FMSC Container Arrives
After eight months, the long awaited 40 foot container from Feed My Starving Children arrived. As Thanksgiving is celebrated in the US, we are thankful for the thousands of nourishing fortified rice meals for the needy of Tanzania.
Later this month, an assessment will be made of two rural villages that have suffered the effects of drought and are desperately in need of food. Singida is a region that generally receives more consistent rains than Dodoma but this year both regions are in dire need.
Additional photos of unloading the FMSC container:
The opening of the container. The white bags are rice bags used by FMSC in the meal mixture. They will have many uses to people in the rural villages.
Amongst the boxes were many pieces of cardboard signed by children that helped pack the food. Here are a few of their messages.
Andrea and Tesha, our clearing agent that delivered the container to Dodoma from Dar, reading the messages found amongst the boxes from students that packed the food in Minnesota.
Unloading the container box by box.
The storage room where the entire 40 foot container will be stored for now.
The entire 40 foot container fit floor to ceiling into one of the storage rooms at the warehouse.
Uncle Mohammed was in Dodoma for a visit and helped carry boxes. He is one of the recipients of the food. He has eight of his own children and 7 orphans from his sister in law that recently passed away. One can only imagine the struggle to feed 17 people each day.
Floor to ceiling of boxes.
Each of the workers received six packets of food to take home. Mungwe is explaining preparation instructions.
One of our first recipients for food from this container is a man named Mwinyi. He is a husband and father of four children under the age of nine and is severly disabled. He will receive two boxes of food each month so that he will not have to rely on begging for food for his family as he does now. A more detailed story about an unexpected group that has helped Mwinyi with some other household items will soon appear on this site. If you are looking for a family to sponsor this Christmas they are great candidates.