reFINDING HOPE

Issa A. Innocent is our Memory Book Representative at Group Misa Hope Centers in Tanzania refugee camps for Congolese and Burundian people. More than 1,000 children attend regular Memory Book Clubs under the leadership of Pastor Innocent and his volunteers. Memory Books funded restroom buildings and support center buildings, as well as regularly donate supplies for the clubs where children share their stories of grief, loss and hope; participate in creative activities; and hear stories about God’s love for them. We’re excited to hear from Pastor Innocent how Memory Book Clubs are being validated as a community resource!

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August 2019

Dear Madame Tamara Faris,

We enjoy ongoing activities of Memory Books Clubs at our Hope Centers here in the refugee community in Tanzania. I am very happy to share with you this message of congratulation from a delegation that visited us. I am also thankful because God’s guidance, blessing and grace are upon us.  It is your devotion and continuing prayers and support, and the commitment and eagerness of our volunteer staff that we are proud of. 

Recently, we received a delegation of local politico administrative authorities in visit to us. Main point was to be aware of the impact that we get in this community from using Memory Books and hosting Memory Books Clubs. My presentation of how Memory Books help children was followed by discussion. The delegation pronounced clearly that Memory Books and Memory Book Clubs provide tools that help hopeless to re-find their hope.

The delegation watched as facilitators were practicing Memory Book Club Lesson 74, and on following day they visited one of our Memory Book Clubs. One delegate said he realizes with consideration the job we are performing together with children for their future and that Memory Books endeavors to prove their best to children in midst of loss, while living in a difficult environment. After witnessing a Memory Book Club children’s performance, the delegates’ response was Bravo! Bravo! Bravo! 

I hope this encouraging message from the local [political] delegation will bring a place to me, and to you, too, to do the best for the children under our care through Memory Book Clubs. It is also a winning ticket that will help us to reach our goals assigned. God bless.

Sincerely yours,

Issa A. Innocent

READ MORE IN OUR FALL 2019 NEWSLETTER.
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What good is a Memory Book to an orphan?

Several years ago, a gentleman attending a Memory Book presentation at a community service club in Oregon asked me, “What good is a Memory Book to an orphan? Surely they have other needs far more important.” “Good question,” I responded. Silently, I recalled sitting with a child in Africa, turning the pages of their own Memory Book as they shared their photos, drawings and handwritten stories. In joy mingled with tears, I framed my answer to the man’s question. “Everybody wants and needs to discover that they are somebody.“

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So, how could I convince skeptics, the intellects, the medically trained people, that something so simple as a platform for telling one’s story in a Memory Book can promote healing and growth in the presence of traumatic events? And then I had the opportunity to travel overseas with a group of nursing students and non-profit Apple of His Eye Charity volunteers to continue to train and distribute Memory Books around the globe. During that trip, Dr. Kaye Anderson, Associate Professor at the School of Nursing, University of Portland, asked me, “Have you wondered about the outcome of a child using a Memory Book?” Her question and expertise in research began a journey to discover the long term impact of an orphaned or vulnerable child using a Memory Book.

Summer 2014. The first research paper, Evaluation of a Memory Book Intervention with Orphaned Children in South Africa, co-authored by Dr. Kaye Anderson, Dr. Barb Braband and myself (Tamara Faris) was published in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing. The research, including individual interviews with recipients of Memory Books, beginning in 2010 in South African children’s villages, suggests that orphaned and vulnerable children highly valued a Memory Book as a means to preserve their stories of identity, relationships, coping and hope.

Summer 2018. Our second research paper, Building Resiliency in Orphaned and Vulnerable Children through the Memory Book Intervention, was accepted and published in the Journal of Christian Nursing (July/September 2018). This qualitative phenomenological approach explored and compared the lived experiences of orphaned children, adolescents, and caregivers who had used the Memory Book intervention at six children’s homes in India, Kenya, and South Africa. The study found similar themes between countries about identity, relationships, emotions, coping and hope—all suggesting that the Memory Book intervention encourages the preservation of a child’s story, aids in grief recovery, and can be used for any child facing recovery from difficult life events.

