Many Ideas To Share

Lisa Hardel and I had an amazing trip to the 4 village’s (Lusanje, Kandete, Masebe, Ndala,) that One Small Drop is working with. It was exciting to see the progress of the 4 women’s groups in the Livingstone Mountains. “ Lukamanda” (the first 2 letters of the community names) is the name of the group formed by the women as an organization. Lukamanda has been overseeing the orphan uniform project and the pig project. To date 226 orphan uniforms have been sewn by a local tailor. That means 226 children are now going to school that were previously unable to. We had the privilege of hand delivering the uniforms in Lusanje and Kandete (picture).

Another incredible milestone was seeing the completion of the pig centers. Each of the 4 centers has one male and 5 female pigs. Most of the females have been bred and are expecting piglets in the next couple months. At Lukamanda’s meeting they decided that piglets will be given away to prioritized widows that apply for the pigs. The center will breed the piglet. All the babies from that pig will be returned to the center. The widow then has discretion over any future litters. She may choose to raise them for food or sell them at the market. The center then has a supply of piglets to pass out to other widow applicants. It is a gift that keeps on giving. It is anticipated that over 200 piglets will be distributed over the first year!

There are also 2 new ideas for One Small Drop to expand into…I will explain next week.

PS. One Small Drop has a new web site address http://onesmalldrop.net. The site is still being worked on, but accessible.

Livingstone Mountains Here We Come!

Lisa Hardel and I are heading out next Saturday to visit the Livingstone Mountains in South Western Tanzania, Africa. We are excited to be visiting the 4 communities and woman’s group “Lukamenda” to see how the progress is coming on the orphan uniforms and the pork project.

My last visit was in November, and the villages were just beginning to construct their individual pork centers where widows will learn how to feed, vaccinate, breed and farrow the pigs. Then, through an application process, pigs are awarded to widows. When their pig has babies, they will keep 3 and give the rest back to the pork center, who will then distribute more pigs.

We will also be meeting with the tailors that have been making orphan uniforms to get a progress report.

There is a high possibility of a nurse traveling next summer to do a 3 month internship in the mountains, so Lisa and I will be visiting a couple hospitals.

We are also taking a sample solar oven to explore the feasibility of its use. Women travel 1-3 miles each day to gather needed firewood and there is an issue with the wood supply. All meal preparation is done with firewood, sometimes inside homes. This creates respiratory issues.

This trip is sure to be educational as well as heartwarming as we rekindle old friendships. I can’t wait!!

Piggy Party Pictures

Piggy outfit :)


Scavenger Hunt for the pinata






Piggy pinata found!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the "Piggy Party" of a wonderful family in Wisconsin Rapids, WI. The entire gathering revolved around raising awareness and funds for our pig project in Tanzania, so I thought I'd share some of the fun photos.

Children Lead The Way

Last month I visited the Amherst United Methodist Church and Buena Vista Methodist Church to give updates on One Small Drop activities. These two very small churches have welcomed One Small Drop and made us feel like family. Last fall when I introduced One Small Drop, the Amherst Sunday School (8 students) decided to support the Pig Project throughout their year. They even made t-shirts that said P.I.G.S – People In God’s Service. They did various fund raising activities, like pancake breakfasts and brat fries. I was blown away by their presentation of over $540 dollars for the pig project. WOW!

Last week I received a phone call from someone I met at the Portage County Cultural Festival. Her young young children are having a “piggy party” to raise awareness and funds for One Small Drop. Amazing!

What an inspiration these young people are! It reminds me of the Bible verse, 1Timothy 4:12, “Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.” These children have truly been an example.

Do any of you have examples of inspirational children in your life? Please share with me.

Fall Trip Just Around the Corner

Just received word from Tupo (our interpreter) that she is available starting Sept. 13th to accompany us on our next trip. We are planning to leave around Sept. 11th-26th, give or take a day or two.

We are very excited about returning to the Livingstone Mountains in Southwest Tanzania to see how the progress is going with Lukamenda, the women’s organization we are working with, on the pork projects as well as the orphan uniform projects in all four communities.

