The Beginning of a Partnership by Tamara Faris
Inside the heavily-postaged package, I found a letter and hundreds of individual negatives from the type of camera that uses film. I could see the negatives were photos of individual children. The letter read:
My name is Pastor Elembe Iôngwa. I am head of Group Misa, a refugee camp of Congolese who had fled war raging in our homeland; we have situated here on the Tanzanian border. We are not allowed to enter Tazania. Among thousands of adults and children, are 250 orphaned children who have great needs. We have reached out to the African office of Focus on the Family; they have put me in touch with you.
A heaviness fell over me as I read this letter. What can I do for these children? It was more a sense of hopelessness than a question. With a magnifying glass, I looked at each negative and I recalled the pastor’s words as I studied each child’s face. These children have lost their parents to disease and/or to war. They are alone with no one to care for them. I continued to look at their face, sensing hopelessness in each one.
A quiet voice spoke to me, “What have I given you to give away?”
I searched my thoughts for an answer. For the prior two years, my life had been completely consumed with finding children in South Africa who suffered loss and are grieving—to tell them God loves them, they are not a “nobody,” but they are somebody. God has a purpose and plan for their lives. He even knows their names.
But these children have such great need for food and shelter, for protection and love, for hope. I imagined Pastor Iôngwa opening boxes with great expectation of finding resources to help meet the needs he presented—only to find a Memory Book. Again, I heard, “What have I given you to give away?”
I knew then what I had to give away— I knew then what I had to give away—a message of hope contained inside a Memory Book. The Monday night Memory Book volunteer team assembled 250 simple memory books, each graced with a child’s name and photo printed from the negatives.
Young adults attend Vocational Educational Training Program (VETP) English class. Approved applicants to VETP have attended Memory Book Clubs since they were children.
Group Misa is now the longest running Memory Book Club, having organized into a club by 2006. Today, the club serves over 1,200 children and teens with the help of 100 volunteers under the leadership of Innocent Abwe, who served as General Secretary to the late Pastor Elembe Iôngwa.
Dreams Being Fulfilled as shared by Pastor Abwe Innocent
Group Misa is a faith-based Christian organization. This non-governmental and non-profit was created on December 31,1999, in Nyarugusu Refuge Camp by a group of Christians to evangelize (Preach Good News) to the refugee communities and the host communities within Tanzania and without, and to take care of under-served refugee children. Pastor Iôngwa Elembe cast the original vision for Group Misa.
After a few years of partnership with us, Focus on the Family recommended us to Madame Tamara Faris and Memory Books for Children International. In 2005, the new partnership was in place between Group Misa and Memory Books. I then held a position of food accumulator, and moved on to be Assistant Secretary, then General Secretary, within the Camp Misa organization.
After Pastor Iôngwa passed away in March 2013, the Board of Governors invited me to take high commandment of Group Misa; then I was promoted to hold the place of Country Advisor for Memory Books for Children International in Tanzania. Thenceforth, we initiated to lead Memory Book Clubs that were sponsored by Memory Book for Children International, founded by Tamara and Ron Faris.
God created me a dream maker, so I work hard, striving for the future life of hopeless, vulnerable refugee children. I am strongly involved, with all my mind focused on helping these refuges. I offer my whole life to the mission.
I praise the Lord! In December 2022, we will celebrate 17 years of partnership with Memory Books for Children International. Absolutely it is just a long journey covered with many difficulties, mud and dust, mountains and plains, and many obstacles due to bad refugee conditions we have here in Tanzania. Challenges include lack of means and adequate support to develop what we dream, and we have many restrictions from local leaders.
Memory Book Clubs are intentional about addressing physical as well as emotional/mental needs.
Early on, nobody could have imagined what we celebrate today under the sponsorship of Memory Books for Children. The Apostle Paul wrote, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength (Ephesians 4:13, 1 Timothy 1:12).” Plenty of palpable innovations are being achieved:
Thousands of children and adults raise their presence at Hope Centers both Congolese and Burundian.
Three Memory Book support centers have been built to enhance children’s activities within Memory Book Clubs, including ten-door latrine facilities at each Hope Center.
We have a water facility (tap) for each of them.
We now have a computer room with 20 computer laptops plus accessories.
We have a generator and fuel to produce electricity.
We have three tailoring rooms with ten sewing machines plus accessories.
An Innovative poultry farm project here in Nyarugusu has the aim of getting adequate animal protein source.
School materials (school bags, pen, pencils, school uniform clothes, soaps, etc.) are being provided to children.
Monthly food support is provided.
We are getting more and more donations for supporting the vulnerable children and adult staff attending Memory Book Club (MBC) within Nyarugusu refugee camp.
Memory Books and other materials for supporting clubs are being supplied, which helps us offer interesting activities without being boring.
Sewing machines arrive at Hope Center.
All financial funds are being provided by our gracious donors Tamara and Ron Faris, through Memory Books for Children International. I am very proud of you. You deserve great merit. All blessings to you.
Wish List
Here are some current needs for Group Misa (population is 153,024; children 0-17 years old are 55% of the population):
More transport equipment such as motorbike or bicycles.
Buildings to shelter thousands of hopeless, vulnerable refugee children running to MBC centers to get comfort.
Setting up a fourth Hope Center would be appreciated so children could attend Memory Book Club without having to travel many kilometers. We always pray for protection against kidnapping of children living furthest from MBC Centers.
We need a cooking house at Hope Centers and permanent cook staff. Currently, facilitators cook in open air spaces.
Play/gaming equipment to help promote healing through play.
I Am Somebody: Hope Instilled
Yajua Wilondja:
I am a Group Misa Memory Book Club (G-MBC) beneficiary. Since I joined this ministry, I feel comforted. I see this place safe and important to my life. Before, I was hopeless for my future life, but now I feel some things will be changing my future.
Juliene Nakaya:
I am a teenage girl, a G-MBC child since 10 years ago. I am learning computer skills. Now I can project my future through Memory Book Club. I am thankful to my God and you donors, for choosing me to be a beneficiary of G-MBC.
Charlotte Akili:
I am thankful to God and you donors for your help to us children of Group Misa Memory Book Club. All I can say is that God brings His blessing to all people involved in helping vulnerable children.
Nininahazwe Alida, Burundian:
I am thankful to be among G-MBC Staff to help move forward this mission. I congratulate Memory Book Club for the kind of service you provide to our refugee children under G-MBC program.
Kocha Simon, G-MBC Staff,
Burundian: I am thankful for bringing our children the Vocational Educational Training Program (VETP) English class and poultry farm project. We ask Memory Books for Children to move forward with the mission, to improve living conditions of our children under G-MBC Program. We invite you to allow increasing of the number of children. There is a great number of children waiting to join our Memory Books Clubs. You can facilitate us to open a fourth MBC center. From our staffs serving at Hope Centers.