Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY018105A
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00:02 I want to spend my life
00:08 Mending broken people 00:13 I want to spend my life 00:19 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:35 I want to spend my life 00:41 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:52 Mending broken people 01:10 - Hello friends and welcome to 3ABN Today. 01:13 My name is John Lomacang and I'm 01:14 with my copilot, my wife Angela. - Glad 01:17 to be here. Always excited to co-host 01:20 with my husband. - That's right. We are co-hosting 01:23 a program today that will be of great interest 01:25 to anyone watching. You know, we talk about 01:27 missions. And when we talk about missions, 01:29 all kinds of imagery come to your mind, and 01:33 some people think of local; some people 01:34 think worldwide. Well, our guest today is going 01:37 to give you a different approach, different 01:40 vision, as it were, about missions and how you 01:42 could be involved, and a number of things. 01:45 Honey, I'm excited about this program; 01:46 what about you? - Oh, I am so excited, 'cause 01:48 missions, we love missions, don't we? 01:50 - That's right. We've done quite a bit of 01:52 missions, ourselves. - That's right. - And 01:54 every time we come home, we adjust our- 01:56 it calibrates us to be more appreciative of 01:59 what God has given to us. But before we 02:02 introduce you to our guest, and kind of- 02:04 you'll share about our music today; we'll let 02:07 our guest be introduced after the music. But 02:10 thank you for your prayers, your financial 02:12 support of 3ABN network as we continue going 02:15 and growing. And by the way, you may not know, 02:17 but my wife works for 3ABN Radio, also! 02:20 - [laughs] I do, and it's a job that I 02:23 totally enjoy...totally. And today, we have some 02:27 special music. The Lord asked the question, 02:31 "Who will go?" And today, my husband is 02:35 going to sing a song called, "I Will Go." 03:09 Give me ears to hear Your Spirit 03:15 Give me feet to follow through 03:21 Give me hands to touch the hurting 03:27 And the faith to follow You 03:36 Give me grace to be Your servant 03:42 Give me mercy for the lost 03:48 Give me passion for Your glory 03:54 Give me passion for the cross 04:00 And I will go where there are no easy roads 04:06 Leave the comfort that I know 04:12 I will go and let this journey be my home 04:18 I will go 04:24 I will go 04:40 I'll let go of my ambition 04:46 Cut the roots that run so deep 04:52 I will learn to give away 04:58 What I cannot really keep 05:03 What I cannot really keep 05:11 Help me see with eyes of faith 05:19 Give me strength to run this race 05:26 And I will go where there are no easy roads 05:33 Leave the comfort that I know 05:38 I will go and let this journey be my home 05:45 I will go... I will go! 05:51 I will go where, Lord, Your glory is unknown 05:57 I will live for You alone 06:03 I will go because my life is not my own 06:10 And I will go... 06:15 I will go 06:23 I will go 06:38 - That was beautiful. - I can't thank the singer. 06:41 - 'Cause it's you! [laughter] And that's 06:44 true. There's a message in the song. - That's 06:48 right. I will go. And our guest today is 06:51 one who did accept the challenge. You know, 06:54 Danny always says, Danny Shelton always says, 06:55 "The blessings are on the go." The Lord says, 06:57 "Come unto me." And then He says, "Go." 07:00 Our guest today is one that did accept the 07:02 challenge of going: Tara Petersen. Good to have 07:04 you here, Tara. I'm close enough to extend my hand 07:06 in welcome. - Thank you so much. It's so nice 07:08 to be here today. - Yes! - Now, Tara, tell us 07:11 a little bit about yourself. Who are you? 07:15 - Well, I live in Denver, Colorado. I have a 07:18 husband and a 4-year-old little girl who is my 07:20 whole world. - Aww. - Okay. - We've been in 07:23 Denver about 10 years. And about a year and 07:27 a half ago, I made a huge change in my life. 07:30 I have been in nonprofit work, but I felt the 07:32 call to do something special. It has been 07:36 a huge blessing, and I'm so glad to be able 07:39 to share with you today a little bit about what 07:41 we're doing. - Wow. Having introduced yourself to 07:46 the 3ABN family for the first time, welcome. 07:48 Good to have you here. Now, we talked with you 07:50 a little bit about, kind of, the background of 07:52 this ministry. Give us the name of it and just 07:55 kind of tell us how it got started. - Yeah, 07:57 absolutely. So, I work for a children's home 08:00 and school in Zimbabwe. It's called Kuda Vana 08:03 Partnership. I know that sounds like a mouthful, 08:06 but you get used to it. Kuda Vana. Kuda Vana 08:09 means 'loving children' in Shona, which is why the name. 08:13 Kuda Vana actually really started its roots 08:15 here at 3ABN, something I learned very recently. 08:19 They've been around about 12 or 13 years, 08:21 and they were started by a wonderful woman 08:25 who was living and working for the Seventh-day 08:28 Adventist Church in Zimbabwe. She saw a 08:31 real need to care for orphans and vulnerable 08:33 children in the area and began looking for 08:37 housing for them and ways to improve their 08:39 lives, and actually came here on 3ABN when 08:43 she was first starting her ministry. That's 08:45 really how it all began. In that time, so many 08:51 things have improved and changed, and we've 08:54 been able to do so much for the kids living there 08:56 because of what she started. - Beautiful. 09:01 - Now, how did you get involved with this 09:02 ministry? 'Cause, you know, you said 12 or 13 09:04 years ago, somebody else began it; but how 09:07 did YOU get connected to it? - Yeah, well, 09:09 so, Kuda Vana used to be known as Morera 09:11 Children's Home, so if you have viewers that 09:14 supported it back then, that's what it used to 09:15 be called. I got involved because about, oh, 09:19 several years back, Paulaline?, who 09:21 was our founder, she's an older woman and she 09:24 was looking to retire. There was a couple in 09:27 my church, LifeSource Adventist Fellowship 09:30 in Denver, Colorado, that felt called to do 09:33 something radical with their lives, that they 09:36 felt called to go and to answer a children's 09:39 call that needed help. They traveled; the whole 09:43 family ended up getting involved. They traveled 09:45 to Zimbabwe, saw this need, felt like they could 09:48 help and really take this wonderful children's 09:51 home to the next level and equip those children 09:54 not just to survive but to thrive. So, I've been 09:58 a member at LifeSource for a long time, and I've 10:01 been in the nonprofit community for a long 10:04 time. That's been my whole career. I was 10:07 supposed to be an English teacher, but God had 10:09 other ideas. - Yes, He did; a philanthropist. 