daveburgess@UboraTZ.org
Jerry Thames – Chair
Cindy James
Tim Neet
Terry Mechling
Dave Boy
Bobby Scott
David Senseman
Jack Van Namen
Dave Burgess
UboraTZ.org
info@UboraTZ.org
4575 Webb Bridge Rd. #5487
Alpharetta, GA 30023
EIN: 82-5333929
There’s a reason for the phrase, “It takes a village to raise a child.” It’s about collectively coming together to see things we cannot see as individuals. CS Lewis put it this way about his “D-Group” with J.R.R. Tolkien and Charles Williams, after Charles’ death:
"In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want lights other than my own to show all his facets. Now that Charles is dead, I shall never again see Ronald's reaction to a joke that only Charles can tell. Far from having more of Ronald to myself now that Charles is away, I have less of Ronald. We know and understand each friend not less but more as the number of those with whom we share him increases."
If this is true for a mere man, think about what it takes to know and understand Jesus! We seek understanding through prayer, reading His Word, hearing our pastor on Sundays, watching "The Chosen", and listening to podcasts from Keller, Piper, and Giglio. Getting to know someone as large as Jesus benefits from many perspectives to work toward a more complete understanding.
This is the beauty of working with our brothers and sisters in Karansi! When we engage, when we go, when we serve, or when we are served, it brings out a facet, a perspective, of Jesus that we had previously not seen or understood. There are things in our church culture that can help others, and yet we have plenty of blind spots into which light needs to be shone. This is how we’ve operated over the past 20 years, and we look forward to continuing this as we collectively reach out to those in need of the gospel in Karansi.
In this, there is MUCH to look forward to in the coming years, including:
• Kicking off construction on Phase 2A of the Primary School Expansion, thanks to a heartwarming response at the Gala in March. We will soon be preparing the land, erecting walls to secure the property, and bringing water & electricity to the site. This is the next step in the process of nearly doubling our enrollment from 300 children to 540 by 2027!
• As part of Phase 2A, we will also create the first two of six high quality soccer fields and basketball courts, and further our relationship with Fellowship of Christian Athletes. We see this outreach as a tremendous opportunity to impact the lives of dozens of coaches and ultimately thousands of children with the freedom of the Gospel through sport. With 30,000 children in the Siha District, this ministry promises to be full of action in the coming years! We long to see the next Leo Messi with a Christian worldview coming from this league!
• Building a comprehensive Healthcare system in the Siha District. With the launch of the Georgetown Nursing Program this summer, we are underway
toward creating a modern Regional healthcare system that supports the national government’s strategic plan and addresses the leading health issues in the area. Over the next decade, 1,000 nursing students from America will go to the district, helping the number of nurses per 10,000 people soar from 0.6 to 10, putting Tanzania on par with Europe.
• Transforming businesses. Over the next 10 years, the marketplace will transform into a center of excellence for business, with an active discipleship and mentoring program that will produce new jobs for thousands of highly skilled workers. Most of these jobs will be filled by young men and women, who will have agency in their lives and a solid spiritual life. Local farmers will become experts in Foundation for Farming techniques, which will quadruple yields in the district and create scores of agribusiness opportunities.
• Spiritual Transformation. Over the next decade, the Pastor Training program and Trinity Seminary will teach over 1,500 pastors in the true meaning of the Gospel, which we pray will spread through Tanzania. VBS and Sunday School training will reach 30,000 children. These efforts will unleash a flood of service and love that will help attitudes toward widows completely change – not just within the church, but within the entire community. In the next 10 years, we pray that all of the widows in our program will live in adequate housing and be employed in sustainable ventures. We also pray that the spiritual light that shines at SLS will be replicated, and spread throughout the whole region as a model for the nation.
And so, over the next 10 years we hope to complete campuses, clinics, and commerce. But of much greater importance will be the coming together of two cultures to gain a better perspective of the love of Jesus and the gospel. We thank you, Ubora family, for supporting this ministry. We know that you are changing lives in Tanzania, and pray that yours is changed by gaining a perspective of Jesus that helps you in your walk with Him.
In His Precious & Holy Name,
The Ubora family responded with prayers and financial gifts to provide emergency food provisions for those suffering from the ongoing drought. While there has been some rain, and a small harvest on the near horizon, the situation remains concerning. Keep praying for rain for Tanzania!