If anyone you know is interested in traveling with us in September, we welcome guests to come and see and meet our wonderful friends. Just drop me an email at tammiejo@tds.net.

One Small Drop continues to have speaking engagements at various churches (Buena Vista and Amherst Methodist Church this weekend) and organizations. We are eager to get the word out to demonstrate how very small actions on our part can have huge effects, creating ripples of change in the lives of many.

We had a wonderful time at the Portage County Cultural Festival, interacting with a plethora of foreign cultures, music, food, crafts and classes. It was an amazing experience to be able to showcase a small part of Tanzania and teach some basic Swahili.

There is still talk of having a Pig Roast/Garden Party with music late summer or early fall. We’ll keep you updated.

Promises, Promises

Oh my. It has been a month since my last post! It’s not like nothing has been happening. One Small Drop held its first fundraising concert thanks to the generosity of Orlow and the CW Band, Carmen Lee and the Tomorrow River Two and Clinton Miller. These 3 bands donated their time to benefit people they have never met through the Pork Project and Orphan Uniform Project in Tanzania. Over $1000 was raised that evening! The Portage County Gazette also did a feature article.

I have been busy speaking to various groups, (Brownie girl scouts in Waupaca, confirmation students in Scandinavia, Mother/Daughter Banquets, and school classrooms) that are anxious to learn about my friends in Tanzania.


One Small Drop has been invited to participate in the Portage County Cultural Festival on May 8th. This will be a marvelous opportunity for One Small Drop to gain exposure to hundreds of people who come to experience dozens of world cultures through music, education, dance, art, and food by tasting, smelling, seeing, hearing and feeling. I will even get the chance to teach some Swahili words to the children!

The Board of Directors is considering additional fundraisers such as a pig roast/garden party this summer. We will keep you posted on dates and locations!

We’ve have an update on Niku. She is the young gal that was recognized by the government because of her exceptional grades in school. The government recommended she attend nursing school. But her father had recently died of AIDS and her mother just diagnosed with AIDS. Her family could not afford to send her to school. One Small Drop sponsored her two-year nursing education program. She will complete her first year in August, and is doing very well. One Small Drop will also be sponsoring her practical field work next semester.

And plans have started for our next visit in August. Whew! I need to update more often! Promises, promises…

Where Local is Global

How do you know your time, money, and efforts are really making a difference in the world? As you sit here in your seat in “small town”, Wisconsin how can you be sure the change you want to see in the world is really happening? Are you really reaching those you want to help? There are many good and heartbreaking reasons to help the world today. We see it on the news every day. Disease, famine and natural disaster seems to be happening at every moment on any spot on the globe. You may feel that you are a member of too small a local community to do much good. In reality local is global. What you can do today, here in your local community, through One Small Drop can drastically change a local community a world away. Through its local community efforts in Tanzania, One Small Drop is working to make connections one local community at a time. From Iola/Amherst/Stevens Point/Nelsonville/Scandinavia/Rosholt/(insert your town here) to Kandete, Tanzania you can donate a pig that will feed not only a family but a community. From your seat and from your dollars a child in Ndala, TZ can attain a school uniform and attend school. That child can go on to become a strong contributing member of the community.

That’s why we were VERY excited when Gregg Orlowski approached One Small Drop to consider a fundraiser, offering his band, Orlow and the CWB, at no cost to us! The Board of Directors were in awe with Gregg’s generosity and enthusiasm. He quickly recruited two more entertainers to add to the show. The combined musical talent of Carmen Lee and the Tomorrow River Two and Clinton Miller will produce a top notch show for all in attendance. Please consider this your personal invitation and mark your calendars for Saturday, April 10th, 7-10pm, in Amherst, WI at the Lettie Jensen Community Center.

At One Small Drop we are not seeking to change the world on a grand scale, just reaching out from one local community across the globe to another local community sending ripples of support and care throughout the world.