Do Not Conform any Longer

TI Fall 08 Interns

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 03:51:00 +0000

TI staff and interns
Back left to right (Sean from Canada, Andrea U.S., Andrew U.S., Daniel U.S.)
Front left to right (Lauren U.S., Nate U.S., Lauren U.S., Ina Finland, Meredith Canada)

We are on week 7 with this group of interns and only 5 more weeks to go. I’m amazed at the growth, unity and maturity of the team.

The purpose of the internship program is not for young adults to come to Kenya to help Kenyans, but to come to Kenya to figure out who they are as individuals and to grow in their relationship with God.

A normal day in the internship program begins with personal devotions at 6:45am followed by group devotions from 7:30am. This group timed normally lasts a few hours. The interns then split up into different groups throughout the rest of the day. Some spend time with the street girls, at the Neema girl’s project, with street kid’s ministries, teaching martial arts to orphans, and leading after school programs in the sloms. The group comes back together in the evening to cook dinner. Evenings are spent often in group discussions, movie nights, or worshiping with guitars outside.

Neema Girl's Project

Nate

Andrea and Andrew

Lauren

Andrea

Don and Nate

Lauren

Andrew

Ina

October Update

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 16:09:00 +0000

The past few weeks have been quite busy here in Kenya. We had the privilege to host an amazing group from Canada, called Team Tumaini (www.hope2Kenya.org), led by Sandy Foster.

Food Distribution

Team Tumaini, along with the help from TI, distributed over 30,000 lbs of food, such as maize corn and beans and over 450 blankets to 150 families in four different locations around the Kitale area.

Our first location, we were greeted by the beautiful singing voices of grandmothers and widows, thankful and emotional for the fact that their grandchildren and children would not be going to bed hungry that evening. This was our largest distribution, assisting 108 families. It was wonderful to see the smiles on the children’s faces as they received lollypops from the team and seeing the food and blankets that they would be bringing to their homes that evening.

Our second location was to a slum area, just outside of Kitale town. Again, we were greeted by over 50 grandmothers and widows, with their children/grandchildren by their sides. As some of the team members handed out the lollypops to the children, the rest of the team members handed out food and blankets and prayed for each family.

Both of these locations were difficult and emotional for the teams. There were many children with dirty bodies and dirty clothes but the smiles on their faces were wonderful to witness.

Our third location was a small village. Here we assisted three families; two widows and one grandmother.

Our fourth location was one of the most difficult areas we had ever been to. It was deep in the village, over an hour’s drive from Kitale town on dirt, rough roads. This is an area that has been hit hard with HIV/AIDS as well as husbands/fathers dying due to violent clashes with a bordering tribe.

We assisted 15 families in this area, not only with food and blankets but with uniforms so that the children in this community would be able to attend public primary school. This is a completely impoverished area; the women can not afford food, let alone school uniforms and nursery school fees for their children to attend school.

Team Tumaini was so touched by this community that they have decided to purchase 3-acres of land and build a temporary nursery school building so that children have the chance to be able to attend primary school.

The overall experience for the team has been an emotional one, opening up the eyes to the poverty that truly spreads across this country.

Before handing out the food, the TI staff assessed each family to make sure they qualified to receive the food. During this time, TI came across many orphaned children who will fit into the home based care program. Please keep looking back to our webpage for new children that desperately need support.

Thank you Team Tumaini for allowing TI to be a part of this wonderful experience.

Neema Girl’s Project Update

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 03:49:00 +0000

Last week the Neema Girl’s received a visit from Team Tumaini, the major sponsor of this project.

The girls shared stories from their past, performed traditional dances, demonstrated their knowledge of sewing and academics.

The team played games, did crafts and brought new clothes for the girls.

The girls at the project are doing so well. Every week, the problems decrees greatly and the breakthroughs increase.

Thank you Team Tumaini and the individuals who have helped to change the lives of these young girls.

A little caring can go a long way

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 06:28:00 +0000

The following article was in the Reno Gazette on September 14th.

If you are in Reno on the 20th of this month, please support Theresa and the team running for TI.