The researchers/authors would like to express gratitude to the University of Portland for internal institutional funding and support. We also thank the children and caregiver participants at the children’s homes in South Africa, Kenya and India who shared their stories. We wish them continued healing in their life journeys.

READ MORE IN OUR FALL 2018 NEWSLETTER.
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Called by a New Name!

In March, Tamara traveled on behalf of Memory Books to Kabuga, Rwanda with ERM/Rwanda and Apple of His Eye Charity teams. Tamara & Ron Faris as well as Memory Books for Children International appreciates having the occasion to team up with these ministries for this trip collaborating to reach orphaned children with inspiration and hope.  

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While at the ERM Hope Vocational Training Center in Kabuga, Tamara was invited to speak at the 2018 Graduation Ceremony. Speaking to over 175 graduating seniors, the following is an excerpt from Tamara’s message Called by a New Name! shared at the Commencement Ceremony: 

When a child is born he is given a name he will be called, and known by among family and community. But the child’s identity doesn’t begin there. The child’s family name may be known as a poor family or living in an undesirable place or known to be wealthy. The family name may be linked to crime or to members being held in jail. Maybe those with the family name have suffered disease or death. The moment a child is born the world labels the child with an identity he had nothing to do with. 

But a child’s identity—your identity—began long before the world labeled you. Your identity, your true identity rests with the One who created you. God knew you before you were even substance. Before you were knit together inside your mother’s womb, God knew everything about you, from beginning to end, because He created you. On the day you were born, God whispered into your mother’s ear your name. God wants you to know that from the very beginning He named you His name for you. Your true identity rests with God. Not as the world knows you, but how God knows you. 

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It is believed that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to the world to die for our sins. Many people did not believe Jesus when he lived as a man on earth, and tried to stop him from talking about His Father God. They crucified him on a cross. Following Jesus’ death, believers and followers of Jesus Christ spread the word that Jesus is truly the Son of God and came to save the world from sin. The church of Christianity expanded quickly. But during this time Christ followers were thought to be a threat to the Jewish church and its leadership. Believers of Christ were threatened, arrested, persecuted, and even killed for their faith.

A young man named Saul believed Christianity should be stopped, and stood by as a witness as Stephen, a Christ follower, was stoned to death. Saul said Stephen’s death was good. Saul began to seek Christ followers and threatened to have them arrested. While on the road to Damascus, Saul was suddenly struck down in blindness by a bright light from heaven. A loud voice said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” Those traveling with him heard the voice that instructed him to go to the city and listen for a voice telling him what to do. 

At that time the Lord spoke to Ananias, instructing Ananias to go to where Saul was and pray over Saul. “I have chosen Saul for an important work,” Ananias heard from the Lord. Ananias did as God instructed and went to Saul; immediately scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see. Saul believed Jesus had healed him. From that day forward, Saul set about spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, coming to save the world from sin. Because people were afraid of Saul, it took many years to overcome his reputation as someone who hated Jesus followers. Saul was called by a new name—a follower of Jesus Christ. Until the moment Saul was healed from blindness, Saul lived apart from God’s plan for his life. God always had a plan for Saul’s life, an important plan to be a light pointing to Jesus.  Some people say that the name “Saul“ means “God’s blessing.” You see, in order for Saul to be God’s blessing to others and fulfill God’s purpose for his life,  he was required to turn from evil and toward Jesus. (You may read the story about the young man named Saul, who was later called by his roman name of Paul, in Acts 9:1-15; Acts 7:54-60; Acts 8:4; Acts 13:1-3.)

God knew everything about you before you were created; He created each of us. He knows your true identity in Him. Like Saul, your name has special meaning to God. Learn what your name means, and discover your true identity. You are chosen and beloved by God. Today you are called by a new name. Your true identity rests with Him.

At the same location as the graduation ceremony, Tamara also had opportunity to share during early morning devotions. Children, teens, young adults, and even staff were excited to learn from Tamara about the meaning of their names to show how each and every one has a story that matters to God. ERM Hope student Sandrine (Sandra) upon learning her name meant Defender of Truth exclaimed, “That is exactly the way my life is. I am always defending what I believe. That is who I am!” 

