Merry Christmas!
As the holiday season falls upon us, I find myself with a bit of time to pause and reflect on the things I am thankful for. Right up at the top of that list, is our partnership with Gambella.
What an amazing privilege it has been to be a part of this partnership. I love working with our neighborhood families, and watching their eyes light up as we talk about Gambella, and plan our fund raising efforts. It’s so cool to see the excitement in other friends and neighbors who have donated financially, or given us items to sell in a garage sale, where all of the proceeds went to Gambella—they get it, and realize that they are literally helping to change the world! And how about that first video call we did over Skype, using a satellite modem from the village?! None of us who were there will ever forget that. Seeing and hearing and interacting with the people of Gambella for the first time—and seeing the school that did not exist before Gambella’s partnership with GHNI—literally took my breath away.
The highlight of my year, however, was having the opportunity to actually go to Gambella this summer. It was so fun to spend a week with the people of Gambella! Even though I couldn’t speak more than a few words in Borana (and most of them couldn’t speak more than a few words of English), by the end of the week I felt as though Gambella was home. Here I was (that’s me with my arm around Boru in his winter coat), in a village that quite literally had no food a few years ago, and I was working side-by-side with the villagers, building a storehouse (pictured below)—which was funded entirely through our neighborhood partnership with them—so they can store the surplus crops they grow until they can eat them or sell them. Not bad for a village that up until a few 
years ago had never farmed, and is located in an incredibly arid area! Even now, planning is underway to complete the clinic that was started last year, and to launch the goat loan program that we raised money for at the end of last year. Any additional funds that are raised this year will be used for purchasing more goats for that loan program. These goats are vital to the villagers, as many of them still have one meal a day, and that meal is nothing more than about 4oz of goat milk!
These people are the poorest of the poor, and with the hand that life has dealt them, they have every reason to throw in the towel and call it quits. Instead, they were dancing, and singing, and had huge smiles on their faces—in short, they were full of hope. Because of the support of people like you, this village has hope; not only this village, but nearby villages, and even the entire region. The U.N., the Kenyan government, and many NGOs have taken notice of the change in Gambella, and have made trips to the village to observe.
I believe what I am most grateful for, is the change in me. I’ve always wanted to live fully alive, and I strive to do that, but I can honestly say that nothing makes me feel quite as alive as I do when I am doing something for this partnership with Gambella. Thank you for being a part of my journey. May you have a blessed Christmas!
We are having a neighborhood garage sale for Gambella! All proceeds will go to the 
I continue to be moved, every time I remember our video call with the village of Gambella. It was simply incredible seeing the smiles on their faces, as we cheered for their progress in the areas of education and farming—that was hope and pride that we saw on their faces!