If you were with us for the Ubora Gala, you got a first look at what Siha Leadership School will one day look like! See the renderings...
P. 7
VBS has become a beloved tradition in the village of Karansi since 2017! While the pandemic impacted our ability to go and serve in Tanzania these past three years, VBS still went on thanks to our wonderful partners in Tanzania who traveled to various churches through the area to bring VBS to the children.
The summer of 2023 marked the full return of Ubora Mission Trips, including two full weeks of VBS and the addition of Ubora/ SHEFO/Impact Tanzania's first ever Sports Camp!
There was joy.
There was singing and dancing. There was friendly competition through sports. There were crafts.
There was food and surprises. Mostly importantly, there were many young lives given to Christ.
And hearts were moved by all who participated in this joyous celebration of faith, hope and love.
During week one, VBS was held on-site at Siha Leadership School with students from SLS attending and serving, along with nearby public schools. Each morning started with praise & worship, following by rotating classes that shared a different lesson about God’s love for us. A warm and delicious lunch followed, with sports camp in the afternoon.
All the children who attended VBS at SLS and in each of the churches received a plate of pilau and a bottle of soda.
In the sports camp, Daniel and Tom through FCA did a great job of organizing and facilitating all these children to rotate and play different sports, which included:
- Soccer
- American football
- Jump ropes
- Tug-of-war
- Sack races
- Volleyball - Netball
IMPACT: 1,010 Students Attended VBS Week One
Week Two: Mobile VBS at Local Churches
During week two, we took VBS on the road to six local churches, serving a total of 770 students. The schedule and programming was much the same, minus sports camp.
IMPACT: 770 Students Attended VBS Week Two
"For two weeks we managed to meet and minister the gospel to 1,780 students. Many of them gave their life to Christ. Glory to God!
VBS has touched many lives, often times when we think of VBS, we think of a program for the children but I would like to suggest that the impact is remarkable, it is beyond human expression. Soon after the first week, one of the teachers called me early in the morning and said “Can I meet you?” She told me that God had spoken to her during VBS such that she could not wait to come and share what He has done in her life. As she was speaking, tears of joy were running on her face. Bwana asifiwe sana, the Lord has touched many lives.”
It is our prayer to see Karansi and Siha at large blessed through equipping children holistically,” said Godfrey. “What we invest in their lives today determines their future. What we have done in these two weeks was to shine the light of the gospel to the children of Siha.”
***
Special thanks to all who made VBS possible: Carter Rhea, Ubora Community Impact Leader; Godfrey Seuya, Pastor and former SLS Headmaster; Witness Meshack, Social Worker at SLS; and Emily Weaver, Ubora Impact Manager, AND our 14-member SHEFO/ SLS teacher team, and many others who helped plan, translate, inspire and lead VBS. We can't wait for 2024!
“Come and see what our God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind”!A from Pastor Godfrey Seuya, VBS Director Carter Rhea and Godfrey Seuya.
“Ubora has been doing VBS for maybe the past five years, but never sports camp within VBS. So we (Impact Sports Tanzania/Fellowship of Christian Athletes) came with a plan of how we can add sports ministry so that we can impact lives in VBS and also through sports.
In planning for the camp, I came to Siha Leadership School four times to meet with the school teachers to teach about sports ministry. I started by sharing the vision. Why do we do sports ministry? And most of them didn't know that 85% of people around the world are involved in sports in one way or another way. So that shows us just how big an opportunity it is.
The teachers of SLS did a great job because it was not just about the camp. It was about impacting the lives of these kids. And over this week, we have touched the lives of over a thousand kids!
The kids are coming mostly from public schools. So coming here, they had a very lovely experience just seeing how the team welcomed them. Most of them don't speak English, but we had wonderful teachers from SLS who are interpreting all the time. But it's good to see that they're coming together.
Others are coming from families which don't know anything about God. There was an especially powerful moment when one of the team members shared her testimony of how her family said, "There is no God." Many of these kids are coming from the families where they also say there is no God--maybe they are worshiping some type of god, idols like stones, trees, the Maasai people, they worship many different things.
So coming into to the point where we showed them that there is a true God, who created everything, who created us, who loves us so much, a God who gave up his only son so he could die for our sins. Some of the kids were hearing that for the first time in their lives. So it's amazing to see the impact! I can't wait to see the fruit in how they are going to bring Jesus to their families."