10:12 - I was not looking for another job. I had 10:15 a great job at a really big nonprofit in downtown 10:18 Denver, and I felt God nudging my heart to 10:21 help. - Now, do you go? Are you in- now, the 10:27 ministry is located in... - So we're in Zimbabwe. 10:31 We're just outside of Mutare, which is on the 10:33 eastern side, right near Mozambique. It's about 10:36 the fourth largest city in the country, but we're 10:39 in the country. I live in Denver, so I am 10:41 the only paid state-side staff person; I just work 10:45 part-time. My salary is paid by generous donors, 10:48 so everything else is in Zimbabwe. Everyone 10:50 else is in Zimbabwe. - Have you been there? 10:52 - Oh, yes. I go at least once, sometimes twice 10:54 a year when I can. Love those kids. - How much 10:57 staff do you have? - We have, I think, about 11:00 24 full and part-time staff on our campus, 11:03 so that includes our caregivers, maintenance 11:06 people... We have a psychologist on staff 11:10 that's providing some emotional healthcare 11:12 to our children... Teachers. We have a 11:14 school on campus. - Is it an orphanage? - You 11:18 know, it is an orphanage, but I'm glad that you 11:20 asked that question, because we don't like 11:22 to call it an orphanage. We are not your typical 11:25 orphanage. We like to call ourselves a children's 11:29 home, because what Kuda Vana's doing is providing 11:32 these children with a real home and is close 11:35 to a family as they can possibly get. Now, I 11:37 want you guys to look at those photos. So, 11:40 you look at those kids, and they're no different 11:44 from your nieces or nephews or from my 11:46 daughter. They have all the same hopes and 11:49 dreams and aspirations and quirks and things 11:53 about them that make them special, and I think 11:55 sometimes, it's very easy to objectify a 12:00 photo of a child in another country and 12:02 think, "Oh, that has nothing to do with me. 12:05 That's so far from me." But they're just like 12:07 our own children! They have so much potential, 12:13 and they just need someone to help them 12:15 to reach that. It says in James that the purest 12:20 form of religion is caring for widows and 12:24 orphans and their need, and I feel very blessed 12:27 that my church and Amstat International, 12:30 which is a huge supporter of Kuda Vana-they're 12:34 based in California- have been able to do 12:37 this for kids on the other side of the world. 12:39 - Now, you have some interesting experiences. 12:41 You've had, like you've talked about, some of 12:44 these stories that transform the way you 12:47 look at ministry like family and education... 12:52 Share one of those with us; we want to 12:55 lay some foundation. You also brought some 12:56 video, but let's lay some foundation before 12:58 we go to that. - Yeah! Absolutely. So, I have 13:02 been blessed to work for some wonderful 13:04 organizations like World Vision, like ADRA, 13:08 that really gave me a basis for my work here 13:11 at Kuda Vana. I believe that's where God has 13:13 led me with my experience -and here's what I've 13:17 seen is there're wonderful organizations that are 13:20 caring for vulnerable children on a large 13:23 scale, right?- equipping them, giving them food 13:27 and medical attention and shelter, and helping 13:29 make sure those kids can really survive. 13:33 What's different about Kuda Vana is we're 13:35 going to the next level, and we're going beyond 13:38 just surviving to helping these kids thrive. We 13:42 treat each child in our care, and there are 13:45 50 children on our campus; we have space 13:47 for 50 children, plus more that, once they 13:50 age out, we'll talk about that later. - So 13:53 they cycle through? - Mhm. But we treat them just 13:56 like I would treat my own daughter, where, 13:58 if they need braces or they need a tutor or 14:02 some special attention, that's what they're 14:04 going to get. Our staff are really providing 14:09 these children with holistic care. I mean, 14:11 when you think of an orphanage, what comes 14:13 to mind when I say that word, right? - I 14:15 mean, when you think of it, what comes to your 14:17 mind? - No parents, no family, so many needs... 14:22 - Yeah. - But a lot of times, also, we've 14:25 seen orphanages where the conditions were 14:27 horrendous, where the kids were just barely 14:29 hanging on, where they didn't know where their 14:31 next meal was coming from...but it doesn't 14:32 sound like yours is that way. - Yeah! I 14:34 mean, I ask a lot of people, "What do you 14:36 think of when you think of an orphanage?" and 14:37 they think, "Rows of beds and chaos and 14:41 smell..." Kuda Vana is not your typical orphanage. 14:45 Our children are growing up in group homes, in 14:48 family structures, where they're learning what 14:50 it's like to be part of a family with siblings 14:53 and sharing chores and responsibilities so that 14:56 one day, they can look after their own families 14:59 and break that cycle of poverty and child 15:02 abandonment. They're getting an excellent 15:04 education. On our campus, we have a primary 15:07 school (we'll talk about that in a bit) as well 15:10 as off-campus through post-secondary. They're 15:13 also getting the emotional and physical support 15:16 they need to really thrive, so working 15:19 through their trauma- many of them have had 15:21 a lot of trauma in their past-so that they can 15:24 go on and be a blessing to their communities 15:26 and also the spiritual guidance. So, we're 15:28 very involved with our local church; they're in 15:31 Mutare. We have a worship center on campus 15:33 and our kids also attend and are very actively 15:35 involved in a Pathfinders program there in Mutare. 