Kuria Project
Merry Christmas from Kuria!
We can’t believe that a little over two months have passed since the first Foundation Team arrived in Kenya to launch our Pilot Seed Project. We’ve met with community officials, village elders and average folks in the community, listened to their needs and asked them for solutions. Next we hit the streets (or dirt roads), visiting folks in their fields, mud-walled homes, and water collection points to gather vital information needed to establish a baseline for our measurement and evaluation system.
We’ve compiled our findings, empowered local leaders and identified partners. The sum total of our first 2 months in Kuria: a plan to sustainably and holistically empower the Kurian people to lift themselves out of extreme poverty, forever. To get involved, download our Christmas for Kuria booklet below and donate to Nuru this Christmas. The recent financial crisis is affecting the people of Kuria more so than folks in the developed world. A global food crisis is looming, and Nuru is seeking to loan farm inputs for almost 500 farmers in Kuria - effectively protecting them and their families from inevitable malnutrition and starvation. This Christmas, donate to Nuru and join us in the fight to end extreme poverty one community at a time.
Download the Christmas for Kuria 08 Booklet
Send a Christmas Greeting to Kuria!
- By: Jake Harriman
- Date: Fri, Nov 28th 08 at 04:33AM
- Comments: 33
No matter where you go in Kuria you'll be surrounded by kids. They seem to have a built in mzungu radar (mzungu is the term for a white person in Kiswahili) and come running to greet you. Greetings here are a big deal. If there is a small group of 10 kids standing in a circle around you, each will greet you and expect a greeting in return.
Over the past two months we've come to know many of the children by name, and we've told our pint-sized friends about our wonderful friends back home. The children always ask us to greet you all on their behalf (right after they ask us to greet Barack Obama). Of course we always agree to do so, but this Christmas we have a better idea: to kick off our Christmas for Kuria fundraising campaign we asked the children to greet you themselves. We had dozens of kids draw Nuru supporters a picture depicting their homes, families, animals, and in so doing greeting you and wishing you a Merry Christmas.
Now it's your turn. Take a few seconds to type in a Christmas Greeting to the children of Kuria below. We'd love it if your kids would participate in this as well, and if they do so, please include their age. We'll distribute your greetings to the children at the Nyametaburo Primary School in January. Merry Christmas and thank you for greeting our friends in Kuria.
We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year with lots of good things happening to you and your family. Jake is our grandson. We are very proud of him and what he is trying to do for you in Kenya.
Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you enjoy the day and see many good things come your way.
Merry Christmas children of Kuria!!! Know you are on our hearts and minds this Christmas!!!
Merry Christmas and a very Good New Year.
We live in Southern California and love and pray for Jake as he and his team work to help you everyday. We are praying for God's blessings for you this year.
Greetings to our new friends in Kuria!
We are writing to you from Arlington Heights, Illinois near Chicago in the United States of America. Merry Christmas from our family: Shawn, Lonnie, Lia (7), Ian (2), and Ela who is just 4 months old and getting her two front teeth in time for Christmas! We pray you are well and happy and thank God for the blessing of you in our lives.
Merry Christmas from Chicago, Kuria!
We love hearing about your community and wish you much love from the United States. We pray for you and can't wait to see what God continues to do there. God bless!
Merry Christmas!
You all are in our hearts and prayers this Christmas season!
Merry Christmas from Philadelphia! Jake is my brother and I hope that you enjoy hanging out with him. Each of you are a special, unique gift that God has given to the world.
Merry Christmas from Battle Creek, Michigan. U.S.A. It't wintertime here and we have lots of snow on the ground. You probably don't know what snow is. Ask Nicole. I am her grandmother. I've known her since she was a little tiny baby. She's one of my very favorite people in the whole wide world.
Hello kids! I am Nicole and Doug's mom. I miss them very much, but am so glad that they are with you in Kuria. They love God and want to love you too. I hope you and your family have a prosperous 2009! God loves you very much!
Merry Christmas & Happy 2009 from Mike and Jess in Oregon, USA--Jake is our brother and we miss him but we're glad he has such beautiful companions there in Kuria. May you be filled with hope & peace as a new year in your life begins.
To all the kids (and adults) in Kuria:
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR from San Diego, California!!
Thank you so much for the beautiful drawings you made. We received one from Amos Mwtsamp (i hope i spelled your name right!) We love seeing pictures and videos of you all on the website.
May this next year be filled with blessings for all of you and your families!
love
carolyn freeman
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the other side of the world in South Korea! "Ahn-young-haseo!" (hello in korean) We love the note and the beautiful picture we received from Evangelistica! We have been enjoying all the amazing videos and pictures of your beautiful faces for the past few months. Thank you for sharing your lives and stories with us! We hope you have a wonderful new year, filled with happiness and accomplishments!
Lots of love,
Melissa Rubalcava and Paul Garrett
Hello Dear Children of Kuria!
Merry Christmas to you and we wish you God's greatest blessings in 2009. We think of you often and pray that this next year you will be happy and healthy. Your pictures are beautiful. Much Love from Southern California to YOU...Troy & Stacy Tertany
Hi Kids,
I hope one day to come visit your beautiful country and village. As I look at pictures, I sense the joy in your soul and your love for life. You are an inspiration and God's beloved children. Maybe one day you can visit me and my wife in San Diego, California. We would love to meet many of you.
