May 11th, 2023
April, 2023 brought three new babies to Neema Village. On April first a new born was left under a banana tree in Arusha. Social Welfare brought the baby to Neema and we named her Lanie after one of our frequent beloved volunteers. I kind of liked Hannah Banana but Lanie won out.
Lanie is precious and beautiful and we are sure God has already planned her new mom and dad. One day Lanie will have a new family and never be abandoned again. Making new families, it’s what Neema does best.
On April 20th Kim wrote: “It was a busy day at Neema Village with two more new babies coming through the doors at the same time. A little abandoned baby boy was left at the government hospital soon after birth. William Buie, (Buie) volunteering from Arizona, brought baby Bruce home to Neema.
“My heart breaks for his mother, Kim said, and what must have happened to her that she had to make such a difficult decision to just walk away from such a precious, newborn baby.”
The nannies voted to name him Bruce after their favorite Uncle Bruce White. Maria loves Uncle Bruce and is already in love with baby Bruce.” (That is baby Sarah with Bruce)
We love what Heather Kloss had to say: “We went to pick up a little abandoned baby at the hospital today. Such a sweetheart. As I carried him from the hospital building to the car, I couldn’t help but think about how he was left alone in devastation. Yet, now he is coming to Neema, where he will be loved and cared for. It reminded me of how we come from a place of devastation and hopelessness without Jesus, and then he comes and carries us into salvation and love and hope. My heart felt a glimpse of what God must feel when we go from darkness to light, from hopelessness to hope in Him. I hope Neema can find his mommy, help her, and share the Living Hope with her, too.”
The second baby, above, Lamnyake, brought in today, made the long journey from Maasai land to Neema after his mother died during his birth out in a remote Maasai village.
This village has not been reached with one of our Save The Mothers Safe Birthing Training sessions yet. We must work harder and faster! The baby’s Maasai grandmother and aunt accompanied him to Neema.
Kim reassured them that Lamnyake would be well loved and cared for until he could return to his village and his family, hopefully before age two.
With 64 babies on campus, please pray for our very busy nannies!
Last week Kim and our crew with Ole Bob, the truck, went out to Maasai land to deliver food and take pictures of our two producing water wells. Did you know we drilled and finally hit water?!! Michael thinks these two water wells will give about 5,000 liters per hour of good clean water. Hallelujah!
On this trip they were delivering rice, beans and corn to the village when one of the volunteers saw someone she knew she had to help.
Ally Lane is a nurse from Illinois and while in the village she noticed a mentally challenged young man, malnourished, dirty, ragged and torn. It broke her heart and Ally knew she had to help. So, they brought twenty-year-old Elijah to Neema Village and took him to the doctor.
The Doctor said Elijah was starving and he was in need of a good bath. Our workers, Baraka and Godlisten, took Elijah to the shop bathroom at Neema, clipped his nails, cut his hair and gave him a bath. Ally and Heaven Light went to the store and bought clothes for Elijah.
Then they called Social Welfare. Unfortunately, there is no place for twenty-year-old mentally challenged people here, so Ally has agreed to pay for foster care while Elijah is being fed good food and brought back to physical health. Then Grandmother, who loves Elijah, will take him back home to the Maasai village, but she does not have money to give him the food he needs. So, Aly will sponsor Grandmother with a rice business. We can buy a 100 kg bag of rice for her for a few months. She can break that up into smaller bowls and double her money. If she will put some money back each month then she can begin to buy her own bags of rice. Wallah! A New Rice business is born!
Finally one more piece of good news, Daniel is getting out of the Hospital! After 4 weeks in the hospital, major surgery to remove part of his colon, and almost dying from fluid in his lungs, Daniel is well and coming home. Thank you for your prayers.
Jacobo’s little brother, Daniel had been a guard at Neema Village for just a few months when he became sick. Jacobo is the father of Joshua, one of our very first babies at Neema and a favorite village for most of our volunteers to visit. When Daniel first became sick we took him to the emergency room where they recommended that he have immediate surgery. Instead, he was taken to the local Maasai doctor for a week. When he was finally brought back in to town, he was comatose and close to death. They did emergency surgery the next day but did not think he would survive the surgery.
Praise God, He has the last word!! Thank you for all your prayers for Daniel. And for the successful water wells and for the nannies and all the babies and workers at Neema Village.
It has been a good month at Neema Village.
Michael and I have been in Toronto with Vern and Mary Fernandes seeing Niagara Falls and attending an incredible fund raiser for Neema Village. Love Canada!
* New instructions from the Bookkeeper and Auditor.
If you want to help with Daniel’s medical bill, MAP businesses or sponsoring babies or drilling for water or school children or delivering food to the hungry or Save The Mothers check out the new donation categories on our website.