Tamara also talked with orphaned or vulnerable children attending weekly Saturday morning events. To the delight of all who received them, Tamara distributed over 500 Memory Books during her two-week stay in Rwanda.  

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The article photos show the use of a talking stick. Used for centuries by many American
Indian and African tribes when matters of great concern came before the council, the leading elder would hold a talking stick to begin the discussion. When finished the stick was passed to whoever wished to speak. Likewise, Memory Book Clubs use a talking stick. Permission to talk is given the person holding the stick. No one else is allowed to talk or whisper when someone is holding the talking stick, which carries with it respect for free speech and freedom to say whatever is on one’s heart without fear of reprisal or humiliation. If a child does not want to share, they simply hand the talking stick to someone else without judgement. The talking sticks shown here were created by Beth Biornstad.

READ MORE IN OUR MAY 2018 NEWSLETTER.
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Hope Within Reach

Nestled among five villages, Hope Village care center is a beacon to hundreds of village children who choose to spend their days among the resident orphaned children, often benefitting from the community Bible camp, clothing distribution, and meals. These were thechildren who gathered round, their curious faces pressed against the windows of the meeting hall, the day we launched Hope Village’s first Memory Book Club.

“I have a story,” I offered the children in invitation. “In the beginning, God created the stars, and placed them in the sky, and the moon, and the sun.” I continued with the creation story, concluding, “Everything God created has a purpose, including you.”
 
We taught the children over the days that followed about the God who knew each of them before they were born, who has a plan and purpose for their lives. They learned and recited the meaning of their names, and created a self-portrait inside their personal Memory Books. They painted a ‘coffee filter’ flower and participated in a drama about the tiny alpine flowers atop Kilimanjaro, in coordination with the Memory Book Club lesson, “Bloom where you are planted.” They discovered through Bible lessons the significance of Jesus’ blood and how his death was part of God’s plan from the very beginning. The children stood to their feet in eager response, asking God to heal their broken hearts through Jesus.

One club meeting, I had the privilege of sharing my childhood story. Two teenage boys responded by standing and volunteering the story of their parents’ deaths, as if they had recited it in their minds for years. On the final day of Memory Book Club, a child announced, “I liked hearing your story because I realized I am not alone.” More children echoed his sentiments, remembering all they enjoyed about that week – the crafts, the stories, their personal Memory Books.

Our translator, Lawrence, was so struck by the value of Memory Books that he offered to coordinate the Memory Book Club monthly. “Can I have 150 more books so I can open the club to the children in the surrounding villages?” he asked. What a wonderful request, one we were happy to oblige!

God asked us to travel to the far side of the world to tell the children, “God loves you. He sees you. God knows your name.” Just think of the ripple effect a simple Memory Book will have in Hope Village, and to the villages beyond.

F ollowing our ten days in Malawi, we were off to Uganda to meet with Good Samaritan Ministries (GSM) Representative of Uganda, Patty Pullen, who I met during a Global Leadership Summit in Portland, Oregon in August 2015.

Uganda, home to 37 million people, is located in the heart of the African continent. It is one of the poorest nations in the world with the median age being less than 15 years of age. It is home to three million documented orphans, and the nation ranks third in the world with the highest percentage of its population infected with HIV.

For 12 days, we traveled with a GSM team to churches and schools to launch Memory Book Clubs and distribute 700 Memory Books, with a promise to send 3,000 more. Wherever we went, we presented God’s plan to heal and to save, and saw many children respond to God’s invitation to begin healing their broken and wounded hearts.

I visited a local prison on my last day in Uganda, sharing the same Good News message. Most of the prisoners were young men devastated and demoralized by life’s struggles, least of all their petty crimes. Four men stood wanting to commit their lives to Jesus,  including a young man just admitted that day, and a Muslim man who responded, “Today is the last day I will fast for Ramadan.”  

Thank you for continuing to support our outreach to children! Memory Books are changing lives across the globe! May God bless the children of the world forever and always.