Daniel Lipparelli of Sparks was just looking for an adventure. He wanted to see the world and figure out where he fit in. After attending a presentation about an orphanage in Kenya, the idea of going there personally to help out became a calling.

Daniel worked for an orphanage, lived in a mud hut and saw firsthand the squalor that children there take for granted. He saw corruption beyond his own belief. He saw young girls and boys living on the streets and widows who had lost all hope.

He decided then and there that he could help. He didn't have much money, but he had the will to make it happen. He was transformed, from someone looking for a future to one creating a future for others.

Transformed International is now in its fourth year. It is a nonprofit relief agency that runs an orphanage, a widow's project and a program to get kids off the street and teach them marketable skills. Daniel runs it all on the faith that what he needs will somehow find him. And so far that theory has worked.

In his world, just a little caring saves lives. Lives are lost to the mere lack of immunizations and clean water. His organization provides both, plus feeds and clothes those in his care at the rate of about a dollar per person per day. The African beads that the Widows Project turns out are shipped to the U.S. and sold to make the widows productive and self-sufficient.

His contribution has helped turn oppressive despair into hope for the future. And his story has inspired others to join the team.

Others, like Theresa Long. For years she's been on a personal search, feeling pulled to the same way of helping. And on the 20th of this month, she'll be putting that need into action with 11 other teammates, lacing up her shoes and running in this year's Journal Jog.

This is the 40th year for that fundraiser that focuses on funding literacy and education projects. Runners pay a registration fee that funds the Gazette Foundation. Everyone taking part contributes to the overall cause. Last year, money went to Grace Warner Elementary.

In addition, Theresa and her teammates have gathered pledges of support they hope will get them closer to their goal of buying a truck for Transformed International, which would be used to haul corn. And in many ways it seems like a small contribution. But in the scheme of things, it's that small contribution that can mean so much.

About 1,500 of you will take part in the Journal Jog next weekend ... each of you doing your part to fund community projects here. And among that sea of sneakers will be a dozen pair taking steps to help here and to save lives halfway around the world.

Sometimes your little bit of caring really can go a very long way.

Erin Breen is a Reno freelance writer and anchor of the Channel 2 News This Morning.

Neema Girl’s Project Update

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 13:15:00 +0000

The girl’s at the Neema Girl’s project are doing wonderful. The group now seems stable and ready to make the effort to change their lives. This month TI hired a part time seamstress to teach the girls several hours a day how to sew. The girls have taken a great interest and want to spend all their free time practicing on the machine.

The goal is to give each girl a skill that will help her in the future to start her own business. Learning to sew, for some, is just a spring board to further things, and for others, it is a skill that will allow them to support themselves and a family some day.

The schools all over Kenya as well as the Neema Girl’s school have been closed for the month of August. They will begin their normal classes on the 8^th of September. The Neema girl’s classes will go from 8:00am to 1:00pm then they will spend their afternoons with the seamstress learning to make dresses. The girl’s have each designed their dress that they want to make.

We continue to learn more and more every day in caring for the ex street girls.

HBF Update

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 10:57:00 +0000

Hope Bright Future Children’s home is sponsored and supported by Transformed International. I’m excited to bring a few updates about the home. There are currently 24 orphans living here with the most recent addition of House Parents.

TI saw the need for the children to have a mother and father who are not only meeting their basic needs but also their emotional and relational needs. TI is excited to welcome Ben and Virginia and their two sons Elvis and Daniel to the home. After only two weeks of serving as the house parents, I’ve seen a huge change in the children. The home staff now includes the house parents, an assistant mother and cook. In addition, the home is overseen daily be the director and founder.

We are also excited about the Flower, the cow. Flower was added to the family last week. She is pregnant and after giving birth, will be providing milk daily for the children.

The last addition to the home is the “Chepkuba” in the kitchen. This a traditional cooking stove used by those who want to save on the use of fire wood. The 82 year old man who built this one was from the deep village. Already we have seen a reduction in the consumption of fire wood.

The children all closed the school last week and have a month off, to rest and play. They are in great health and doing well.

Where does the money go?