15:38 So, really trying to give our kids the most 15:41 normal childhood possible that we can. - What's 15:45 the age group again? - We take care of infants 15:48 all the way through up and beyond the age of 15:50 18. - Infants... How old would that be? - We're 15:53 getting babies that are brand new. Unfortunately, 15:57 many of them are found in pretty tragic circumstances. 16:00 We've had babies found in pit toilets, in trash 16:04 cans, but God always seems to find a way to 16:07 bring them to us. We're the only children's home 16:10 in the area that accepts infants. We have a 16:12 nursery dedicated to infant care. - Wow, 16:15 can you imagine, honey? Finding... - I know, 16:16 because of your situation, it means a lot to us, 16:19 'cause my husband, as many people know, he 16:22 was abandoned at 3 months old. - Yeah. So our job 16:26 is to take those babies and help them know that 16:28 they have a Father in heaven who will never 16:31 abandon them and will never harm them. I 16:35 think that's the beauty of what we're doing is 16:38 we're going beyond just taking care of them. 16:40 - Isaiah says, "When my mother and my father 16:43 forsake me, the Lord will take care of me." 16:45 That's true. That's special to me, too, 16:47 'cause I wouldn't be who I am today. A lot 16:49 of lives- and I like what you're talking 16:51 about today, because I see this in my own 16:53 life- what begins as a tragedy, sometimes 16:56 it's an appointment to a triumph. Sometimes, 16:59 the Lord has to separate a child from his destiny 17:04 that could be horrific and put him in a place 17:07 or put her in a place where their destiny 17:09 could become a triumph, so you never know it. 17:12 So if you're listening to the program, watching 17:14 the program, you may be in a situation that 17:16 looks tragic, but as mine did, it turned out to be 17:21 a triumph; but sometimes, it has to begin in an 17:23 unusual way. But this dedication to infants... 17:27 I mean, we've been to orphanages, but we 17:29 haven't seen any with infants. - No, we haven't. 17:31 - Yeah. Thank you for sharing that about yourself. 17:34 I didn't know that. And yes; we have our nursery 17:37 as capacity for nine babies, and we are 17:39 always full. We'd love to build another nursery; 17:42 there's actually need for it. We partner with 17:44 social services in the area, and if we had 17:48 another nursery built, the babies would come. 17:51 What happens is, until they find a home for 17:54 them, most babies, when they're found, they just 17:56 languish in a hospital. So they're safe, you 17:59 know, when they're found, but they don't 18:00 get the attention and the individual care that 18:03 they need. So, a nursery is a wonderful blessing 18:06 to have on our campus. Those babies...they're 18:09 going to have a good shot-a good start at 18:10 life, for sure. - So, you hold them if- 18:13 we're talking about the cycle, some of them 18:14 cycling out. So, those infants, if they're not 18:16 returned or... They are there till they're 18? 18:20 - Yeah. Foster care and adoption in Zimbabwe, 18:24 and I'm glad you brought this up, John, is, culturally, 18:28 there's not a real culture of adoption in 18:29 the country for a lot of different reasons. 18:32 Zimbabwe is in the midst of another economic 18:35 crisis. When families are in crisis themselves, 18:38 taking on another child isn't necessarily always 18:42 top of mind, I think. There's a lot of 18:44 superstition around adoption and a child 18:47 that you don't know. And also, to point out, 18:52 Zimbabwe does not really do international 18:54 adoptions, so it's not an option to take an 18:57 adopted child, typically, out of the country; 19:00 it's very rare that happens. So, you have 19:03 a country where AIDS and cholera and economic 19:07 issues have created this orphan crisis. 19:10 There's over a million kids that's estimated 19:11 in the country that are orphaned without a 19:14 government that's able to care for them 19:16 adequately. They don't have- they have a lack 19:19 of trained social workers, so there's not people 19:21 that are there that can place children in foster 19:23 care situations. However, I would say we've made 19:26 a lot of efforts in that way we've partnered 19:28 with our local church to encourage fostering, 19:31 taking our children on school breaks and leaves 19:34 so they can get that experience of being 19:36 part of a family, and we continue to pray that 19:39 that will be an option for our children as 19:41 much as possible. - Now, what's spiritual life 19:44 there? What is it like? It's so important to have 19:47 a spiritual life. Do they go to church on Sabbaths? 19:51 - Yeah, we do! We have a beautiful worship 19:53 center that was actually built by Adventist 19:56 house systems, so it looks out over- it's 19:58 an open veranda, looks out over a gorgeous lake 20:00 reservoir. So, we worship there most Sabbaths, 20:05 and then we also, at least once Sabbath a 20:06 month, we go into town to the local Adventist 20:09 church in Mutare to help build relationships 20:11 and community there. We feel like it's very 20:13 important for our children to have that 20:15 external family, church family for them, so 20:19 that's a huge part of their lives. When you 20:21 visit Kuda Vana and you stay, they have 20:24 evening worships in each of the houses. 20:26 We do Friday night vespers service, and 20:28 here's what's fun is you're going to be singing 20:30 some of the same songs that you sing here with 20:33 your families. [laughter] - I know that's nice 20:36 about it. When we get a chance to travel, 20:37 what's that phrase we say, "They're singing 20:39 the same song." - Yeah. - Of course, they have a 20:42 very African spin on them. I'd say they're 20:44 a lot more lively. - Oh, yeah. - Exactly- 20:47 true, which it's a part of the culture. - Yeah, but I 20:50 think it's very important for our kids to build 20:53 community, and the church has been one wonderful 20:56 way that we've been able to do that. They've 20:58 gone to Pathfinder campouts and a camp meeting, and 21:01 they participate in a lot of that, which has 21:04 so many benefits for them in so many ways. 21:08 - Now, we've laid some of the groundwork for 21:09 history; this, I think, would be a good time 21:11 to show that video to kind of give us an 21:12 overview of some of the history of Kuda Vana. 21:27 - Kuda Vana Partnership exists to empower the 21:30 most vulnerable children of Zimbabwe to not just 21:33 survive, but thrive. In fact, Kuda Vana 21:42 means 'loving children' in Shona, the native 21:45 language. We love each child as our own so 21:49 that they, in turn, can one day share that love 21:52 with their own families and communities. 