READ MORE IN OUR JULY 2016 NEWSLETTER.
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More Than Just a Letter

Stored for eight years, a letter inside a personal Memory Book continued to give inspiration and courage to the young girl to whom it belonged. In 2006, Memory Books were delivered to hundreds of Congolese children living as refugees escaping the rebel war of their homeland. Each Sunday hundreds of children, including this young girl, assembled together, often times walking great distances through rainstorms to hear lessons about their worth and purpose. Pastor Iongwa, General Secretary Innocent, and dozens of adults held Memory Book Club every Sunday for eight years, growing to 1400 children - each with their own personal Memory Book telling their story.

Recently, we received a message from a 19-year-old girl who had received her Memory Book in 2006, and had recently graduated secondary school. Inside was the very letter a woman named Izetta had written and placed inside to encourage and inspire whomever the book eventually belonged.

The message from the young girl read like this, “I am remembering a letter I received from Izetta that encouraged me to go far and work hard on my studies…now my little dream seems to have come true.”

A Memory Book may look like a silly idea for children who have such desperate needs in a world of war, poverty, and disease.  The words in the letter penned by Izetta may have been difficult to come by, but truly every letter delivered inside a Memory Book can inspire and encourage a child to overcome and achieve their dreams.

Priceless Treasure

For the past three years, along with co-authors Dr. Barb Braband and Dr. Kaye Wilson Anderson, I have interviewed dozens of children who have a personal Memory Book in South Africa, India, and Kenya, in an effort to uncover the value of telling their stories. The initial research “Evaluating the use of a memory book by children orphaned in South Africa” has been published in The Journal of Pediatric Nursing, July/August 2014 issue. More recently, research looking at all three countries of South Africa, Kenya, and India where children are using a memory book reveals this simple tool produces similar themes of focus for children living in Africa or Southeast Asia: identity, relationships, emotion, coping, and hope.

Whether words, drawings, stored mementos, or photographs, children are preserving memories of lived experiences while growing up with traumatic loss. Most children were eager to reveal the contents of their personal memory book, often pondering over photos and returning to pages to read and reread what they had written.

When asked, “What is your favorite thing in your Memory Book?” many children pointed to the letter to God they had written. Some children pointed to the letter they had written to a parent who “was no more.” One young girl removed a letter from where it had been kept and began to read the letter addressed to herself. “I remember the day I was told my mother had died. I remember the dress I wore, the smell of cooking, and the sadness on my grandmother’s face. My brother and I were the only ones left when all our family members died.  I am thankful for my life.”

When finished she neatly refolded the letter and placed it inside her Memory Book; a valuable keepsake representing the themes children are preserving inside this “priceless treasure” - identity, relationships, coping, emotion, and hope - after so much as been lost.

It Matters to All of Us

Ten years ago, I began a journey that took me to places across oceans and continents, most places hidden from notoriety, at the end of dirt roads, for one simple reason: to bring awareness to the presence of unresolved grief deep inside men, women, and children experiencing traumatic losses of people and things dear to them.

My recently published book, “I Am Somebody, Telling Your Story Matters,” chronicles that amazing journey and how a simple Memory Book (journal) began to help children who grieve make their own journey through the grief process and discover resiliency and hope to live life by telling their stories.

One of the most common responses by readers of “I Am Somebody” reinforces the common held belief by those who specialize in loss and grief: everyone is grieving something because life is filled with loss, great and small. Whether we are orphaned, a recent amputee, a student denied entry to the college of their dreams, an entrepreneur experiencing failure, or a family facing the death of a child, grief accompanies all loss.  While symptoms are unique to individuals, the grief response to loss is a universal internal response among all of us. What I am told by readers is, “I never realized I was still grieving, or I never realized I grieved over that.”

You may have thought “I Am Somebody” is simply about orphaned children in Africa or India, but it really is about all of us.

 

NOW AVAILABLE IN OUR STORE: "I Am Somebody" by Tamara Faris

"I Am Somebody: Telling Your Story Matters"

$15.99

PURCHASE

"I Am Somebody" shares the priceless stories of children—tremendous courage, resiliency, and hope in the midst of traumatic loss of people and things dear to them. Over a ten-year period, Tamara Faris uncovered their stories as she traveled as a nurse throughout Africa and India—to places often at the end of dirt roads and often to some of the most dangerous places on earth.