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 14:09:00 +0000

Every once in a while we come across a family or situation that doesn’t fit into what TI is doing, but we just can’t turn and look the other way. Rather we feel pulled to help them out.

A few weeks ago we were prompted by some friends to look into the home life of a 14 year old girl in their program. Some of the team made a visit to the home and brought the report to our next staff meeting.

Phyllis and her husband had 5 children. As the children grew, the stress of caring for so many kids became too much for their father. He abandoned the whole family. When he left, Phyllis was expecting another child. Months later she found herself with 6 children in a small one room house in the slums. She had no income and all these mouths to feed. For the last 6 years, she has struggled to care for her children by doing causal labor. Half of the children don’t attend school and the ones who do are far behind for their age. As the three girls grow older; now 14, 16 and 19; the quick money found in prostitution can become very enticing, especially when living in the slums filled with drunken men.

The TI team went into action and came up with a plan. Thanks to the sales of crafts at SCF last month, we have the money needed to give this family a new beginning. We are going to buy them a small plot of land out of the slums and build them a mud house. We will then begin a business for Phyllis, make sure the 4 younger kids have everything they need for school and take the two older girls to be trained in tailoring and hair dressing. In addition, the family will be supported with $100 a month to assist with food, education and medical care.

Next time you buy a craft from TI and wonder where the money will go… it goes to helping people like Phyllis and her 6 children. Their lives will never be the same.

TI Team Builds House for Orphans

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 08:10:00 +0000

Last week the TI team had the privilege to build a house for 6 orphaned children and their grandparents who are caring for them. The family currently lives in a small mud house with a grass roof that leaks whenever it rains.

The parents of the 6 children died several years ago from AIDs and the youngest child too is infected. All of these children are sponsored monthly through TI. TI provides food, education, clothes, and medical care for them.

Because the family has their own small plot of land, TI decided to build them a new house. The cost of a mud house with two bedrooms and a sitting room is about $500 U.S.D. About $300 is just for the iron sheet roofing. The family said that they never thought in their life that they would live in a house with a metal roof.

As the TI team took off their shoes and jumped into a mud pile, the Kenyans stopped and watched in awe. “We never thought a white person could do this kind of work,” they commented. They were shocked that an American would be willing to get dirty. Building a house out of mud (and getting dirty) is a job reserved for the poor people and those who live deep in the villages.

The TI team was honored to help build the mud house for the family. After finishing, some of the team asked when we would be building another one. They were ready for more mud.

The joy on the faces of the family as they stacked mud balls on each wall was overwhelming. I’m so grateful for everyone who makes it possible to help the widows, feed the hungry and provide for the orphans. You may never fully know the impact that you are making.

The house is almost finished, just a few more layers of mud before the family can move in. They can’t wait!

Sparks Christian Fellowship Kids Kamp

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 07:49:00 +0000

On July 7^th-11^th Transformed International was invited by Sparks Christian Fellowship, a church in the Reno area, to partner with them and teach their children about missions during their annual Kids Kamp. SCF has never partnered with a ministry before during their Kid’s Kamp week, but after the leader of their Kids Kamp had T.I. come across her desk four times in one week she said she couldn’t deny that God obviously had a plan and wanted them to involve TI in their Kid’s Kamp this year. She called us and coordinated plans for us to be a part of their Kids Kamp as their Missions Focus.

Monday through Friday, Faith Hepner, one of our volunteers for TI in Reno, taught 250 children about missions and Africa nightly at their evening Kids Kamp. On the first night, after sharing how children can be saved from Malaria by buying medicine for a mere $.50 cents a young boy came up to her with a pleading look on his face and his hand outstretched with all the change he had in his pockets asking, “Will this save someone?” The response from the children throughout the week was overwhelming! The leaders announced that every night the children could come up and put money into their “Missions Jar” to give to the children in Africa. Many parents throughout the week blamed their upturned couches and chairs within their homes on us because the children were searching for any spare change they could bring in to help the orphans in Africa. Every night the jar would be overflowing with dollar bills and change the children brought from home to give to orphans in Africa. A mother shared that her boys were searching her house and ordered her husband off of his recliner so they could search for change. When he was hesitant to get up after a long day at work she said that her son stood in front of his father with his hands on his hip and said, “Dad, get up! We’re saving lives!”