According to World Vision, God’s call to advocacy is proclaimed across the pages of the Bible, and we see powerful stories of Biblical characters who put that call into action. In both the Old and New Testaments, God calls on advocates to speak boldly.
For the first 20 years of our school in Karansi, we focused our attention on bringing education to under-resourced children and their families, plus developing a curriculum of creative problem solving that is transforming the educational processes.
Going forward we have expanded our offering to include fee paying students who can equally benefit from the opportunity and achieve even greater influence, while better positioning our school to be more self-sustaining.
All students will be provided an international friend or family serving the role of an Advocate for each child, petitioning on their behalf before the Father and praying for their personal, educational and spiritual development.
To pray effectively for one another, Advocates and students need to know and understand about each other and the culture in which they live. These relationships are brought about through letters, emails, Zoom calls and even home visits resulting in mutual benefit. Advocates support the SLS school and its ministry through a $49 per month contribution via our Ubora/SHEFO partnership.
Do you have room in your heart for one more to serve as an advocate? I'd love to continue this conversation with you. Please email me and let's set up a time to talk!
timneet@UboraTZ.org
"All students will be provided an international friend or family serving the role of an Advocate for each child, petitioning on their behalf before the Father and praying for their personal, educational and spiritual development."
Our beloved SLS campus in Karansi is officially busting at the seams! The addition of new buildings, student enrollment expansion through fee-paying students and plans for a secondary school present a good challenge in terms of needed space...much more space!
If you were at the Ubora Banquet this year, you were among the first to get a peek at what the new land and campus will one day look like. We are excited to share these initial renderings in this edition of Asante Sana.
Thanks to a generous response by our supporters in the room, we have begun initial development of the project, which will include walling off the land, construction of a multi-use building and the addition of sports and agricultural fields. Bwana asifiwe--praise the Lord!
This is just the beginning of several phases of development that we will work toward for completion of the upper primary, secondary STEM school and other educational enhancements in support of our mission of Gospelcentered holistic community transformation.
Should you wish to support the ongoing capital campaign for expansion of Siha Leadership School, contact:
Dave Burgess
President UboraTZ
Email: daveburgess@UboraTZ.org
Mobile: 404-922-7460
In February, Ubora sent a team to lead business training, consult with businesses, coach young university graduates and celebrate the graduation of eight Siha Leadership interns from the first year of internships. Here are some excerpts from Alf’s daily update...
Sunday: We went to church together. It was a long service outside in a tent (their building is under construction). They had been at it for 90 minutes by the time we got there! Pastor Wariaeli was preaching strong. Then they got into dancing to worship songs. I got a little emotional watching them worship with all their might!
Monday: After workout, walked up to the top of the compound hill (at Amanihaus where we stay overnight) and watched the sun come up over Kilimanjaro this morning. It was a peaceful time enjoying our majestic God's handiwork. The nuns were returning from their morning service and interrupted “my devotion” to share a blessing with us.
We got to the school and led 12 recent graduates through mock job interviews, resume reviews, job search ideas and elevator pitches. They are such sharp young people, who love Jesus, with great potential. Just need a little confidence and connections to get started on their careers. The American team did a great job leading their various groups. At the end, each student got up and shared key takeaways from the meeting. God really showed up.
In the afternoon, Joseph and I had business discovery meetings with four businesses:
1. An agriculture/vet business who wanted me to look over his accounting system.
2. A small bakery shop and soccer TV venue and public mobile speaker company (for weddings and large outdoor events)
3. A mother daughter grocery shop.
4. And finally, a welding shop where they make doors / windows. He was hiring street teens to teach them welding.
Tuesday: Left at 7:30a with five interns to go to the two-day business seminar. 10 participants in each room--one room focused on Accounting/Record Keeping and one on Business Planning. We seemed to connect, and it went well in the accounting room. Lots of interactions and the team engaged well with the various accounting questions and exercises. They clapped when we gave them their accounting ledgers!
Wednesday: The business team rushed off to the 2nd day of business training conference. At the end we had the participants share their key takeaways. It was so impactful, and I think the US team felt a “well done” on their work.