Inspired by her own childhood losses, Tamara’s desire and hope is that I Am Somebody reveals how God can assemble the shattered pieces of one’s life, living in the United States or anywhere, to bring extraordinary purpose and a life of passion.

This is a story about helping children and adults discover “I am somebody."

“Tamara shares, through her love for story, her passion and understanding of
the need of children to be heard, to be someone.”
Joan Schweizer Hoff, Director of Program Development,
The Dougy Center for Grieving Children and Families, Portland, Oregon


“Through God’s divine intervention in the author’s life, Tamara has been able to grasp
why Jesus allowed others to approach and tell their stories. And now she shares this
dynamic gift of listening and how it is impacting children around the world.”
Reverend Leslie D. Nelson, Heart of the Savior Ministries, Inc.,
KPDQ-True Talk Radio Talk Show Host, Portland, Oregon

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tamara Faris, RN, MS specializing in grief and loss, has spent the past 10 years sharing Memory Books, a simple personalized scrapbook,with children in Africa, India, Haiti, Mexico and United States. She abandoned a traditional nursing career to focus on Memory Books for Children International, a non-profit organization. Approximately 25,000 Memory Books have been distributed to children worldwide. Tamara is married to Ron, and is a mother and grandmother.

Your purchase of "I Am Somebody" will fund one Memory Book for a child. Additional donations to Memory Books for Children International will fund Memory Books and supplies for Memory Book Clubs.

'Discovering Your Giftedness' in Tanzania

During the past few months, Innocent, Memory Book Club Coordinator at Group Misa Congolese refugee camp in Tanzania, has alerted us to the influx of 70,000 Burundians fleeing their homeland due to turmoil surrounding impending elections of a new president. These refugees swell the ranks of Groups Misa by thousands, putting greater strain on limited food, shelter, schools, and jobs.

Burundian C. Bonne has operated a Memory Book Club in Bujumbura for the past two years. He, along with four facilitators and hundreds of Burundian children, have been invited to join the Memory Book Club at Group Misa that serves 1400. (You may recall reading a previous blog about the need for bathrooms for the growing number of children who come to this Memory Book Club.)

Innocent reports the children have been introduced to our 4th Year Lesson Planner that teaches children ‘Discovering Your Giftedness.’ Innocent says the lesson has received a good response and the children are appreciative. The boys and girls travel by foot from many parts of the camp early in the morning and stay late into the day.

It is a privilege to learn children have the opportunity to congregate in a safe and supportive environment such as our Memory Book Club. For the next year, children will learn the difference between talented and gifted, and be encouraged to set out to discover which gift(s) God has for each of them. Join me in praying for the Group Misa Memory Book Club, that children will continue to experience healing, grow emotionally, and discover their lives matter.

- Tamara Faris, Founder, Memory Books for Children International

The Power of Telling Our Stories

Recently I received an email from a pastor in Kenya who has partnered with Memory Books and operated a Memory Book Club in the poorest of neighborhoods, Ronda. Following the recent killing of University students in Kenya, he suggested he conduct the training sessions for adults working with grieving children, a session I had originally planned to conduct during 2015.

104 adults attended the two-day training session. They had come to hear about the use of a Memory Book by children to preserve and tell their personal stories of loss of people and things dear to them. When the pastor began to share his own story of loss of his father when only one day old, and a life of poverty and struggles that followed, the attendees discovered this event was as much about their own lives as it was about the children they served.

With the invitation to stand and share a personal story, those in attendance began to reveal stories of life’s greatest tragedies previously buried deep within. Where local customs prevented mention of the dead, or public expressions of grief and sadness by men, in the safety and acceptance of this venue, men openly cried and women remembered the loss of those who made them orphans. The two-day session stretched to three when everyone took advantage of the gift of healing by sharing their stories.

When given the opportunity, sharing our stories of loss and life can produce healing by melting frozen grief inside, and provide awareness we are not alone in our loss.