The enlightenment on the children’s faces as they participated all week in hands on activities, sang songs from Africa and listened to stories about life in Africa from a child’s point of view was a blessing to witness and be a part of!

On Thursday, Hope Hepner, another TI volunteer in Reno, played her guitar and sang songs as she taught them songs in Swahili and let them all play various African instruments. The staff were touched as they walked by the room and heard all their children’s voices singing praises to God in another language.

Friday, the last day of Kids Kamp, parents were invited to come and participate with their children. TI was invited to bring crafts to sell on Friday night and also Sunday morning to support the ministry in addition to what the children brought in. The overwhelming support from the leadership and volunteers at SCF was amazing! Sunday the church prayed for TI in both services and announced that their children had raised over $1100 in change and donations over the week from their Missions Jar!!! We were given a box of change so heavy we could barely lift it from the weight of the coins!

Sunday we met absolutely overwhelming response from parents of children who had participated in Kids Kamp all week sharing just how much they had been impacted by what they’d learned about Africa. Quite a few teenagers and young people even shared how they’d been impressed to go to Kenya as a missionary just from what they’d heard and learned. We have no idea how God will use this week in the lives of these children in the years to come but we are blessed to have been asked to be a part of it!

Transformed International would like to extend our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to Sparks Christian Fellowship, the leadership, children, and volunteers for welcoming us into their church and generously letting us partner with them during their Kids Kamp week! We were blessed beyond measure to witness and be a part of your children’s lives all week. Thank you for your support!

Kolongolo Village

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:28:00 +0000

Pictured above are the widowed mothers and their children

This past weekend, the TI team attended the launching of a children’s ministry in the Kolongolo Village located about 20 miles from Kitale town. We heard that this village was riddled with orphans and widowed mother, but we had no idea the mass amount we would find. We requested to do assessments on those who were just the close neighbors where the event was being held. About two hours later, we had met with dozens of orphans and children living with desperate widowed mothers. Some of the kids were sick and most of them were not attending school.

TI identified many children who will be introduced into the sponsorship program. All of these children are living with their grandmothers.

The other cases we found were the widows, some as young as 28 years old, caring for their children with nothing more than a half acre of land to cultivate, producing not nearly enough food for their children. Although TI doesn’t have a specific program we hope to have some extra funding to buy these widows and their children food and also to help them plow and plant their land and offer any assistance possible to help them get their children into school. This might mean buying a uniform and shoes.

Check back in the next two weeks for the profiles of these orphan children on the sponsorship page.

Neema Girl’s Project Update

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:33:00 +0000

Neema is Swahili for grace. The street girl’s project has been named Neema because of God’s grace upon the lives of these girls and the new beginning they can have in life.

The project is entering into the 7^th week and only one of the original 6 girls are in the home, yet new girls have been added to replace those who left. Although we are saddened by the departure of the girls who didn’t stay with the program, we know that with each one who left, they opened up a spot for a girl who really wants to change and to have a home and a new life. Through the challenges, we are learning so many things. The goal of starting this project was not only to help these girl’s who once called the streets of Kitale home, but also to learn and develop a model for caring for street girls, a model that can be reproduced in different places around the country and around the world.

A young teenage girl who uses drugs, calls begging and prostitution her “job,” and who was raped for the first time at 10 years old, this girl can’t be put into a children’s home or placed in a project with street boys. She needs something of her own, a place where she is safe, where she will receive discipline, life training, and the love and acceptance that is needs in order to know that she is someone, a human and not a nobody sleeping in the dirt.

I can’t believe the changes in the girls: Sarah who has been in the home for 7 weeks, Jane, Metrine and Theresa who have been with us for a month and Rebecca, one week. Each one has gained confidence, developed personality and a unique beauty. For some, for the first time in her life, she has a family, people who care for her. The effects of being a family whose needs are met is showing in these girls. They are changing from hardened drug addicts to normal teenage girls, jumping rope, doing their hair and just having fun. The transformation is amazing to watch.