In the afternoon we celebrated the graduation for the interns. God gave us the idea of doing a foot washing for the graduating interns for the UBORA and SHEFO leaders to share Jesus' example of servant leadership. It was a touching ceremony for the community. The Tanzanians were touched when Pastor Wariaeli, Baraka, and business leaders from the U.S. knelt down to wash their feet! It got emotional as they all started crying as we washed and affirmed them.
Thursday: (Editors note: Alf and Graduate Program Coordinator, Calvin Andrew, took a side trip to be with five SHEFO interns in the city of Morogoro who are working at an apparel factory.) Meanwhile, back in Karansi, the rest of the team met with businesses to help them address their challenges and opportunities.
Off to the airport to fly to Morogoro this morning. We arrived safely at the grass strip and were met by the factory director. The five interns are sharp. They had notebooks, they were dressed sharply, gave engaging answers, asked curious questions and were so grateful. I was impressed by the professionalism of the interns. They are learning so much and have good leaders here developing them.
Friday: We got to the factory and conducted training for the factory leadership and our interns. The first session was on SMART goals. It was cool to see how the interns interacted with the factory leaders. They all came away with a SMART goal to work on in writing with accountability partners.
Coming back from chai break, I showed them the Miriam video. Several were crying. It really touched them. (Miriam is a disabled business owner near Karansi who attended our training last year and received assistance from this apparel factory.)
Part 2 of the training was about the Ideal Team Player. We ended up with 4 groups working together to share how they overcome their weakness virtue. I was shocked at how vulnerable they all were.
On Saturday and Sunday the team enjoyed some sightseeing and two different safaris before heading home on Monday.
"God gave us the idea of doing a foot washing for the graduating interns by the UBORA and SHEFO leaders to share Jesus' example of servant leadership. It was a touching ceremony for the community."
Our first full team of students from Georgetown School of Nursing visited Karansi this summer!
Many children in Tanzania do not have access to adequate medical care, especially students from the crowded government public schools near Karansi. Ubora's health impact program seeks to improve this reality. This summer, the first full team from Ubora's new partner, Georgetown School of Nursing, visited Karansi. The team included eight nursing students, three nursing professors, plus 14 Ubora volunteers.
The clinical team hosted a health screening clinic at SLS for students in grades 5, 6, and 7 from nearby Ashengai Primary School.
• A total of 161 students received the screening and were educated on important and relatable health topics including: oral health, tuberculosis education, and puberty.
• Nearly one-third of the students screened needed more specialized care and were referred to local hospitals for treatment. The most common issues observed were vision, dental and malnutrition.
• SLS social worker, Ester, ensured that all students who needed follow-up received appropriate treatment and care.
At the end of the last day of the clinic, the team hosted a meeting for the parents of the Ashengai students where they had the opportunity to ask questions about the clinic and meet the health care providers. The parents were so appreciative of the care shown to their children and thankful that their kids were able to receive medical attention.
To provide an improved process to capture and store patient medical records, our IT team, led by Louis Strydom in the U.S. and Jackson Lazier in TZ, partnered together to develop an IT solution, involving the use of tablets and proprietary software customized specifically for this purpose.
“Louis Strydom and Jackson Laizer’s efforts to establish new digital systems and processes on tablets were crucial to the success of the medical team’s clinic days in June,” said Ubora President Dave Burgess.
Krista, who led the Georgetown team, cried tears of relief when she learned the clinical team would have an electronic solution, versus having to capture and evaluate data manually.
The IT team's digital system made the clinic a success for everyone involved. Special thanks to Critical Technolgy Services and Mike Godfrey for the tablets and routers!
The widows of Karansi have always had our hearts and is where the ministry of Ubora first began.
To see the ongoing transformation of the widow community over these past 20 years is aweinspiring. Here are a few exciting updates from the Ubora Widows Impact team…
For Shelters of Hope and Refuge (SHARE) Program
Housing continues to be a priority as many of our widows and their families are living in very poor structures made of mud and sticks.
With the support of funding partners, the widows team has developed a comprehensive Shelters of Hope and Refuge
(SHARE) Program for the construction of new widows homes, based on priority of need.
Two beautiful, safe and functional homes have now been completed for Suzan and Ndekundiyo and their children and grandchildren! The impact is that children now have a place to sleep and do their homework and widows are able to provide safe and healthy environments for their families!
