Sunday, November 30, 2008
Free Rice.org
For every question (on a variety of subjects) you answer correctly they donate 20 grains of rice. If you need to improve your vocabulary (um, maybe you need to study for the GRE?), geography, chemistry knowledge (element symbols anyway), etc....this is a great way to do it. They work with a UN program. Very cool. Try it out and feed someone.
School Exams & Emmanuel
Happy Thanksgiving!
Sorry this has not been updated for a few weeks. I was out of town for a little while. This won't be a full update, but check the website for more information.
Sorry this has not been updated for a few weeks. I was out of town for a little while. This won't be a full update, but check the website for more information.
- John Sessay, Joseph Bangura & Christiana Bah did an outstanding job on their national exams (Joseph finished first in his class!) and will be moving on to the next level.
- Emmanuel passed away. :-/ See Roger's message on the front page of the website.
- The website has been updated.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
What is Sierra Leone Like?
So, you're a loyal supporter of Jonathan House (thankyou!) and perhaps you've heard stories about Sierra Leone. Maybe you've seen a few pictures taken in Sierra Leone. Or if you're a friend of mine (or of a few others--no names), you've seen several hundred. But....what is Sierra Leone really like?
The beaches (the best in Africa!) sure sound delightful, don't they? The climate sounds great (especially in our winter months). The kids couldn't be cuter (though I'm sure they could try...). The clothes couldn't be more colorful. All the fruit you could possibly want. No speed limits (if you dare drive). Paradise?
Well....not exactly. It is one of the poorest nations on Earth. It has one of the worst life expectancies (about 45 years?). It has one of the worst five infant and child mortality rates. While peaceful for the last several years, the country is still recovering from a (brutal) decade-long civil war (have you seen "Blood Diamond"?). At least three million people are crowded into Freetown--a city built for I think about 200,000 people! I could go on....but you get the picture. There's no need to go on in that direction. The country may be beautiful, but life is pretty grim for most Sierra Leoneans.
How do we as "prosperous" Americans understand this? When people ask me to explain my experiences in developing countries (mainly Sierra Leone), I struggle. People rarely have anything to compare it to. Personally, I'd like everyone to be able to visit and experience this themselves. However, that doesn't seem quite feasible at this point in time, so we're left with multimedia to better paint a picture for us. If pictures are worth a thousand words, how much moreso are moving pictures?! Here are a few video clips from YouTube that show various aspects of Sierra Leone. I'm going to start finding and posting more of these periodically. I want you to understand what Sierra Leone is as much as you can without actually stepping foot in Sierra Leone. If you have questions or are curious about different aspects of life in Sierra Leone, let me know and I will search out an answer for you! If you find anything that fits in with this theme, send it to me (JHM.Salone@gmail.com). If you've been and would like to share your experiences or observations, please send them to the address below.
How can we best help if we don't understand who we're helping? Watch these videos prayerfully. Unless indicated, none are related to Jonathan House. And don't let the ones of bad aspects scare you off from ever taking a trip. As you watch these clips, take notice of the details of what is going on.
You Tube: Driving through the streets/markets of Freetown : This basically someone just pointing the camera through the window of the "Poda Poda" (a crude van, common taxi) and showing what it looks like to drive through the streets of Freetown. If you're a people watcher, have a ball--it's constant activity--selling, buying, commuting, etc. Watch it a few times if you have to. The music playing in the background...very Sierra Leonean.
You Tube: Driving in Sierra Leone -- They were driving to Sulima Beach, but the drive is pretty typical of a majority of roads in Sierra Leone--especially the farther you get away from Freetown--some much worse than others. The country is not known for the good quality of the roads. But don't let this scare you, because in all the trips I've taken over such roads, I've only been car sick once--and I get motion sickness on paved roads in the U.S.! God can provide. But hey, the beach is beautiful, isn't it?
You Tube: A picture tour of Sierra Leone -- This actually has no videos, just several photos. But it is one of my favorites as it shows so many places in Sierra Leone that I and many of you have been to. They show Freetown, Bo (where the orphanage is), Mattru (Mattru-Jong Hospital--most teams have visited here if not based out of here), Bonthe, and Kenema (which really only one person that I know of has been there). You can see Bo (after Freetown & Kenema respectively) starting at about 3:25 (maybe a little before that) until about 4:48, then transitions to Mattru until 5:36, then on to Bonthe which is down the river from Mattru on the coast.
You Tube: Save the Children, Sierra Leone Flooding -- Save the Children, a global charity, has been working in Kroo Bay for a time--one of the poorest sections of Freetown. They do a great job with their videos explaining about life in the community. See their website, too, for more great resources.