22:15 - Kuda Vana is the only children's home in our 22:18 area that cares for infants and beyond the age of 22:21 18, ensuring each child in our care is equipped 22:25 with skills and education to become self-sufficient 22:29 adults. Kuda Vana's group home structure 22:33 ensures that our children grow up in family units 22:36 and have the opportunity to live as normal a 22:39 childhood as possible. [singing "Happy Birthday" in Shona] 22:48 Like any parent, we go above and beyond to 22:50 ensure the health and success of our children. 22:54 - Kuda Vana is a great place. If you look at 22:58 it, all the kids here are happy. It's such 23:01 a godsend place. God sent Kuda Vana. God is 23:06 here at Kuda Vana. - Kuda Vana Partnership 23:11 is changing the futures of not just the children 23:14 in our care but also the families of communities 23:17 they will one day be a part of. With your help, 23:20 we can ensure they will not just survive, but thrive. 23:30 - Wow, that was very informing to show us 23:32 the campus. But tell us, how old is that 23:34 campus? - That campus is a miracle, let me tell 23:37 you. So, I mentioned to you that, well, we're 23:39 a children's home. It's just founded by Paulaline 23:43 and supported by 3ABN- was growing, but eventually, 23:47 we actually ran out of water. It was a real 23:48 crisis. Luckily, Kuda Vana has really worked 23:52 hard to develop local leadership in Zimbabwe. 23:55 Our director and administrators, all of 23:57 our staff, are local. That's part of our 23:59 ministry. I mean, Zimbabwe is experiencing around 24:02 95% unemployment. So, to be able to employ 24:05 these families and give them a profession and 24:07 an ability to give back to their own communities 24:09 is part of our mission. Anyway, our director 24:12 ended up finding some land for us that was 24:16 along a beautiful reservoir, so unlimited water. 24:18 - Wow. - Yeah, and we were able to acquire 24:20 that land, and then in 2015, we built a 24:22 brand-new children's home and renamed and 24:25 we branded as Kuda Vana Partnership. 24:28 We felt like Kuda Vana, the term 'loving children,' 24:31 really embodied what it was that we wanted to do and 24:34 what we wanted to be different. It's a wonderful, 24:36 wonderful place. - What is this? - So, this is a photo of one of 24:41 our students, one of our children talking about how she 24:44 wants to be a mechanic when she grows up. But I think it 24:47 really embodies what makes Kuda Vana Partnership different 24:50 is we want to give our kids big dreams - dreams that 24:54 are limitless, just like any other child and equip them 24:57 with the skills and the knowledge to achieve 25:02 those dreams. So, you see here, one of the 25:05 things that makes us different is we offer 25:07 family units. You've heard them talking about 25:09 that in the video. So, all of our children are 25:12 growing up in group homes. We have four 25:15 group homes on our campus with 10 children 25:18 ages 3-17 living in each group home. 25:22 They're really learning what it's like to be part 25:25 of a family so they can be part of that. My first 25:28 visit to Kuda Vana back in- I guess it was 2017, 25:33 I met this family you're seeing here in the 25:35 picture. The oldest sister, Vimbiso, she's standing there 25:39 in the stars sweatshirt. She's an incredible young 25:43 lady. Their story is very tragic. They had a murder 25:49 and a death in their family that resulted in 25:52 her, essentially, taking care of her siblings by 25:55 herself for months. She dropped out of school 25:57 and looked after the family and did her 26:01 best. In most situations, a family of five like 26:05 that, the youngest being just a year old, 26:08 would've been split up if they had found 26:10 a children's home or an orphanage for them 26:12 to go to. But because we have that family 26:14 structure, these children were able to move in 26:18 altogether with us, live under the same roof, 26:21 and also heal from their tragedy together. So, 26:26 the mama, the caregiver in their home, is actually 26:28 a trained social worker and has freely been able 26:31 to help those children work through their 26:33 trauma. Our school- our counselor on campus, 26:37 our psychologist on campus, is also working 26:39 with them and all of the children to help them 26:42 process that in a healthy way and help them 26:45 begin to move on to healing. They're a 26:48 wonderful, happy family now, and it's such a 26:50 blessing that they could stay together. - So, the 26:53 family that you're talking about that this young 26:55 lady was- they are a natural family. - Yeah, 26:57 the five of them were able to stay together 26:59 and intact because God brought them to 27:01 Kuda Vana. - So, it's not just infants, but 27:06 family units. - Yes. We actually had another 27:09 sort of a miracle happen just this last month. 27:12 We've had two young people who are now 27:15 teenagers on our campus since they were toddlers 27:18 since Paula started Morera back in the 27:21 day, and they had been rescued from an 27:25 abusive situation and actually found out 27:27 recently that their mother had had 27:30 younger siblings of theirs. They desperately 27:33 wanted to know what had become of those 27:36 siblings and if they were okay. Social services 27:39 didn't know anything about it- and come to 27:42 find out (this just happened just very recently), 27:46 their baby sister was living with us. She had 27:49 actually been taken to our nursery and there 27:52 was a paperwork issue, and now she's actually 27:55 able to know and grow up with her older siblings. 27:58 - Beautiful. - It's a beautiful story of reunification. 28:01 No, this is a different little girl I can certainly tell you 28:04 about. - Yes. The pictures are such a contrast. - This is 28:08 Rundai. Rundai's the reason that I decided working for Kuda 28:12 Vana was what God wanted me to do, so the picture 28:15 there of her in the hospital bed- she was 28:18 abandoned as an infant and she had a heart 28:20 condition...one that was easily fixed if she lived 28:23 here in the States, but it cost quite a bit of 28:26 money. Things in Zimbabwe, I would not 28:28 say, are affordable. They're quite expensive. 