We look forward to bringing you frequent updates on the progress of this project.

Missionaries Attacked in Kitale

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 13:24:00 +0000

The news of two missionaries attached in Kitale is true. The attack happened Wednesday evening in a small farm just on the outskirts of Kitale town. The two were flown the following day to a hospital in Nairobi, the

Kenya

capital, where they were put in the ICU. They are making a quick recovery. I was in the hospital with them yesterday and they were both in high spirits saying that they were not going to leave

Kenya

over this but want to return to Kitale after they are recovered. They both stated that they forgive those who have attacked them.

After two hours, I left the hospital, having my own faith challenged. Here are two people who were brutally attacked and left for dead and they have so much faith that God had a purpose for this.

I am now back in Kitale and just got off the phone with a close friend who is staying in the hospital with the couple. He said that John is still in surgery. They are both expected to make a full recovery.

This event was isolated and the offenders have been caught.

As the director of Transformed International, working and living in Kitale, I don’t have any reason to believe that Kitale is any more dangerous than it was before this attack. It is vital that we take personal security measures and we have.

On behalf of the volunteers and staff at TI, we pray for a quick and total recovery for John and Eloise and look forward to welcoming them back to Kitale.

For more information, here is a link.

Missionary describes terrifying ordeal in Kenya

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080710/missionary_recovery_080711/20080711?hub=CTVNewsAt11

Changes (Street Girl's Program Update)

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:59:00 +0000

The beginning of this week was a difficult one for us here in Kenya. There were moments of sadness, moments of discouragement and perhaps a moment of loneliness.

Over the weekend, four of our girls from our Street Girls Program, decided to go back to the streets. After 20 days of being under a roof with food always in their stomachs and receiving schooling on a daily basis, they chose to return to the cold, dark and dangerous streets.

What these girls are going back to, we can’t comprehend. It’s a life of hunger, glue and prostitution; a life that we wished they would never have to be a part of again. But at the end of the day, the streets are where they chose to be.

It has been difficult for us to accept and move on from. These are some of girls that we have befriended, loved and worked with for almost a year. But although their decision to go to the streets was made, it does not change how we feel about them. We will continue to befriend, love and work with these girls and pray that some day they will choose to leave the streets and receive the help, love and acceptance that people so desperately want to give them.

Since the streets are filled with girls, we know that there are still so many others that are looking for the opportunity. So on Tuesday, we brought three new girls in to the home. These girls are much younger then our previous group and have fit right in to their new setting with Janet, our house mother and Nancy, our teacher.

Our new girls are: Metrine, Jennifer and Theresa. They are so full of energy, laughter and desire for a fresh start. We hope that their new home will do just that: give them a second chance at a new life and in the direction of a bright future.

We look forward to continue sharing their journeys with you.

- Meredith

Redeeming Waters Int. focuses on TI projects

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 05:27:00 +0000

4,500 children will die today from water related diseases.

In Africa, 2 in 5 children will die before they reach the age of 5.

Of 42,000 deaths each week that occur due to unsafe water, 90% are children under the age of 5.

Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation causes 80% of all disease related deaths. It kills more people every year than all forms of violence, including war.

Women and children walk more than 3 hours every day to collect water that will make them sick.

Children are the most vulnerable.

Our future is dying before our eyes.

My name is Jocelyn Tarquini and I adopted my son Isaac from Liberia, West Africa in 2007. During his adoption I spent 5 weeks in Liberia working at his orphanage and touring others. Only the most privileged orphanages had clean drinking water. Of the orphanages I saw only 1 had a sealed well that provided water for the 100+ children in their care. The others relied on streams, puddles, rain, and dirty water holes.

I started Redeeming Waters International to help those that are at the most risk. I've worked in orphanages all over the world and have found a common thread. Children are dying. They are dying because they lack the very basic of necessities like clean drinking water. Of the 9.7 million children who died in 2006, 4.8 million hail from sub-Saharan Africa.

So this problem seems really big right?

