Giving Tuesday and Beyond

(from Eric)

As we head into the western holiday rush and people start to think about Giving Tuesday and year-end giving generally, we wanted to highlight two options:

KIBUYE FEEDING PROGRAM

Once again this year, we are seeking donors to support our 2-part hospital feeding program.  Nothing is more foundational to health than food, and nowhere is more nutritionally-needy than Burundi.  We discovered early on that healthcare without addressing malnutrition doesn't work, and the introduction of our feeding program several years ago has been revolutionary for taking care of the sick.

The program supports both 2 meals a day for all patients and their caregivers, as well as nutritional supplementation for malnourished children in our community at a twice-weekly outpatient program.

When $8 can feed a hospitalized patient for a month, and $350 can feed hundreds of children (click here!) during a twice-weekly multigrain distribution, there are not many ways that your dollars can go farther.  (and click here to see another video)


CHRIST SCHOOL BUNDIBUGYO

We also wanted to highlight the opportunity to support our sister Serge team in Uganda.  If you're interested in quality, long-term investment in Christian education, then you should consider giving to Christ School Bundibugyo (click here!).  Over decades of investment, the community in this forgotten corner of Uganda, in partnership with our agency Serge, has created an solid institution that is graduating transformed and transformative students.

Added bonus!  There is a matching gift until Giving Tuesday, so double your gift. (and don't worry, the video has subtitles to help under the thick American accents)

Giving Tuesday - Sponsor a Student from Serge on Vimeo.

Holiday Giving: the Kibuye Feeding Program

(from Eric)

As we wrap up our time in the United States, several people have asked us about special needs for Kibuye during the holiday season.  Though you can give to many projects and missionaries that can be perused at serge.org (all of which are tax-deductible and will be used to a worthy cause), we'd like to highlight the Kibuye Feeding Program.

Burundi is arguably the hungriest country in the world per the Global Hunger Index.  They didn't have data to include Burundi in this year's ranking (though they have recently topped it), but they still note Burundi as the country with the highest rate of kids who don't reach the full height potential due to nutritional "stunting".  We learned early on that malnourished patients don't heal, and thus, in 2015, Kibuye became the 2nd hospital in Burundi to feed their patients, a move which, thanks to dedicated staff and generous donations, transformed our ability to bring health to our population.

Also included in the Feeding Program is a twice-weekly Busoma (the multigrain nutritional porridge manufactured on the hospital campus) distribution program for identified malnourished children in our community.

These programs combined cost about $6500 per month, which purchases about 20,000 patient meals and supports the nutrition of about 250 children and their families at home.  So, please pray for provision for this program and consider giving to it.

You can easily turn this gift into an alternative Christmas present by dedicating a gift to someone.  Here are a couple ways to put the numbers together:

• $8 feeds a hospitalized patient for a month
• $10 feeds a malnourished child in the community for a month
• $56 feeds the pediatric ward (and their moms) for a day (during the busy season)
• $135 feeds all the hospitalized patients and their caregivers for a day
• $312 feeds all the malnourished children with Busoma on a given day who come to the twice-weekly program
• $1700 feeds the pediatric ward (and their moms) for a month
• Be Creative and mix these numbers as you will!

Burundi Feeding Programs three logos: Serge/Hospital/Friends from Radio Friendly on Vimeo.

Christmas Catalog: Feed Our Hungry Patients

(from Eric)

Once again this year, KibuyeHope.com is presenting an alternative Christmas Catalogue: ways to support the work and community of Kibuye as a gift in honor of someone during this holiday season.  Click here for the full list of this year's options.

We would like to draw your attention to one item in particular: Our hospital feeding program.  Similar to many hospitals in our part of the world, there is no kitchen or feeding program for patients hospitalized here.  Patients depend on their family to bring them everything to eat and drink.  Given the poverty and hunger of Burundi at baseline (Burundi was recently given the dubious distinction of "hungriest nation in the world"), this only gets worse in the hospital, resulting in even worse nutrition right when they most count on it for their healing.

So, the problem is more than discomfort.  It is wounds that don't heal.  Moms that don't have enough milk for their premature babies.  Kids who can't beat their otherwise treatable infections because their bodies aren't strong enough.  In short, it is the cornerstone of all we're doing.

For this reason, we are starting in 2015 the first hospital feeding program.  2 meals a day, a mix of "Busoma", a nutritional grain mixture already made on site here, and other nutritional staples available in the region.  How much does it cost to feed one hungry patient at Kibuye for a week, thus enabling the healing of their whole body?  $3.

A few suggested pricing options for Christmas ideas:

$3 - feed a patient for a week

$13 - feed a patient for a month

$40 - feed the entire hospital for a day

$100 - feed the entire pediatric service for a week

$270 - feed the entire hospital for a week

$425 - feed the entire pediatric service for a month

You guys are bright folks who have likely already figured out that you can donate any amount to get any permutation of the above numbers.  All you have to do is click here, and enter your dollar amount (where it may already say "$3").  Gifts are tax-deductible.

Thanks for thinking of Burundi this Christmas season.  We are convinced that there is no better way to support the work of this hospital and this community than to follow one of the simplest mandates we've ever been given, to provide food for those who are hungry.

Here is a video of Alyssa (done by Carlan) with some great information about malnutrition in our area and the Busoma community feeding program already in place (not to be confused with the hospital feeding program to be soon implemented.)

