Ok here is a little update on our staffing situation here at Sunrise. Hannah has left now and we have another volunteer Eve, also from the USA, who will be staying until the end of the month. Including Eve and myself, we have 6 staff members living on site. Neema is a local girl who has worked here since the opening last year. Then we have Rose, Ema, and Harriet who were all sponsored to attend secondary school and have spent the past few months working here while awaiting their final exam results. All three will stay here until they begin college in either July or September. In addition to them, we also have Fredy, the foreman is in charge of the fields and facilities, and then of course we can’t forget that Bibi Kay (BBK) is here too.
So we have a total of 8 staff, and only 12 kids! I think that the ratio is a bit disproportionate, and so I have suggested that we work on adding more orphans. Obviously we have the staff, the space, and the resources, but BBK is adamantly against getting more children. She is worried that once the 3 students leave for school again that we won’t have enough staff to take care of the all the kids. In addition, she points out that I am leaving in December and she never had the intention of actually running this pace. She does have some valid concerns, but the way I see it, for the past year she has been desperately searching for staff, and yet every single volunteer that has come to work at Sunrise has come to help on their own, not by BBK’s doing, but by divine intervention. So it seems that every time she has worried about who will take care of the orphanage, a volunteer has been provided for her, therefore she should trust that the same will happen in a few months when Rose, Ema and Harriet leave. Also, she is still trying to find someone, some church, or some organization to take over management of Sunrise Children’s Home. Fredy has offered to run Sunrise for 3 years, but BBK is not that confident in his abilities. I have worked closely with Fredy, and I think he is the perfect candidate. He is a Tanzanian man of about 50, and has been partners with BBK over the past few years. All of the children here look up to him as their own father and call him Baba Fredy. I would love it if he could take over as director of Sunrise, however there would still be a need for a mama or matron to manage the daily operations such as cooking and cleaning, which has been mostly my responsibility over the past month since BBK made me manager.
I am very excited about this promotion, especially since it shows that all my hard-work has paid off, and BBK has confidence in my abilities. Over the years I’ve been in many leadership positions, but I’ve never been a manager before and I’ve discovered that there is a big difference and managing the staff and children has proven to be more difficult than I had anticipated. Of course I couldn’t do this without the help of Fredy, because he has great wisdom and insight, especially when it comes to cultural and political issues within the village. He and I have been working together while BBK just left and is back in America for 2 months to visiting family and friends. She has new great-grandchildren and has told us that in the future wants to spend more time with her family back in the USA. She has stated many times over that she is burnt out from so many years living in a third-world country, and admits that when she built this orphanage, she never intended to actually run it. So during her absence I am taking the time as an opportunity to prove that this place can sustain itself and thrive without her micro-management.
In addition to making sure that all of the daily tasks get taken care of around here, I am also working on establishing an organizational system. There is a severe lack of infrastructure here, so I have been creating everything from daily schedules, to chore charts and weekly menus. One project that I am especially interested in is restructuring her financial books. Putting all of my accounting skills to good use, I have been designing spreadsheets so that all expenses can be tracked in a more organized manner (currently there is just one total for all expenses incurred since the beginning of the project 2 ½ years ago!). The new accounting methods will help us to generate budgets and spending plans, as well as determine the profitability of our farming. The purpose of developing these tools is to make daily operations efficient and effective as possible while allowing a smooth transition to new management at some time in the future.
So while BBK says that I’m the manager, I kind of consider myself more of a program developer, creating a sustainable organization structure for operations and finances. It looks like I’m putting my business degree to good use already. I love it when I feel like my skills and abilities are being put to good use. I mean I’m not the best cook (although I’m learning quickly), I’m not the best English teacher, and I’m definitely not the best mom (it’s not like I’ve raised kids before), but one thing I know I’m good at is business. It’s so awesome when I realize that certain experiences I have had and things I have learned have a direct application in my current situation. That’s when I know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. Well at least for now… I know that I am here for a season, and I am here for a reason. I don’t know everything that God has planned for me to do while I am here, and I have no idea what He has for me in my future, but I’m going to trust Him and work on living one day at time, making the most of this amazingly wonderful opportunity here and now.
Prayer Requests:
- New staff members (to replace the students when they leave in July)
- Volunteers (In two weeks I will be the only white person left in the village, and I could use someone to speak English with!)
- Reestablishment of a good working relationship with the village and chairman (we need their help and cooperation)
- Patience and energy for working with the kids
- Perseverance and wisdom in creating infrastructure and organization for Sunrise
- Faith and peace while trusting that God has a plan and a purpose for me even when I am discouraged and feel isolated
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