NO. You start with one orphanage, you make sure they have clean drinking water and watch their death rate go down. Then you help another and another, and before you know it thousands of children who didn't have a chance before will be living longer, living stronger, and growing into adults who could one day bring forth change.

Redeeming Waters International will be providing TI with much needed filtrations systems for 5 different Homes that don't have a clean water source. Help us save the lives of over 120 children in Kenya.

www.redeemingwatersinternational.com

TI participates in the Day of the African Child

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:25:00 +0000

Today was the Kenya National Day of the African Child. TI has been a part of the planning and preparations for this year’s event, overseen by the District Children’s Department. 6 primary schools and all the children’s homes in the area were invited to this celebration.

The day began with a procession of the children through town ending at the stadium. Once at the stadium, each children homes and schools gave a presentation of a poem, song or short play, followed by a soccer match between the kids and the managers of the homes. Tim, (TI intern) represented Transformed International on the soccer team and was the only white guy on the field.

Elizabeth Nafula, sponsored through TI, was asked to be one of the guests of honor and to give a speech about being a child. Elizabeth is in 9^th grade. She spoke for 10 minutes on the rights and desires of the children. She was congratulated for a job well done as she proved to be an amazing speaker. TI was very proud of her.

The total number of children attending was estimated at 1200. We are looking forward to next year’s celebration of the African child, besides, they are the reason TI is here.

Anne, Meredith and Shayla

The TI Team, Daniel, Elizabeth, Anne, Meredith

Not Street Girls Anymore

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:53:00 +0000

Today marks one week since TI took the first group of 6 girls off the streets of Kitale. We went as a team to visit the girls today. The first thing they said was “whenever you come, we want to talk English; we want to learn to talk with you guys.” Throughout the next two hours, they did a good job trying. Nancy, our full time teacher for these girls, translated for them into English and had them repeat after her.

Between Janet, the full time house mother, Nancy and Anne, the TI social worker, these girls are getting much needed attention and counseling. Today each girl had a private counseling session with Anne. The results were great. For many of these girls, this is the first time in their life that someone has accepted them for who they are, not focusing on who they were on the streets, but who they are now.

The TI team has spent the last 9 months or so getting to know these 6 girls, along with a large group of others just like them. We would go and sit behind the market in the ghetto and wait for them to come. At first they didn’t want anything to do with us, but soon, they became out friends. Today as I sat and watched Lillian read English as Nancy helped her struggle through words, I saw for the first time a kid and not a tough girl who was ready to fight the next person who looked at her wrong. She was a kid just like other kids her age. She doesn’t have to worry about people stealing her things or wonder if she will eat that night or sleep hungry, yet again. I was almost brought to tears as I sat back and watched them laugh, their hair done up and wearing new clothes, seemingly not a care in the world other than learning English. What a contrast from who they were just one week ago.

Then I think about the other girls, still on the streets. Will this new model for caring for street girls work? Will it prepare them to one day to care for themselves? I also think about a 16 year old girl I met in the slums this week, Susan. She dropped out of school a few years back and really doesn’t do much anymore. She doesn’t know who her mom is and her father is slowing dieing from AIDS. What fate awaits her? will she end up as a street girl, resorting to prostitution in order to eat food that night? There are so many questions and so few answers, but tonight I rest of the memory of these 6 girls today, so full of joy, so full of life.

--Daniel

HBF Children’s Home Kitchen Complete

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 06:50:00 +0000

The construction on the kitchen at the children’s home is finally finished and just in time for the rainy season. Thanks to the team from California and extra finances from our friends in Montana for the finishing touches.

What’s next for HBF! New house parents beginning in July and a well with a hand pump coming at the end of the year. More updates to come.

Transformed International Street Girl’s Program Begins

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:58:00 +0000

Wednesday, June 04, the street girl’s rehabilitation program officially started. Yesterday the TI team spent the day buying everything needed for their new house and setting it up in preparation for the girl’s arrival.

Today, Daniel and Tim (TI intern) went to the home early to assemble bunk beds while Meredith, Anne and Sarah (TI intern) met with the girls and did food shopping.