 

HopeBurundi/HUNGER from Kibuye Hope on Vimeo.

Creative Giving

(from Eric)

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, this is another sort of a tribute post.  (Other examples here and here)  Our goal on this blog is to describe, as realistically and holistically as possible, our lives and work.  An extremely real facet of this is the countless people who support us in countless ways.  They make this happen, and they inspire us and blow us away.  Many of you reading this are among those.

"Creative Giving"

What I mean is people who have supported and encouraged us in ways that were outside the box, and in most cases, amplified the effect of their gift.  These Creative Givers always impress us in how thoughtful and wise they are in their gracious participation in our lives.  A few examples to ponder and demonstrate:

• In 2009, before leaving for Kenya, a realtor friend who really believed in what we were doing volunteered to list and sell our house in Michigan, foregoing his commission and absorbing the listing cost.  In addition to monetary savings, this was an incredible encouragement to us in a difficult time.
• Carlan's friend who is a professional photographer offered him a free photo session with free digital files to use for his prayer cards and such.  Now you know why he always looks so debonair.
• A friend of the Cropsey's gave Jessica Lasik eye surgery, at a significant discount.  Not having to deal with eyeglasses and contacts while living in the African bush is a gift that cannot be overestimated.
• Similarly, our dentist in Ypsilanti decided I needed a bite splint, which insurance usually doesn't cover. He had expressed interest in our work, especially given that his son is Peace Corps in northern Kenya.  When I expressed concern regarding the cost, he decided to absorb the cost himself.
• (Did we mention that we love Pacific Rim?!)
• And we also would mention the numerous people who have utilized their personal friendships and professional relationships to connect us to a larger circle of interested individuals.  Hosting dinners for us, introducing us to friends, sharing our stories even when we are not there.

As a bit of a center point of this, I wanted to tell our readership also about Will Lee.  Will and his wife Ellen are good friends from years at Knox Church in Ann Arbor.  He's a very sharp guy, an alum of one of the nation's top business schools, and a personal finance expert now based out of New York state. 

He called me up a couple of months ago to offer his services to any of our McCropder connections, with the proviso that he would be giving back a portion of his fees garnered from such clients back to our work and ministry.  The creativity of this is patent.  It can amplify his capacity for giving, as well as provide an opportunity for others to render support to us through utilizing his financial services.

If you're interested, you can contact him directly at 914.225.5491.  Or email him at will.b.lee@morganstanley.com.  He does full-spectrum personal finance management, with an emphasis on tax planning, retirement planning, and risk management.  He is licensed for any US state.

These are the examples from the top of our collective head after just a couple years of being in this work.  It's a blessing to us, and we thank you all.

McCropder Team Support-Raising Update

We are thankful to report that in February, support levels have increased for each of the five McCropder accounts (McLaughlin, Cropsey, Fader, Pfister, Wendler).
Here's the updated level of financial support given/pledged (averaged for all McCropder accounts):

• 79% of minimum necessary monthly support
• 55% of needed one-time start-up costs

For more donation information, you can click here.

This is how we feel about the increasing support levels:

Support-Raising Update

Our (roughly) monthly support update.  As of the end of December (yes, I realize it's not really the end of December anymore), the McCropders as a team have recieved (or pledged):

• 53% of our needed ongoing monthly support
• 44% of our one-time start-up cost

Here is last month for comparison.  Thanks so much to all of you who have been a part of this.  Donation info link is here.

McCropder Support-Raising Update

As you, O reader, likely know, all the McCropders are currently back in the US, enjoying friends and family and cream cheese, but also raising the necessary financial support for long-term work in Burundi.  We are 100% donor-supported, and these donations go through our agency World Harvest Mission.  We have two goals, an ongoing monthly support goal, as well as a one-time start-up cost goal.

Many people have been wondering how we are progressing on this, so we are going to aim to update the blog monthly as we progress.  The number posted will be the average of all five families/singles.  We are resisting the urge to have a "red-thermometer" icon on the sidebar to track our progress.

OK, so as of the end of November, the McCropders have recieved (or pledged):

• 38% of their needed monthly support
• 36% of their needed one-time start-up support

For more donation info, you can click here.

The Official Start of Support-Raising

Well, in some ways, this is a pretty big milestone.  As many of you know, for the last two years, our work in Kenya has been wonderfully supported by Samaritan's Purse.  We are grateful for their support, as well as the support that many individuals and churches have given to supplement this in many important ways.  We believe that the fruit of this is some very good work being done for the needy and for the kingdom of our Lord Jesus.

This situation has now changed dramatically.  As was recently posted, our time with Samaritan's Purse has finished, and we are officially World Harvest missionaries now, and what that means is that we have officially entered the period of time where we are raising support for our future work in Burundi.  We are crazy excited about this work.  This will take a lot of financial support, and we are also excited about the chance to bring other people into this vision in this manner.  You will surely be hearing more about this in the days to come, but for the time being, we have updated our donation info page (click here or on the right-hand sidebar picture), where you will find some very easy web-based giving options.

Primarily though, if you are interested in giving and partnering with us, please contact one (or all!) of us by clicking here, and we would be grateful for the chance to tell you more about what we are so excited about and ways that you can be a part of making it happen.