If you want to know more about the use of Memory Books for children who  have experienced loss, please contact us at info@memorybooks4children.com.

A Summer to Celebrate

We celebrate a memorable summer with our August benefit concert 'A Mid Summer Night's Dream' and premier release of the book, "I Am Somebody," written by founder, Tamara Faris.

Also in the news, we have accepted the invitation to present Kenya/India/South Africa research related to the use of Memory Books by orphaned children. The presentation will take place at Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society International Conference, November 2015, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The research is co-authored by Tamara Faris, RN, Ms; Dr. Kaye Wilson Anderson; and Dr. Barb Braband.

Read more about upcoming events and releases in our July 2015 Newsletter: Download here

Refugees, Restrooms, and Restoration

Earlier this year. I received an email from a pastor leading a large group of Congolese refugees living on the border between Tanzania and the Dem. Rep. of the Congo. Reports are that tens of thousands of adults and children who fled rebel war in their native country of the Congo are virtually held behind fencing at the border with Tanzania. The circumstances are dire because they cannot return home nor enter the country of Tanzania. The pastor says they will surely be killed by rebels who threaten their lives for fleeing, but are held inside fencing without the basic needs of food, housing, work or school. They remain in limbo after years of being refugees.

In 2006, Memory Books for Children received an envelope of several hundred children’s photos requesting help. Confused I questioned whether a Memory Book would be useful to children with such great need. Quietly in my spirit, I reminded myself they surely have lost everything as a refugee, including their beloved homeland. Why wouldn’t the opportunity to preserve and tell their personal stories help heal the wounds from loss, and inspire resiliency and hope for a future?

Today, the pastor’s email conveys concern for the Memory Book Club operating inside the refugee camp. Oh my, I thought, I never dreamed we would face bad news from our efforts to make children’s lives better.

His email revealed this month 1400 children attended Memory Book Club. Each month more and more children learn about the club, often through word-of-mouth. The attending children invite other children to come and experience  Memory Book Club for themselves. The problem is, they need bathrooms for this many children to maintain the quality of the club events because club is held in open air setting where children have nowhere to relieve themselves.

"What?" I thought to myself.  Of course, without bathrooms, children are at risk of acquiring disease and illness due to fecal matter littering the grounds where they walk.

Immediately, my husband and I requested plans and estimated costs from the pastor. The pastor’s plans include 4 buildings to house 10 bathrooms each including a storage room for supplies and equipment, at a cost of $9,000.00 per building. We have offered to sponsor two buildings at a cost of $18.000.00,

We look forward to hearing about the completion of the restrooms for use by children and adults at Memory Book Club. My hope and prayer is Ron and I will be able to travel to Kasulu, Tanzania, not to see restrooms but the 1400 children who come to Memory Book Club each month to celebrate the discovery, ‘My life matters to God. I am somebody.’

- By Tamara Faris, Founder, Memory Books for Children International

Hope Realized

It has been an amazing year for Memory Books for Children.  We are honored to share in this newsletter our published clinical findings of the impact Memory Books are having on children’s lives. The research confirms that Memory Books are teaching children that God has a loving plan and purpose for them.

Read more in our April 2015 Newsletter: Download here

Inside a Congolese Refugee Camp

A story from a Congolese refugee camp in Tanzania, known as Group Misa:

One day, two girls visited the house of a teen boy they knew. They had not seen him recently; he had been suffering from depression and lost the desire to hang out with friends, play soccer, or go to school.  The two girls brought him a ‘paper plate crown’ with pencils and plastic gems, just like the ones they had made at Memory Book Club earlier that week. They told the teen he would feel better to have a crown representing his life as a child of God.

The girls invited him to come with them to Memory Book Club. He went and witnessed children standing and sharing their stories. What impacted him the most was the affirmation and kindness shown to children who openly grieved and expressed long held emotions and pain from the experiences they had lived. The teen felt accepted as a part of this amazing group of children, discovering for himself a safe place to share the shattered pieces of his life. He learned he was not alone and his life mattered to God.  Memory Book Club helped him  discover a life worth living, and it was all because his friends invited him to become a part of it.