The girl’s excitement was explosive as they were taken from the streets and introduced to their new house mother and given a tour of their new home. Anne and Meredith talked to the girls about the rules of the house and the expectation of them. They also discussed with the girls what to do if they feel tempted to run back to the streets.

The girls felt at home right away and after eating a lunch of rice, meat and cabbage, they all jumped in to do the dishes. The girls said that they had so much peace knowing that tonight they wouldn’t go to bed hungry or wouldn’t have to resort to prostitution to get money for food. This is a feeling that they haven’t felt in a long time.

TI has hired a full time house mother who will be looking after the daily needs of the girls. TI has also hired a full time teacher who will be teaching the girls at home. Most of the girls have only reached second grade and being teenagers, they can’t be put into normal primary schools. Classes begin on Monday.

TI has been dreaming about this program and this model to care for the street girls for the past 9 months and at last, all the work has lead up to today, the beginning. TI’s goal is to develop a model for caring specifically for street girls, a model that will best meet their needs and give them an increased chance at a successful future.

Now, its time to meet the girls:

From back, left to right

Sarah, 14 years old

Ann, 14, years old

Helena, 16 years old

Lillian, 15 years old

Leah, 17 years old

Rose, 15 years old

Keep checking for more updates!

Soweto Slums Widows Project

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:11:00 +0000

Widows Project

Last week Transformed International took a team to the Soweto slums in Nairobi to begin the much anticipated widows micro business. The team of 7 set out early Tuesday morning to meet with the 7 pre-identified women who are widows and single mothers who have been abandoned by their husband. The women are all under 40 years old and have children in school. Most of these women have been surviving day to day by picking through the local dump, scavenging for scraps that can be sold and old food that can be prepared for their children’s meal that evening. These 7 women no longer have to call the dump their place of work.

Thanks to Bible Fellowship Ministries and HBF Soweto in partnership with Transformed International, these 7 women have their own micro business making a special beaded necklace that has only been produced in neighboring Uganda. With this rare necklace being introduced into Kenya, a ready market is at the fingertips of these women. Some will be sold to local traders in NairobiU.S. and others shipped to the

A local Kenyan and close friend to TI, Robert, took away three days from his own crafts business in Eldoret to impart this skill to these women. The women were not only given the skill of making the necklaces, but also given a short talk on basic business management.

Transformed International has not yet built a reproducible model for micro business, but they are working on it, hoping that this business will be the beginning of many more to come.

HBF Soweto School

Through Transformed International, 150 children in the slums are being fed 5 days a week through the school’s feeding program. For some, this is the only meal they get each day.

As has been reported in recent updates, the price of food has increased drastically. As the TI team met with the school founder, it was learned that the money being sent for the feeding program, based on last years budget, was only feeding the kids for three weeks out of the month. The team worked up a new budget and found that they were short about $150 a month.

The night before, Daniel received an e-mail from a TI board member in the U.S. saying that friends from a church in Battle Mountain, Nevada had decided to do a yard sale for food for Kenya and the amount that they raised was exactly what was needed to fund the extra cost of the feeding program for the rest of the year.

Once again, we were amazed at how the Lord knows the needs befor

e we do and prepares provision. That you to the group in Battle Mountain who took their time to raise money for food.

High Food Prices in Kenya

A report on the Kansascity.com we page outlined the food crises facing Kenya.

The destruction coincided with a worldwide surge in food prices, due in large part to the soaring costs of energy and fertilizer, which have more than doubled in Kenya. Experts are warning that the food crisis could put tens of millions of people in the world's poorest countries at risk of starvation.

The U.N. World Food Program has launched a worldwide appeal for $755 million to stave off an urgent funding shortfall.

Food prices have risen about 30 percent in Kenya. The post-election unrest, combined with inadequate rainfall, shortened this year's planting season. Maize, or corn, the country's staple, is running short, and analysts have warned that national reserves could be exhausted within three months.

"One month we were thinking of what to do with the (grain) surplus, the next month we are thinking of what to do with the deficit," said Romano Kiome, a senior official in the Ministry of Agriculture.