You Tube: Children's Living Conditions in Freetown (Hull Freedom Project) -- This is a pretty interesting clip showing how children live on the rubbage (trash) dumps. Yes, they actually live and survive in the dumps. Listen carefully to Reginald (the man showing "us" around) as he has a thick accent.
The beaches (the best in Africa!) sure sound delightful, don't they? The climate sounds great (especially in our winter months). The kids couldn't be cuter (though I'm sure they could try...). The clothes couldn't be more colorful. All the fruit you could possibly want. No speed limits (if you dare drive). Paradise?
Well....not exactly. It is one of the poorest nations on Earth. It has one of the worst life expectancies (about 45 years?). It has one of the worst five infant and child mortality rates. While peaceful for the last several years, the country is still recovering from a (brutal) decade-long civil war (have you seen "Blood Diamond"?). At least three million people are crowded into Freetown--a city built for I think about 200,000 people! I could go on....but you get the picture. There's no need to go on in that direction. The country may be beautiful, but life is pretty grim for most Sierra Leoneans.
How do we as "prosperous" Americans understand this? When people ask me to explain my experiences in developing countries (mainly Sierra Leone), I struggle. People rarely have anything to compare it to. Personally, I'd like everyone to be able to visit and experience this themselves. However, that doesn't seem quite feasible at this point in time, so we're left with multimedia to better paint a picture for us. If pictures are worth a thousand words, how much moreso are moving pictures?! Here are a few video clips from YouTube that show various aspects of Sierra Leone. I'm going to start finding and posting more of these periodically. I want you to understand what Sierra Leone is as much as you can without actually stepping foot in Sierra Leone. If you have questions or are curious about different aspects of life in Sierra Leone, let me know and I will search out an answer for you! If you find anything that fits in with this theme, send it to me (JHM.Salone@gmail.com). If you've been and would like to share your experiences or observations, please send them to the address below.
How can we best help if we don't understand who we're helping? Watch these videos prayerfully. Unless indicated, none are related to Jonathan House. And don't let the ones of bad aspects scare you off from ever taking a trip. As you watch these clips, take notice of the details of what is going on.
You Tube: Driving through the streets/markets of Freetown : This basically someone just pointing the camera through the window of the "Poda Poda" (a crude van, common taxi) and showing what it looks like to drive through the streets of Freetown. If you're a people watcher, have a ball--it's constant activity--selling, buying, commuting, etc. Watch it a few times if you have to. The music playing in the background...very Sierra Leonean.
You Tube: Driving in Sierra Leone -- They were driving to Sulima Beach, but the drive is pretty typical of a majority of roads in Sierra Leone--especially the farther you get away from Freetown--some much worse than others. The country is not known for the good quality of the roads. But don't let this scare you, because in all the trips I've taken over such roads, I've only been car sick once--and I get motion sickness on paved roads in the U.S.! God can provide. But hey, the beach is beautiful, isn't it?
You Tube: A picture tour of Sierra Leone -- This actually has no videos, just several photos. But it is one of my favorites as it shows so many places in Sierra Leone that I and many of you have been to. They show Freetown, Bo (where the orphanage is), Mattru (Mattru-Jong Hospital--most teams have visited here if not based out of here), Bonthe, and Kenema (which really only one person that I know of has been there). You can see Bo (after Freetown & Kenema respectively) starting at about 3:25 (maybe a little before that) until about 4:48, then transitions to Mattru until 5:36, then on to Bonthe which is down the river from Mattru on the coast.
You Tube: Save the Children, Sierra Leone Flooding -- Save the Children, a global charity, has been working in Kroo Bay for a time--one of the poorest sections of Freetown. They do a great job with their videos explaining about life in the community. See their website, too, for more great resources.
You Tube: Children's Living Conditions in Freetown (Hull Freedom Project) -- This is a pretty interesting clip showing how children live on the rubbage (trash) dumps. Yes, they actually live and survive in the dumps. Listen carefully to Reginald (the man showing "us" around) as he has a thick accent.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Updates on Store, Fundraiser, & Blog
Greetings! I thought you would like to hear some of the follow-up on recent posts.
- Store...The Grand Opening was a great success! Unofficial numbers--$1900 in profits this weekend! What a blessing the store is. If you're in the area on a Friday or Saturday, remember to stop by. Or if you have any donations, let us know and we'll work out a time.
- Fundraiser...I haven't heard an official number on money raised Tuesday at Culver's, but there was a great turnout!
- Blog...There are some added features on the blog that I hope you check out soon.
- World Clocks--> There's a clock with Sierra Leone time and one of Iowa (CST) time.
- Contact Links--> Even there is a list of links further down the page, there is an easier way to find the link to the online albums, etc. In that same box, there is an invitation for you to contribute to this blog.
- Subscribe to the blog--> I've enabled the RSS feed (or whatever) so you can probably figure out ways to get new posted emailed to you.
