I would like you to meet Digna. She is 28 years old and her story will break your heart. Digna was an orphan by 6 years of age when she went to live with her grandmother. Her grandmother was contantly fighting with her other relatives over the care of Digna so much so that the relatives ended up setting the grandmother's house on fire with her in it. Once she lost her grandmother Digna had to go work as a house girl at the age of 11. This brought on a whole new set of problems since Digna was abused, starved and basically worked as a slave for her employer. As Digna was often beaten daily she decided to run away from her job as a house girl. With no where to go she ran into an older man who kidnapped her and forced himself on her and to live and work for him. Over the next 6 years Digna had 3 children by this man, was abused daily and humiliated (he would beat her and pour urine on her) in front of her friends and family. But God had different plans for Digna. The man she lived with was arrested for beating her after that she never saw him again. She moved into our village where she heard about our project and was hired after hearing her story and seeing her dedication. Digna received Jesus at one of our first Bible Studies. She believes God has saved her for a purpose and she knows that her future is secure in Him. She loves the work and the friends she has made working with the Shining a Light "Women to Work" project. She has her own room where her and her children live and all 3 are attending school. Digna can continue to work with us and providing for her children as long as we sell our sandals. Please order a pair of sandals today at www.shiningalight.org to ensure Digna has a safe and secure future.

This is Tumaini. She is 24 years old and a single mother struggling to provide for her 4 year old daughter who goes to our preschool. Her daughter's name is Sharon. When Tumaini met Sharon's father he made many promises to her. She was 19 at the time and could not afford to go to school. He promised her he would pay for her education and take care of her. As soon as he found out she was pregnant he disappeared leaving Tumaini to explain her situation to her parents alone. They rejected her instantly and disowned her as their daughter. Ever since Tumaini has been battling her severe conditions to provide for herself and her daughter. But now Tumaini has hope! That is what Tumaini means in Swahili (Hope). She works with Shining a Light to make our handmade beaded sandals that we sell through our website at www.shiningalight.org. She love the work, the environmemt, and has been enjoying our empowerment classes knowing that she is improving her life and her daughter's life. Through the sale of our beautiful sandals you can help Tumaini and many other women just like her.

Jennifer VanderGalien
jennifer@shiningalight.org
www.shiningalight.org

Well it's summer and time to buy some sandals. Shining a Light has some amazing, beautiful, handmade sandals for sale at www.shiningalight.org. The best thing about these sandals???? Is that they help empower women and their children right here in Arusha, Tanzania. Shining a Light has employed 15 women who have been struggling all their lives to make these sandals and sell them to all of you. So not only do you get a pair of fabulous sandals but you are also helping to keep these women employed. At our workshop we not only make these sandals but we provide empowerment classes on how to budget their money and save so they can create a better future for their children. We teach health care (living with HIV), do Bible Studies (we already have had one women give her life to Christ) and other classes that will benefit them along with a fair salary. The purchase of a pair of sandals also goes to support our local preschool where many of their children go. Employment & Education is our focus and we believe that through these two projects we can make a difference in the entire community. So PLEASE got to www.shiningalight.org and help support us! We cannot do this without you!

God Bless,
Jennifer

The children started school on Monday and even though our desks and chairs were not ready they were so excited to be in their new building. It's the rainy season here in Tanzania and they showed up late, muddy and chilled to the bone but we were there to greet them and warm them up with some singing. We also had a few waiting out by the gate because they wanted to join our school. One little girl's father told me that she said there was "no chance" of her going home that she wanted and was going to be one of our students. Unfortunately we had to turn her away because we are well above capacity but we are working on plans to enlarge the school creating more space for needy children. We have also adopted a tuition plan that we feel will help the parents take ownership and pride in our school. By charging a small fee for each child to attend the school the community and it's families will begin to take more of an interest in the school and help us make it a success! If you're interested in helping us by supporting our school please go to www.shiningalight.org and make a donation or purchase a pair of our beautiful handmade sandals made by the mother's of our students today.

The Workshop Has Started

On Monday April 18th, 2011 Shining a Light's "Women to Work" project finally started. After a year of building relationships, raising funds and developing the best empowerment program we could, we have finally begun. The women come to our workshop each and everyday at 8:00 am to learn a skill that we believe will provide an income that will give them and their families a safe and secure future. Shining a Light is also empowering these women with educational classes on Health Care, Money Management, and weekly Bible Studies. We are very excited about the future of this program and the women who are participating. Some of the women have never had the independence of a job or an opportunity to pull themselves out of the extreme poverty that they find themselves in. Shining a Light is grateful to provide this to them. Other classes will be provided as well as we have discovered that many of these women have no education and have never learned to read or write. Please join with us in prayer that we would be able to breakdown culturally barriers, language barriers and every obstacle that we come across that would hinder our advancement in this project. Follow us on this blog as we introduce these women to you and make them personal so that you can share with us the joy of empowering them.

Thank You & God Bless
www.shiningalight.org

It's been so very long since i last blogged so if anyone is still following me out there i am very sorry. With all of the different social networks out there it's hard to keep up but i would like to reassure anyone that is still interested I am now back to blogging. So many exciting things are happening with me and more importantly Shining a Light! God has blessed me with an opportunity to help empower the women and children of Arusha, Tanzania. Sometimes i am not sure why He has called me to this place that requires patience and for women to display a meek and mild spirit but one thing i am sure of is the CALL to be here. His provision for people with the same heart for these women and children and the knowledge and wisdom of the culture and the vision to help them has confirmed that Shining a Light, our nonprofit (NGO in Tanzania) is on the right path to accomplishing HIS will. We have two amazing Boards both here in Tanzania and in America filled with people with a heart for Him.

I have been so blessed working here and seeing His hand in so many ways. This blog will continue to track those amazing encounters when He shows up and turns bad to good, weak to strong and impossible to possible. Please continue to follow us as we change lives by introducing people to their personal savior and watch how this transformation empowers them.

Shining a Light is a nonprofit created to empower women and children through employment, education and spiritual enrichment. Find out how you can help us empower these women and children at www.shiningalight.org

In His name,
Jennifer

Shining Light is trying to start a soccer (or for those of you who are not from America, football) program here in Arusha. In the small village that I have been blessed to come live, work and be apart of we have a large open field. This field is right outside of my gate and everyday there are about 30 to 50 young boys of all ages that play here whether they have a ball or not. When they don't have a soccer ball they find anything they can roll up and use to kick around and enjoy Tanzanian's favorite sport. We feel this is an amazing opportunity to witness and work with these young boys to show them a better future. Right now we are supplying balls and just spending time with them. Please pray that the doors will be open for us to share the love of Jesus with them and to build relationships so that they might become the men that God intended them to be and so that they can one day be responsible husbands and fathers.