is a private event, set to pack another 4,000 meals!

WE NEED YOU!

ATTENTION SAN DIEGO COMMUNITY! If you belong to a church, business, or organization that would like to partner with FFCC to further this food packaging work, contact Phil Harris (philffcc@san.rr.com) or Tina Socha (tina.socha@san.rr.com). The needs are incredible, so thank you for your continued - and new - partnership!

Click here to view FFCC's 2012 Food Packaging Event Calendar

DON'T FORGET!

Your donations make a difference! At 25 cents/meal, $20 provides 80 meals to hungry people here in North County and around the world!

Click here to calculate how many meals your planned donation can provide!

FFCC TEAM #12 RETURNS FROM TANZANIA WITH MORE LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCES!

FFCC took twelve volunteers from San Diego and met up with another six students from Azusa Pacific University (APU) for two full weeks in Tanzania. Here are a few bullets of what we accomplished:

Installed 50+ water filters in Nkungi Village
Refurbished computers at Gunda Secondary School- now with Skye capability
APU team is putting refurbishing touches on the Gunda Secondary School Girls' Dormitory
Met with Nkungi Primary School Board & teachers to discuss a proposal to install a new playground at the school. (FFCC is partnering with Kids Around the World on this project.)
"Fight Against Hunger" food distribution to both the Hadzabe & those affected by leprosy from Chardelaco
Presented proto-type for solar light and took surveys on how this might be helpful to the people of Tanzania
Attended meetings with the District Commissioner (Mayor), Regional Commissioner (Governor), a district land officer, an Educational officer, President of Technical Institute of Accounting, Mosque leaders, Compassion International staff & TWO MEETINGS with the Prime Minister of Tanzania- all of which are regarding our efforts to support Tanzania and the changes they are working to bring to thier country.
So much more...

Here is a letter from Karinne, one of the high school students who traveled with us. She shares what this first trip to Tanzania meant to her-

Going to Tanzania, I thought I knew what it meant to be poor...dirt floors, disease and overall sad people. Poverty, I learned, is such a misleading word. I associated the wrong things/ideas with that word and believed that wealth lied mainly in monetary or material means. Sure, Tanzanian people, like those of the village of Nkungi, lack money, have dirt floors and suffer from life threatening diseases, BUT my trip to Tanzania taught me more. The people are not unhappy. In fact, they are such generous, loving human beings who simply struggle with things that I am handed here in America. I learned that material wealth means nothing when you fail to develop relationships with people face to face. I gave water filters, bubbles and stickers to the families that I met in Africa, but they gave me an outlook on life and an appreciation for the opportunities my life offers that is invaluable. To my rifikis (Swahli for friend) in Tanzania, thank you for showing me pure love. To those considering a trip to Tanzania, it's a chance to unplug from technology and recharge your mind and I highly recommend the experience!

~ Karinne

YOU'RE INVITED - THIS SATURDAY, JULY 21ST!

As detailed above, FFCC just returned from our 12th trip to Tanzania, Africa! It was another incredible trip as the team completed the construction of 4 teachers' houses, upgraded the computer lab at Gunda school, made great progress with the water filter project in Nkungi, opened new doors through meetings with the Prime Minister and his staff, etc!

If you have traveled with FFCC to Tanzania on this or previous trips, join us this Saturday evening to re-live some of the experiences!
If you are planning on traveling with FFCC in 2013 - or think it is something you want to learn more about - you won't want to miss this informative evening hearing from the team as they share their experiences!
If you never plan to travel to Tanzania, but want to continue or begin supporting the work, please join us.

Contact Tina Socha at tina.socha@san.rr.com for details.

JOIN US, MONDAY, JULY 23RD!

NOVEMBER HAITI TRIP - INFORMATIONAL MEETING

Join FFCC for our 12th trip to Haiti this November! The trip is scheduled for November 10 - 18. A few of the items we hope to accomplish while we are there - continued construction on the Shephard's House Orphanage, water filter installation to families in need, FFCC's medical team providing medical care in the city of Gressier, preparations for March medical clinic & conference, and loving on the people.

If you are interested in this kind of adventure, we are having an informational meeting on Monday, July 23rd at 6:30 pm. You are welcome to come and hear about the work we are doing, the details associated with the trip and ask any questions you might have.

Contact Tina Socha at tina.socha@san.rr.com for details of the meeting.

LOCAL BROWNIE TROOP BLESSES
WATOTO ORPHANAGE CHILDREN

There is a beautiful safari park in Tanzania called Lake Manyara. FFCC often takes the team here at the end of our trips. Across the street from the park is a small orphange called Watoto (Swahili word for children). Thirty-seven adorable children live in this orphanage. They have all been impacted by AIDS in one way or another. FFCC visits Watoto each time we go for safari. Sometimes our visit is just for an hour or two. Sometimes we get to stay longer.

This recent trip we spent an entire afternoon with the kids. And, thanks to Mary Zobell's 3rd grade Brownie troop from Del Mar, we brought "Fight Against Hunger" meals, a water filter that will provide safe, clean water for the kids; story books & school supplies. Ethel Warner, from Poway, sewed sundresses for the girls and Wanda Hammond from Long Beach sewed backpacks for all the children. (Both of these women have used their seamstress gifts to bless so many children all over Tanzania & Haiti! Thank you!)

Each child picked out a backpack and a book. They would put their special book into their backpack and then put it on their back. Then take it off, take out their book and look at it for a few minutes then put it back in the pack and repeat. It was adorable to watch! They were so excited with their gifts.

In addition to these gifts, Mary's Brownie troop raised enough money from a Lemonade Stand that they had set up to help the kids at Watoto, that we were able to bless the staff with a monetary gift. The orphanage Director shared with us that several of the kids had recently battled Malaria and they had medical bills that they hadn't been able to pay. This gift was enough to take care of it!

Thank you Brownie troop #1680. You really made a difference!

FAITH LEADERS
WORKING TOGETHER IN TANZANIA

Here in the US, much weight and importance is placed on our elected government leaders.This is also true in Tanzania, but there is another group of leaders who carry as much weight, if not more, than the elected officials and that is the faith community leaders.

In Feb of 2012, FFCC reached out to all the Christian faith leaders in Nkungi village and asked them to consider working together to care for the needs of the entire village, not just the needs within their congregations. The needs are so great that it will take everyone working together to make a difference.

This was the first meeting of all the pastors in the history of this village. A couple of meetings were held to discuss how this team would work together and who else might be missing from the team. The Christian leaders were then encouraged to reach out to the Muslim community and invite them to join the group of faith leaders to discuss and work together for the good of Nkungi Village. Both the Muslim leaders and the Christian leaders agreed this would be a good thing for the people of Nkungi.

There is full understanding that beliefs and styles of worship are different, but all have a heart and desire to care for those in need. FFCC is blessed to be able to witness the coming together of these faith leaders and to now begin to work together in addressing the challenges of the people of Nkungi. FFCC is learning much as we watch and partner together with our friends in Tanzania.