- Friends/Followers--> To be truthful, I'm not entirely sure about this feature. :-) But it could be fun. If you read this blog often and want to keep up with JCC, I would invite you to become a friend! And if you don't....you're still a friend. No worries!
That's all for this edition. Have a blessed week!
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Goodsearch
This has been mentioned before as an easy way to earn money for the organization. Since this was last posted about, there is a new part of this website: Goodshop! Read about it below. As Christmas draws closer (just two months from yesterday!), if you buy from any of these online stores (there are quite a few...) then go through this website after you've picked Jonathan House (or whatever organization you choose) and JH will receive a portion of the profit! How simple is that?! And it doesn't cost you anymore than had you gone to the store's site without going through Goodsearch. Search for Jonathan House Ministries where it instructs you to and it should come right up. Or click on the title of this post and it should bring you to the website with JonHouse already chosen! Thanks!!
Straight from the Goodsearch.com website:
Here's a new easy way to raise money for your favorite cause. Just start using Yahoo! powered GoodSearch.com as your search engine and they'll donate a penny to your favorite cause every time you do a search! In addition, do all of your shopping through their online shopping mall, GoodShop.com, where you can shop at more than 700 top online retailers and a percentage of your purchases will go to the charity or school of your choice. You pay the same price as you normally would, but a donation goes to your cause!
Here's the web site — http://www.goodsearch.com/. You can also read about GoodSearch in the NY Times, Oprah Magazine, CNN, ABC News and the Wall Street Journal.
Straight from the Goodsearch.com website:
Here's a new easy way to raise money for your favorite cause. Just start using Yahoo! powered GoodSearch.com as your search engine and they'll donate a penny to your favorite cause every time you do a search! In addition, do all of your shopping through their online shopping mall, GoodShop.com, where you can shop at more than 700 top online retailers and a percentage of your purchases will go to the charity or school of your choice. You pay the same price as you normally would, but a donation goes to your cause!
Here's the web site — http://www.goodsearch.com/. You can also read about GoodSearch in the NY Times, Oprah Magazine, CNN, ABC News and the Wall Street Journal.
Store Grand Opening & Pictures, Culver's Night
Here are two different views of inside of the store. I have many more, but not as much time to put them up. The third picture is of an event that several supporters came to (maybe you were there?) and we voted on the name of the store. The Grand Opening of the store is this next Friday, Oct. 31st & Saturday, Nov. 1st, 9 to 5 both days.
Grand Opening:
Culver's Night:
Come out to Culver's Tuesday and the Grand Opening Friday/Saturday and tell all your friends!
Grand Opening: If you'd like to help work in the store on either day for the Grand Opening, email Jan @ jabuhatch@hotmail.com. There will be opportunities to set up and get it all ready, too--one of those being Tuesday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.. And everyone helping Friday & Saturday is invited to wear African clothes.
Culver's Night:
This Tuesday, we will have a fundraising night at the Marshalltown Culver's. Stop in between 5 and 8 p.m. and Jonathan House will receive 10% of the proceeds of whatever is bought! If you'd like to come and help pass out brochures that would be great, too. Wear any African clothes you might have.
Come out to Culver's Tuesday and the Grand Opening Friday/Saturday and tell all your friends!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Jonathan House Picasa Albums
Definitely check them out.....they're finally ready to be made public! Yay! There is still work to be done, but it's available for your eyes. :-) There are different albums--several albums with pictures from various teams that have gone over. One from some of the Sierra Leone trips before Jonathan House was created.
If you have anymore pictures you'd like to contribute from a trip of your own or events stateside related to Jonathan House, please send them to JHM.Salone@gmail.com and let me know what they are of and I will add them as I can.
If there are any of the pictures currently posted that are mis-labeled or have an incorrect caption, make a comment on it or send an email to that address above.
Picasa has a new feature in which it tags faces. I have tagged many of the kids, but not all. Ideally you will be able to search for a person and all of the pictures that person appears in you will be able to see. For example, let's say you sponsor Adama, you will be able to click on the "Adama" tag and see her smiling face! So when it's all done, it should be a nice feature.
If you have anymore pictures you'd like to contribute from a trip of your own or events stateside related to Jonathan House, please send them to JHM.Salone@gmail.com and let me know what they are of and I will add them as I can.
If there are any of the pictures currently posted that are mis-labeled or have an incorrect caption, make a comment on it or send an email to that address above.
Picasa has a new feature in which it tags faces. I have tagged many of the kids, but not all. Ideally you will be able to search for a person and all of the pictures that person appears in you will be able to see. For example, let's say you sponsor Adama, you will be able to click on the "Adama" tag and see her smiling face! So when it's all done, it should be a nice feature.
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