28:31 It was probably about $5,000 $6,000 for her to have a 28:34 surgery. Our volunteers and trustees came to 28:39 our church and said, "This baby girl needs 28:41 surgery. Who can help?" And somebody said yes! 28:46 A week later, she had her surgery, and that 28:49 picture that you saw now, she is a healthy, thriving 28:53 two-year-old who is just unbelievably beautiful 28:56 and is going to have a full life ahead of her. 28:58 - There is such a contrast between left and right 29:00 between what she looked like and the bright 29:02 light that's now on in her eye. - Yeah, she's 29:05 a light to everyone who was at Kuda Vana. She's 29:07 a beautiful and very special little girl. 29:10 - Saved a life. - And that's why I decided to 29:11 get involved, because it was such a tangible 29:15 thing. I mean, sometimes, I think mission work 29:17 can feel mechanical, it can feel removed, 29:21 or "How can I really know that I'm making 29:24 a difference when I send in my donation?" 29:26 Well, I can tell you... it made a difference 29:29 for that little girl. - Wow. And now, there 29:31 are some kids- there's a story you kind of alluded 29:34 to about a child who was told that he would 29:36 never be able to learn. - Yeah. So, the other 29:39 thing that makes Kuda Vana different, and 29:40 I think I have a photo of our school that you 29:42 can bring up, is that we have a school on 29:46 our campus. One of our goals is to really equip 29:51 our kids to be self-sufficient. Our younger kids were 29:55 really going to the local public school system 29:57 in Zimbabwe, and they were really struggling 30:00 for a lot of reasons. A lot of them were 30:03 behind academically because they'd missed 30:05 school or been out in the bush, abandoned 30:07 before they came to us - whatever it was - 30:09 and there was a bit of a stigma around orphans 30:12 in the area. They were being bullied and they 30:14 just weren't performing well; they were all 30:16 behind. So, we made a huge, crazy idea about 30:21 two years ago, and we launched our own homeschool 30:23 program. We hired a couple of trained teachers, 30:26 we used the Cambridge curriculum, and, in 30:29 just that year and a half, almost all of our 30:32 kids are now up to grade level. Some of 30:35 them are outperforming their public school peers 30:37 on standardized national tests. - Amazing. - It's 30:42 incredible what God has done with our school. 30:45 What's really wonderful about it is it's preparing 30:48 our kids emotionally and academically to then 30:51 go onto high school. So, most kids in Zimbabwe 30:54 go to boarding school. I myself went to boarding 30:57 school; I went to Mount Pisgah Academy in North 31:00 Carolina. My first trip to Africa was when I 31:02 went on a mission trip as a kid, so it all 31:06 started for me in high school. - So the seeds 31:08 were planted a while ago. - Yes, yes! They 31:10 were. Our kids go to- many of them go to the 31:12 Adventist boarding school in Zimbabwe, so 31:15 we're trying to give them the absolute best 31:17 start that they can before they go onto 31:21 high school and prepare for adulthood. - You have 31:24 a saying that you shared with us, because 31:27 there are only 50 students there and there are so 31:30 many more that you have access to...what 31:32 is that slogan? - Yeah, so this is something I 31:35 actually learned in my church and it's something 31:38 I've adopted in my personal life where I 31:40 can. "Do for a few what you'd like to do for 31:44 many." So sometimes, I think the need out there 31:47 can feel so big. "How do I make a difference? 31:50 There's so much suffering in the world; there's 31:52 so much to be done." Pick your few, and 31:55 you invest deeply in those few. Once you've 31:59 done that, the ripple effect is huge. So, 32:03 for us, we're investing deeply in these kids that 32:07 God has charged us with so that they can 32:09 then go out and also invest deeply and make 32:13 an impact in their communities. Tendai, 32:16 and I think I have a photo of him you can 32:18 bring up, he's the boy that you're referring to. 32:22 Yes, that's him. Big smile. He was one of 32:25 our young people who was in the public school 32:28 system and was failing. He was doing terribly. 32:31 The teachers told us he had a learning 32:34 disability and he would never learn to read. 32:37 He was almost 14 years old, but he was brilliant. 32:40 I mean, the kid built, like- he could make 32:42 things out of solar panels and he builds 32:45 things and he's very inventive. He has so 32:47 much potential. In less than a year of school 32:50 on our campus (once we pulled him out of public 32:53 school), he's now reading and writing. He loves to 32:56 read his Bible, and he has really been empowered 33:00 and feels so proud that he's finally got the 33:03 skills to take care of himself in that way, 33:06 and yet, he'd be told that he would never do 33:09 it. I believe that's God and I believe 33:11 that's also because of our donors who invested 33:14 in our school and this risk that we took to 33:17 do better for our kids and invest in our few. 33:20 - That's beautiful. - Any questions we- 33:22 - Yeah, what are the needs that you have? 33:25 - Yeah, absolutely. Well, we mentioned a lot 33:28 of the things that make us different: our 33:30 education, our nursery... One thing we didn't 33:35 mention that I love to mention is that we go 33:38 beyond just the age of 18. So, when your 33:43 niece or nephew or my daughter turns 33:46 18, I'm not just finished with her, right? Parenting 33:51 is lifelong. - You know, at that point, I just 33:53 thought about that, because if you're able 33:54 to put family units together, obviously, 33:56 the mom and dad are not 18. - Yeah! Yeah. 33:58 And so, what happens in Zimbabwe and also 34:01 here in the States is you turn 18 and you're 34:04 no longer allowed to stay on campus. Most 34:07 of these children have been raised there and 34:08 they're not allowed to come home anymore. 34:10 I mean, think about how horrible that 34:11 would be. So, we've started a youth transition 34:14 program where we actually are building supervised 34:17 transitional housing for our kids who turn 34:20 18 and age out to live while they finish school. 