From my heart to yours,
Jon Freeman
Merry Merry Christmas to all those in Kuria... especially the little ones. Just want you all to know what we love you all and are praying for you!!! I hope you all have a very blessed christmas this year... God is with you and only wants the best for his children ;)
MERRY CHRISTMAS to you, beautiful children of Kuria! God loves you all very much and I am sure he is very excited that you are celebrating the birth of Jesus this season! Please take care of our mzungu friends! Also a shout out to Emanuel- Your picture rocked!!! Thank you so much for sharing with me!
Mary Greene
Morgantown, WV
USA
Merry Christmas, world changers! I am praying for you and sharing your story. I invite you to download my free Christmas album for your own enjoyment. Simply go to http://davidstorymusic.com, download, and sing along.
Merry Christmas!
David Story
Dayton, Ohio
Jammmmbo!!!!!
Kuwa na Krismasi njema!!!
I wish you a merry Xmas from the bottom of my heart and may God keep you strong to remind me to carry on! This is what I heard from a fellow Kenyan and it is what makes me better day after day. Your will to live is my will to survive!
I'm sorry. I don't know Barak Obama. I won't be able to greet him. He won't listen to me more than he will listen to you but what I know is if we all do our best be will be helping him to create a better America. I'm not American but I'm aware of their power. I'm also aware of the power of each individual no matter how distant and how poor they are.
I urge YOU to help Obama and all the other world leaders to fulfill their promises. YOU are the change - not them. Be better and more successful people, be great! achive your highest potential and you will be helping Obama. You can't imagine how powerful you are! How could I ask you to believe me but I've been in Kenya.
Be strong, believe in the luck you have to be part of this project!
Please believe in it because I need to keep believing in you!
Love always,
Leticia
Dear Children of Kuria -- Have a blessed Christmas, and may God's light shine through you.
Dan
Merry Christmas to all of you. Your drawings are beautiful. My children loved them and wanted me to tell you that they will be thinking of you this Christmas. God Bless!
Greetings to the children of Kuria. Your drawings have made me very happy because I see you can express yourselves very well. My home is at the foot of the tallest mountain range in southern California but I work up in the mountains where we expect to get snow this week. We may have a white Christmas in which we can celebrate the birth of God's son Jesus. I hope you can get to know him, too, so you can understand why our friends have come to help find clean water and help increase your crops, and help with health challenges. You are special to us all. Merry Christmas!
Jambo watoto! Wa cha?
N'zuri Chrissmassi to all of you in Kuria!! I am going to be working with you all to make education easier for you. I have heard so much about you and I cannot wait to meet you all!!!
Kwaheri,
Megh
Merry Christmas! Praying that your Christmas will be blessed. Thank you for the beautiful drawings :)
Tara
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year :) My family and I live out in the country with lots of fields...We have 3 dogs Nina(girl) Nova(girl) and Buddy(boy) he loves being everyones best bud :) along with our dogs, we have 6 cats Jasmin(girl/Mommy) Flour(girl) Pumkin(girl) Cinnamon(boy) Nutmeg(boy) and last but not least Pepper...aaaCheW*** he is a boy :) My daughter Sierra who is 19months old loves all her animals, but her fav is my horse...His name is Smarty Pants...Smarty for short...the reason why he is called Smarty is because he likes to play tricks on you when you are riding him...silly horse! :) we have about a foot and half of white snow by us now...are puppies are happy cuz they can pull our sled through the snow just like a horse or donkey pulls a cart! but without the wheels, they love it! well, I pray and hope you'all have a wonderful and merry xmas this year...and give my cuzins Doug and Nicole BIG hugs for me and Doug and Nicole give the Kuria children hugs from Sam,Sierra, Wesley, Benjamin and myself...Love the McBride Clan
ps. I would love to see more of those beautiful drawings...
I'm writing you from the state of Georgia in the United States. We are wishing you all a Merry Christmas! Just now that you are all so very loved. We are praying for all of you daily. God has a plan and purpose for each and every one of you. May you feel God's love this Christmas season.
Hi kids,
We are writing from Chicago, Illinois, where it snowed six inches last night, for some of you that much snow might go all the way up to your knee! Kinsey is nearly 3 and loved looking at the picture you sent us and often asks if she can come to Africa to visit you. I hope some day! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We are thinking and praying for you all every day!
We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. God Bless all of you!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Chicago,
I send my wishes and prayers that you and your villages would thrive and that you would find prosperity in this New Year. If God is for you who can be against you. I am with you in prayer. God Bless!!!
--Mark M.
Merry Christmas to you all! We are writing to you from Prague, Czech Republic, right in the 'heart' of Europe! We are Americans living and working here. We would love to bring a team of friends to visit you all someday! We send prayers to you, for health and much joy in the new year! And, thank you for being so kind to our mzungu friends!! :0)
Hello Children of Kuria! My name is Micaiah and I'm 6 years old. I live in the United States of America. I like to make music by playing the drums. Your pictures are beautiful!
Mr. Jake is a friend of mine. We pray you have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year!
Love,
Micaiah
Hi All. I wish you a very Happy New Year and wish you all the best year ever. You are in my thoughts and prays. God bless you all.
Mary
Aimee says:
December 1st 08 at 12:01AM
I hope this is how we're supposed to do this - I think I'm the first one??
Hello Kuria! We are writing to you from San Francisco, CA. We live in an apartment in the middle of a big city. We can see the bus go right past our window. My son, Kieran, is two years old. He loves drawing and listening to stories. He really liked looking at your pictures. He wanted to send you one of his drawings but we couldn't figure out how. You will have to imagine it! We wish you all good fortune and a Happy Christmas!
Aimee, Patrick and Kieran
San Francisco, CA, USA