Agriculture accounts for 20 percent of Kenya's economy and employs two-thirds of the country's 36 million people. Kiome fears that diminished tea exports, coupled with rising fuel and transportation costs, will badly weaken the economy. The International Monetary Fund already has revised Kenya's economic growth forecast downward for the year, from 6.5 percent to about 4 percent.

Click on the link for the rest of the article.

http://www.kansascity.com/451/story/617161.html

April 2008 Update

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 11:07:00 +0000

I’ve been back in Kenya for a week. I’m so glad to be back, I really missed all the kids. I went to visit almost every project this past week and am happy to report that everyone is doing great.

I am overwhelmed by the rapid rising cost of food in Kenya due to the politically motivated violence earlier this year. The staple food, maize corn, has risen from $15 a sack to $27 a sack in just two months. A sack of beans has gone from $48 a sack to $80. To make things worse, the price of fertilizer has tripled and people can’t afford to plant this year. If they don’t plant and with planting season being almost over, there won’t be new maize and beans come November… a famine will soon follow. I’ve been asking around what will happen if there is no food this coming September. I’m told that food will be shipped in from other countries and it will be expensive.

How can an impoverished country afford to pay double for food? The answer, they can’t. This is already having a major affect on Kenya and it will only get worse.

The price of maize will keep rising. In the next week, we are going to try to track down 60 bags of maize to buy and store so that we can get through the rest of this year and avoid paying double in several months. 60 bags will allow us to feed our main projects for the next 6 months.

Because we have a budget for every project, we are not able to buy as much food because of the rising costs. We have been offsetting some of the extra cost with money that was raised over the past two months.

A team from California spent two weeks this month with Transformed International. They hosted several 4 day long seminars for widows, spent time with the street kids programs and built a kitchen for the HBF children’s home. We are very grateful to this team for all their hard work and for their love for the poor. You left a mark and will be remembered.

One of our orphans was in the hospital for 10 days. He was discharged last week. Tomorrow we will be visiting him at his home where his grandmother cares for him and his siblings. Sadly, he was tested and is HIV positive. We are brought to tears in moments like these. Yes, TI cares for orphans who are HIV positive. We will now begin the journey of learning how to best meet the needs of this child.

We are running diligently trying to find land for the street girl’s program. It is proving to be more and more difficult. We hope to have some leads in the next week so we can move forward.

We spent an afternoon last week with the street girls in town. My heart broke once again for their desperate situation and the urgency in getting them off the streets, away from drugs and prostitution. New girls are showing up weekly. We are devising a short term plan to get several off the streets while we are looking for land.

The Internship program still has several spaces open this year; anytime from next month ending February 2009. Next year we will have two blocks open for interns. April 1^st – June 27^th 2009^st – November 28^th 2009. Each block will be limited to 8 individuals. If you or anyone you know is interested in being a part of this program this year or 2009, please e-mail daniel@transformedinternational.org and September 1

I’ve been overwhelmed and humbled by the newspaper article both in the Reno Gazette Journal and now on the UNR web page.

http://www.unr.edu/nevadanews/detail.aspx?id=2629

Thank you to the writers of these articles for taking your time to write them and for playing a part in bringing more awareness to what is going on in other parts of the world.

Keep checking back every few weeks for more updates.

TI Events and U.S. Update

noreply@blogger.com (Daniel Lipparelli) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 14:27:00 +0000

Daniel only has a few days left in Reno before heading to Canada and back to Kenya. The last month has been full of speaking engagements and TI events. TI was invited to primary schools, UNR, TMCC and several churches. Every event has been a success as Daniel brings a message of cultural awareness and knowing how we are supposed to respond to the poor.

Each place Daniel speaks, Kenyan crafts are sold with 100% of the profit going back into the work in Kenya. In the past month, Several thousand dollars of crafts have been sold.

While Daniel has been in the U.S., Meredith is holding down the fort in Kenya. Right now a team from California is there building a kitchen for the new home for the HBF kids.

The Reno Gazette Journal published an article in today’s paper about Transformed International. Here is the link:

http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080404/SPARKS/804040481

Next week Daniel will be in Canada meeting with the newly formed TI Canada team as well as speaking at several different events.