34:23 Many of them have gone onto college; we 34:25 have a couple- a boy in business school, we 34:27 have a girl who's finishing up teacher's 34:29 college...OR they go onto trade school and 34:31 apprenticeship programs. So, we're really trying 34:34 again to do that continuum of care so they 34:38 are equipped to become self-sufficient and look 34:41 after themselves and their families one day. 34:44 So, when you talk about needs, our need really 34:47 crosses that whole spectrum. We need 34:50 funding to help keep our nursery going, 34:52 infant formula, all of that. We need funding 34:55 to pay the tuition, college tuition for our 34:59 kids in the youth transition program. 35:01 - And what does that cost about? - Our 35:02 tuition can cost about, sometimes, $5,000 a 35:05 year for college. Total, our kids 18 and under, 35:10 it costs about $5,000 a year to give them 35:12 everything they need. So health care, food, 35:14 housing, care, uniforms, books, all of that. - Oh, 35:18 okay, so that's all included. - Mhm. - That's 35:20 encouraging. - Yeah. So really, any gifts 35:22 made to our general operating fund goes to 35:25 all of the things that we've talked about 35:27 today and really helps us give that spectrum 35:30 of care to our children. - Now, when you think 35:33 about some of the greater challenges- I know 35:35 that you have staff; you talked about that- 35:37 but then also, are there opportunities for people 35:40 to volunteer and help? Because I know that 35:42 that may be a challenge, too. - Absolutely! One 35:45 of my biggest challenges as a development director 35:47 is to- you know- photos and stories and things. 35:51 When we have volunteers over there, it really 35:54 helps with that. We've had student missionaries 35:56 come before (which has been a wonderful 35:58 blessing for our kids). We need people to help 36:00 in our school, in our nursery; we've had 36:03 nurses come and do evaluations over our 36:06 kids and different things like that, so we definitely 36:08 have the capacity to house volunteers and 36:11 always welcome people if you want to talk about 36:13 what that could look like for themselves or 36:15 their families. - How long do they stay when 36:18 they come? Is it as long as they want? 36:20 - It really depends on, kind of, what the need 36:21 is. I would say it's a really long trip to 36:25 Zimbabwe, so when you go, you'll only spend 36:29 probably a couple weeks if you can. - At least. 36:32 - But yeah, it's very flexible; we can talk 36:33 about what that looks like for sure. - Is it 36:36 anywhere near Victoria Falls? - No, it's not, 36:38 unfortunately. - Ok. - But most people who 36:40 do come end up taking a side trip. I still haven't 36:43 been. Someday, I hope to go. - So it's a long 36:45 way, then?- from Victoria Falls. - Yeah, it is not 36:48 close; just gonna say it. We're about a 36:51 four-hour car ride from the Harare International 36:54 Airport in Harare. - Ok. - But it's beautiful. 36:57 Zimbabwe's beautiful. The people are wonderful. 37:00 Everyone there is just so kind and welcoming 37:02 and they understand what we're trying to do for 37:05 these children, for sure. I wanted to pull up a 37:10 slide, if I may. I mother a four-year-old, and 37:14 we've talked a lot about important things like 37:16 family and chores and learning to be self-sufficient, 37:19 and education; but we haven't talked about 37:21 one of the most important aspects, I think, of 37:24 childhood, and that's play. - Okay! - And that 37:27 is the final thing I think that really makes 37:29 us different. Our kids, and I have a photo, I 37:32 think, of our playground somewhere... - I saw the 37:34 swings. - Yeah! Look. We have this great little 37:36 playground. They're given lots of time to 37:39 just be kids, right? I mean, kids need to 37:41 play and run and laugh, and our children are 37:46 having as normal of a childhood as possible, 37:49 because we believe that that's how they're going 37:52 to become the best well-adjusted adults. 37:55 - Socially developed. - Mhm. - Do they swim 37:57 in that lake? - You know, they do! They 37:59 swim, we've had baptisms down there in that 38:02 lake; it's just a little walk, so a lot of our 38:04 children have been baptized down there. 38:05 - Is there a pastor on staff, or...? - Not 38:08 on staff, but we have, like I said, a good 38:10 relationship with the local church. Many of 38:13 our staff are Christian or Adventist and can 38:16 really provide that mentorship to our kids. 38:19 So, our administrator and our director are 38:21 both real father figures for our kids. 38:24 And then in the homes, we just have mamas; 38:27 we have female caregivers for a lot of different 38:29 reasons. - And they speak English? - Mhm, 38:32 yes. So, it's another reason why it's easy to 38:33 travel there. You don't have to learn Shona, 38:35 although they love it when you try. - Yeah. 38:38 - So do the children speak in their language 38:40 also? - The children all speak English. 38:42 - Ok! - Try really hard to make sure that's 38:45 that something that they gift that they've 38:47 been given, and most of them speak it very, 38:49 very well. - Let's get a little bit more specific 38:51 on these needs, because a lot of times, when 38:53 people say, "We have needs, education, high 38:56 school, boarding tuition, youth transition program," 39:00 how can you specify one of those that you 39:04 think the greatest need that Kuda Vana 39:08 might have? - Here's what I would say: it 39:10 costs us $5,000 a year to fully meet all the needs 39:15 of one child. We have 50 kids, so you do the 39:20 math. - Add THAT up. - ADD that up. [laughter] 39:22 - Plus, we have another 20 or so that are in 39:24 our youth transition program that we're 39:25 assisting with tuition and food and housing, 39:28 right? So, a gift of $5,000 fully sponsors 39:33 a child and all their needs for the whole 39:35 year; but not everyone can do that! And we 39:38 understand. - Right. - So, we also have a 39:40 child sponsorship program. If you sign 39:42 up for a monthly gift on our website of just 39:46 $25 a month or more, you can sponsor a child 39:49 and bring that child and their story into your 39:52 family, pray for them, learn a bit about them. 39:56 Every year, we'll send you a photo and an 39:58 update. So, that's one way that, you know, 40:01 if $5,000- any gift in any amount really does 40:05 help. But we've grown so much and we are 40:09 answering God's call to care for these kids 40:11 in the way that you would care for your 40:13 own kids, and that