In addition to building homes, the spirit of SHARE is for the widows and babas communities to come together in a holistic nature to meet a variety of needs and share their God-given gifts. Our hearts are warmed by the stories shared from Karansi.
“They are wanting to give and serve each other.”
At a recent training, the widows and babas each received a Swahili Bible, with funding providing by one of our business team impact members! Many of the widows could not see to read their Bibles, so an SOS went out for reading glasses, which were provided by the Harvesters at Perimeter Church, along with a generous donation by Georgia Lions Lighthouse Foundation in Atlanta! (continued on page 14)
By: Emily Weaver
I’m so excited to share the news of a successful and busy summer of 2023 Ubora mission trips to Karansi, Tanzania! There were a total of 78 Ubora team members in Tanzania between June and August. Bwana Asifiwe! Of those 78, over half of them (47, to be exact) were first time Ubora mission trip participants!
We kicked off the summer with a team of 25 for a Medical & Widows trip. This was Ubora’s first trip with Georgetown University nursing students. The medical team provided health screenings and taught health education sessions to 161 public school students from Ashengai Primary School (public) in Karansi. They also taught health education topics at a seminar hosted by the widows team for all of the 130+ ladies in the Widows Program. We are so excited for the potential that this partnership with Georgetown University has for the future of healthcare in the
Siha District. The widows team hosted a 3-day seminar for the ladies and had the opportunity to bless all of them with a Swahili Bible.
27 additional team members came to Tanzania to support two weeks of Vacation Bible School! 1,780 students were able to learn about Jesus, enjoy meals, create crafts and play with our team from the US along with the SHEFO team. We were also able to host the first ever sports camp on the campus of Siha Leadership School. Ubora is so excited for a budding partnership with Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Tanzania who helped to facilitate this camp.
Ten mission team members extended their stay to conquer Mt. Kilimanjaro! Another group of 10 arrived and began climbing a few days later after a short service project in Karansi. Both groups successfully summited to the "Roof of Africa". Between the two groups, nearly $28,000 was raised for Ubora and our friends in Tanzania!
In July, a team of 10 dedicated teachers from Perimeter Christian School and Cornerstone Christian Academy spent more than two weeks in Karansi developing and supporting the teachers and students at Siha Leadership School. Highlights included the 100 Days of School celebration and setting up a computer lab for the teachers!
In late August, Ubora team members traveled to Tanzania to serve in business and education impact areas. Much more to follow on this.
We are so thankful for all of our mission team members and are looking forward to the rest of our 2023 trips!
Be on the lookout for 2024 dates, which will be published on our website later this year! For more information or to register for a trip, UboraTZ.org/mission-trips
A new printer and laptop has been provided so that widows participating in the coffee and soap making businesses can easily print product labels and other marketing materials.
The babas (men in the group) are catching fire and lending their skills and strength to the SHARE homes project. Specifically, the babas helped prepare the land for Ndekundiyo’s new home, by removing and helping relocate large boulders. This important work needed to be done first, before the foundation could be started. We understand they enjoyed being together and working on such an important part of this project.
A group of widows also came together for Ndekundiyo’s home, to collectively help build a new animal pen and then plant flowers.
We had two separate teams climb Mount Kilimanjaro this summer! It was a family affair and included father/daughter, husband/wife, and father/son teams, along with solo climbers. By the end of the climb, all were family and made it to the summit!
For mission trip inquiries, including the Kilimanjaro climb, email Emily: emilyweaver@UboraTZ.org
Despite overcoming tremendous hardships, the widows have remained strong and faithful. The beautiful sounds of their singing is truly a delight to behold when in Karansi. We were delighted to hear that the widows have recently formed their own choir! Tune into Ubora’s social media pages for exciting updates on the Widows Choir.
We are delighted to have a woman join the team in Karansi as Project Manager for the SHARE project. Rehema has long served at Pastor Wariaeli’s church as an accountant and also operates her own business. When we were praying for a project manager to help oversee SHARE, Pastor Wariaeli indicated, “Rehema is the one!” Her leadership with Ndekundiyo’s home has been exceptional, in terms of budgeting, working with the fundis (local carpenters), and timelines. We are thankful to have her on the team!
Thank you to our donors and sponsors, for without your support, these stories of hope and community transformation would not be possible.
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