costs money. - You 40:15 know that what we learned, and this is 40:17 something we've heard before, because a lot 40:19 of times, organizations say, "We're going to 40:21 send you a picture of the child." And in many 40:22 cases, it's not really the child; but we've 40:25 learned recently, just in some mission trips 40:27 we just took, that it's actually the child - 40:29 the picture you get is actually the child that 40:31 somebody might be sponsoring. So, if 40:34 you want to participate, we'll let you know in 40:36 just a moment... Do we have any more pictures 40:38 that we haven't covered? - I don't think so. - Okay. 40:41 Now, there's a second video roll that you 40:43 alluded to. Tell me about that. - Yeah. 40:45 You know, I really wanted to share with you something 40:49 from one of the children in our care. The video 40:52 that we're going to show is of one of the 40:54 first girls that I met on my very first trip 40:57 to Kuda Vana. She's brilliant, and she wants 41:01 to be a doctor someday. I have absolutely no 41:04 doubt that she will be, and that is because 41:08 of our generous supporters. So, your gift will help 41:11 ensure kids like her not only do well for 41:15 themselves but can hopefully change the tide 41:18 of what's happened in their country. - Right. 41:20 - So when you make a gift, I want you to watch 41:23 this video and know that she's the girl that 41:26 you're helping. She's the girl that you're 41:29 helping achieve a lifelong dream and 41:32 become something, learn to know a God that 41:34 loves her, will never abandon her, that she 41:37 has a family forever in heaven. - Well, let's 41:41 look at this video. 42:45 - Wonderful video, isn't it? - Yes! Amazing. 42:48 Brilliant young lady. How old is she? - She 42:51 is just about 15. - Just about 15. - Now, how long 42:56 has she been there? - She has been at Kuda 42:59 Vana, I want to say, since she was around 43:00 8 or 9. She doesn't know her family's story. 43:03 - Oh, she doesn't. - No. - But she knows who her 43:07 family is now. - Wow. So this aspiration- I 43:11 would say part of her inspiration comes from- 43:14 I have to include the development of her life 43:18 at Kuda Vana. - Yeah! I think it really shows. 43:21 I mean, for someone who's really grown up 43:22 there that she has such big aspirations 43:24 and dreams, and she's so academically motivated. 43:29 I think it's a testament to the environment that 43:31 she's growing up in. We know we can't 43:32 replace true family, but we can do our 43:35 absolute best and connect her with people that can 43:39 act as family to her, as well. - You know, 43:41 what happens is the people that you're with or 43:43 the environment you're left in, it could either 43:45 say to you, "What do you miss?" or it could 43:48 say to you, "What do you want to be?" "What 43:50 is your future like?" And so many times, 43:53 people that are in disadvantaged situations, 43:55 they think about what they're missing rather 43:57 than what they could be. They look behind 43:59 them so much that they can't even get 44:01 vision to look up front. What's exciting about 44:05 this young lady, for her to have this inspiration, 44:08 she had to get it from the care that's 44:10 she's getting at Kuda Vana. I mean, if she didn't 44:13 think that her possibilities were opening up, if 44:15 every day was a struggle to her and every day was, 44:17 "Ugh, well, I can't wait to get out of here," 44:19 if that was the kind of experience she had, 44:21 it wouldn't open up this flower for her to 44:24 say, "You know what? After what I've been 44:26 through, after where I am, I could be whatever I 44:29 want to be!" Talk about that motivation that 44:31 comes through the staffing. - Yeah, and 44:33 here's the thing: Diana will be turning 18 in 44:36 3 years, and in any typical orphanage, they 44:40 would say, "Good luck; you gotta move out. 44:42 Find a place to stay; figure it out." How 44:45 are you going to pay for education? Probably 44:46 not. That's not what's going to happen for her. 44:49 - Wow. - So as we speak, we are actually currently 44:52 building and finishing up our youth transition 44:55 program housing so our 18-year-olds have 44:58 a place to stay and live while they finish their 45:00 education-some of them when they go onto 45:02 college, some of them will go onto trade school 45:05 programs or start small businesses... - Their 45:08 uniforms. - Yeah, those are pictures of- on 45:10 the top right there, you see some girls 45:12 holding papers. They just finished a nursing 45:14 certificate program to do in-house nursing. 45:17 The girl there in the middle is one of our kids 45:20 on campus; she's learning computer skills: working 45:22 with Excel and Word documents. And then 45:25 you can actually see Diana's there in the 45:28 jacket there on the right-hand side in her 45:31 school uniform, getting ready to go to a job 45:33 shadow. So, we actually partner with several 45:36 local organizations, including Junior Achievement 45:38 Zimbabwe, and also the Mutare Polytechnic 45:42 College to teach our kids essential entrepreneurship 45:46 and financial literacy skills and really equip 45:50 them, again, with the skills to become self-sufficient. 45:53 So, when Diana turns 18, we're not done 45:56 with her. We're going to keep helping her go 45:58 onto college and go onto medical school if that's 46:01 what she wants to do. So, when our donors 46:04 make a gift, they're really making a long term 46:06 investment in the life of a child - not just 46:09 short term, making sure she has adequate 46:12 food or shelter, but enabling her to thrive. 46:15 - Beautiful. Now, when we travel to these third-world 46:20 countries, I, myself personally, I bring 46:24 clothes for these children from children in our 46:28 church, their used clothes, they've 46:31 outgrown them... This last trip I went to 46:34 in Myanmar, I had a suitcase just with 46:37 clothes just to give away. How do they 46:40 get clothing? - That's a great question. We 46:42 bring giant duffel bags to Zimbabwe-really 46:46 big ones packed to the gills. We do bring 46:49 over most of our children's clothing. We 46:51 have some wonderful supporters that do 46:55 the coupon-cutting and all that stuff. 46:57 They go and find the sales and the deals 46:59 and purchase clothes for our children. - That 47:01 sounds like my wife. - We actually have, 47:02 like, a clothing shop, a store, on our campus 47:05 where the mamas can go and find clothing in 47:07 different sizes for their children. We 47:10 want to make sure they feel proud and they 47:12 present well, that they have that pride in 47:15 ownership that we've even had a new or only 47:17 very slightly-used set of clothing. So, 47:20 we do accept donations like that. Definitely, 47:23 we also have a small library that we're always 47:25 looking for good books for our kids. We use 47:28 computers and tablets for our children in our 47:31 school. - To computer program. - Mhm, so 47:33 things like that are always very welcome. 47:35 - You know what, you're right; this is not your 47:37 regular orphanage. - No, it's a home! - It sounds 47:40 like a high school here in America somewhere 47:41 where- job fairs and getting people dressed 47:44 up so they can go. What's that program, 47:46 shadow...? - Job shadow. Yeah, a couple of our 47:49 girls, they recently went to- it was a local 47:51 radio station, actually, that they visited, 47:53 which you might enjoy. They also went to a 47:56 blood bank and learned about what it's like 47:58 to work for a blood bank and those types 48:00 of careers. So, really trying to think out 48:01 of the box and plug our kids in where we 48:04 can and help them, really, look bigger 48:06 beyond their current circumstance and have 48:08 big dreams. - What about food? Where 48:11 do they get their food from? - Great 48:12 question. So, each family group home, they 48:15 have their own garden, so the kids are learning 48:17 from a very young age, they do all their own 48:19 gardening, so a lot of them grow produce; 48:21 they grow things: leafy greens and spinach, 48:24 tomatoes, maize, all of that. - Maize. - The 48:29 local favorite is satza. So if you've been to 48:31 Zimbabwe, you know what satza is. It's 48:33 sort of like a thick mush sort of cornmeal. 48:36 - Yes, yeah; we've seen that. - And then, 48:37 of course, we purchase a lot of it in bulk. 48:39 Things in Zimbabwe have been a little 48:41 difficult lately, so we're purchasing a lot 48:43 of our items in bulk. We were very grateful 48:45 to receive a grant this last year from ASI 48:48 Mid-America to build a new food storage 48:50 facility so that we could purchase things 48:52 in bulk and save funds that way and have a 48:55 place to put it. So, in the homes, the 48:59 cooking is all shared in the family, all the 49:01 younger kids and older kids work together. 49:03 When you've got a family of ten, it's a lot. The 49:07 other thing I should mention is laundry. 49:08 - I was going to ask about laundry; that 49:10 was my next question! - Yeah! So, we have 49:12 solar power for hot water generators. 49:14 Sometimes, we're on the grid; it depends. But 49:17 all the kids do their own laundry, so my 49:19 four-year-old, when I bring her to Zimbabwe 49:21 this next year, she's going to learn how to 49:23 do her own laundry. - She's going to grow 49:25 up greatly appreciative. - She'll be out back, 49:27 handwashing her clothes; yup. - Go to the lake 49:29 and wash your clothes. - And, again, it's 49:31 giving these kids- I mean, they're going to 49:33 have what they need to be able to take 49:35 care of themselves and their families one day. 49:37 - This sounds like something where- 49:38 you need to have a program where they 49:39 could take young teenagers from America to go and 49:43 volunteer so they could come back home with a 49:45 great heart of appreciation. So many things come so 49:48 easily for children in America, and in some 49:51 cases, for families in America. But what Kuda 49:53 Vana's doing- and it means what, again? 49:56 - 'Loving children.' - Loving children. Wow. 49:58 You know, this really is an amazing project 50:00 when you think about it, honey. - Yeah. I love 50:03 children; we both love children! - Prototype, 50:04 I think- we don't have any, but whenever we 50:07 hear about missions because of our experience 50:09 in Zimbabwe and Zambia- we were both about 50:12 a couple years apart- that any time my wife 50:16 hears "mission," she targets- she goes right 50:18 to Wal-Mart, she starts shopping... - I get the 50:21 specials in the...what, dollar clothes? I buy 50:23 clothes for $1. - Toys... - Toys, brand new. - So 50:27 when we get over to the mission field, she's 50:30 right away looking for kids. She'll take a 50:33 suitcase, and before she's done, that 50:34 suitcase is empty. Then also raising funds for 50:37 people to be able to afford- children to be 50:40 able to afford education, so this is something 50:42 that we're talking about. - Yeah. - So, this is 50:44 inspiring, because missions teach you 50:46 to get out of your comfort zone. That's 50:49 amazing that you're going to take your 50:50 four-year-old daughter there. - Oh, yeah. 50:52 She's going to grow up going. Well- and 50:54 I have to say I appreciate you all so, just sharing 50:56 your personal story, because no matter 50:59 where you are, whether you're looking after 51:00 kids in Zimbabwe or right here in the 51:03 States or wherever you might live, there's 51:07 a mission field in your backyard. There's a 51:09 mission field on the other side of the world, 51:10 and you just have to pick. Who are your 51:12 few? Do for a few what you'd like to do 51:15 for many. - Wow. - ? the viewers 51:18 today is if they are moved by this story of what 51:21 we're trying to do for our few, that they 51:23 make a financial contribution and invest 51:26 deeply in the lives of these kids. - That's 51:28 right. And the information that you need to participate 51:31 with the ministry of Kuda Vana, here's the 51:34 information that you need to get in touch 51:35 with them to make financial donations 51:37 and any other kind of donation. You can find 51:39 that information on this website. - Kuda 51:44 Vana Partnership ministers to the desperate needs 51:47 of vulnerable children in Zimbabwe. They need 51:50 funds for education, a nursery, special infant 51:53 formula, and tuition costs to help these 51:56 children achieve their lifelong dream. Please 51:59 visit their website, KudaVana.org. That's 52:02 KudaVana.org. Or call them at (720) 515-5148. 52:11 That's (720) 515-5148. If you would like to 52:17 write to them, you may address your letter to 52:19 Kuda Vana Partnership 6200 West Hampden Avenue 52:24 Denver, Colorado 80227. |
Revised 2019-02-07