Blog Post Seven
Q and A With Dan Broyles, The Returned
Have you seen the show "Manifest"? I started watching it when Dan was traveling to Tanzania this last July. I ended up loving the show (you should watch it if you haven't) but it was not the best to watch while my husband flew around the world and I was home without him...a little unnecessary anxiety!
Dan returned from Tanzania - overall a wonderful trip and we are very thankful he was able to go. I asked him questions and he wrote his responses. We hope this gives you a good glimpse into his time there and into what God has been up to inside the work we continue with vulnerable children.
What was the best part of your trip and why?
The best part about my trip was seeing Hilbert, Neema and the kids. Our second night in Tanzania, we planned a dinner to see them for the first time at one of Lindy and I’s favorite restaurant called P-Square. Just seeing them all again after two years of not being with them was my favorite moment of the trip. They all looked so healthy and so full of life with these great big smiles. It was so fun finally being with them and sitting down and sharing a meal with everyone. It was also great to have my dad there with me to share in that moment. We saw them several times over the course of our travels. Each visit was very special just to be with them and spend time with them. We took them to Mbudya Island for some fun in the sun and great seafood. We spent time at their house just hanging out and eating meals together. But that first time of seeing them was truly the highlight for me. It was so special and all glory to God for sustaining with ministry and making the children thrive.
What was the worst part of your trip and why?
The worst part of the trip was trying to leave the country to come home. Travelling internationally has become extremely stressful due to covid. Certain airlines require different types of covid tests and it is very confusing what the requirement actually are. If someone test positive, or maybe even a false positive, the person could be stuck for two weeks. So this entire part of the trip was very stressful. My dad and I got the rapid PCR test at Sea-Tac airport when we left for Dar because that is the only test that Emirates accepts. None of the airlines care if you are fully vaccinated, they just want to see a negative covid test result or else you are not getting on the plane.
The day we were supposed to leave Tanzania was on a Saturday and our flight was scheduled for 3:00 pm. I woke up in a total panic at 5:00 in the morning because I totally forgot we needed a covid test for our way home. The one we received at Sea-Tac was only good for 72 hours and it had definitely expired. It was totally my fault and I dropped the ball on double checking that we needed another test to leave. So we rushed to the airport at arrived there at around 7:45 am. We talked with the covid test inspector at the Dar airport and told us that we were not going to get on the flight. I explained we were vaccinated but he did not care and instructed to get the PCR test at the main international school’s clinic, which was across the town.
We then rushed to clinic. By now it was 8:30 when we reached the clinic and requested a PCR test, which is the only test that Emirates will accept. There are other tests that you can get where it is much cheaper and the results are much faster, but Emirates only wanted the PCR and the technology does not exist in Tanzania for a rapid one like they had at Sea-Tac. My dad and I paid the clinic and government fees, received the test and were told the sample was going to be delivered to government run lab and the results should be available within the next 24 to 48 hours which is normal for that test. When I heard the “government run lab” part of that sentence, in the back of the mind, just from past experience living there, I knew something was gonna get screwed up.
We raced back to the airport in a vain last ditch effort to convince the Emirates people to let us on the flight. I thought when I received the vaccine back in April that travelling internationally was going to be a slam dunk and I was very wrong. Turns out nobody cares if you’ve been vaccinated at all, they just want to see the negative test. We returned to the hotel feeling very defeated and Lindy encourage me to just worship and Jesus will come through. God always shows up in our moment of weakness when all human effort and strength has evaporated. The situation was completely out of our hands which is such an uncomfortable place to be and your flesh is just raging. That is the moment when we need to get our knees and say “Jesus, You have to do this.” It’s so incredibly uncomfortable but when God shows up, He takes all the glory because you know in your heart of hearts it was all Him and He gets all the credit.
We woke up the next morning, ate breakfast, and was instructed to call the government run lab to get our results. Once again our flight left at 3:00. I called at 11:00 and they told me the result were in, but that I did not pay my government fee so they were not going to release the results to me!!!! I totally paid them at the clinic the day before. So, we went back to the clinic and one of nurses there helped us out and she was amazing. She worked so hard to the results released for us. So what we learned was that the payment system for receiving money at the government lab had crashed the day before, see I knew something was going to get screwed up. That is why they did not receive the money and it was still down. It was noon when we found out that little tidbit of information. The nurse continued to work on getting the results released. It was approaching 2:00 and I was getting on the KLM website about to pay a lot of money for airplane tickets for that night. Lindy was at home not being able to sleep, it was 4:00 in the morning, because I was giving her updates on the situation. We kept praying and all of the sudden the nurse declared, “The results came in and they are negative.” We cheered in the lobby of the clinic and rushed to our taxi. The taxi driver drove us on the streets of downtown Dar es Salaam going over 100 kilometers per hour, so over 60 mph 😊. It was another miracle we didn’t die in a fiery car crash just getting to the airport, geez. Jesus came through as He always does and we got to the airport with plenty of time to get our gate. I snapped this picture to Lindy as proof that we were actually there at the airport and ready to take off. God is so good!!
How would you describe Hilbert and Neema and the family after not seeing them for so long?
Hilbert and Neema have truly grown to love these children as their own. It is very apparent just walking into their house that it is a place of love and safety for these children. They take such good care of these children and it definitely feels like a team effort. The children call them baba (which means dad in Swahili) and mama and there has been a deep loving bond between these children and them. The house has been in need of some repairs and it was good to be there to get a first-hand look at what needed to be fixed. Overall the home was very much the same as it had been when we moved back to the states a couple of years ago now. Hilbert continues to work for us although his roles and responsibilities will start to change (more on that in a bit) and Neema still works for Hopac as a cleaner. Their two biological children, Emmanuel and Jenny, are doing great but we unfortunately did not get to see them because they were in boarding school he entire time we were there.
Hilbert and Sianna welcoming at their gate
What are you learning about orphan care in Tanzania?
Since being reconnected with Julie Walton (as mentioned in our previous update) and being introduced to her colleague, Ashlee Heiligman, whom both work for Global Child Advocates or GCA (here is their website for more information globalchildadvocates.org), I have learned a lot of more about best practices when it comes to orphan care. I also had the pleasure of an in-person meeting with Georgina Harris Hill who is the founder of a nonprofit in Tanga, Tanzania called Pamoja Leo. Here is their website for more information: pamojaleo.org. It is the mission of these ministries to empty orphanages by either reuniting orphans with family members when possible or having them live with “fit person” families, which is much like our foster care system here in the U.S. but a more permanent setting for the children.
After ongoing conversation with GCA and Pamoja Leo, I have learned from research-based statistics that 90% of “orphan” children have a relative living nearby, and in some situations their biological mom or dad. Many times children are dropped off at orphanages for various reasons. One common reason is that their biological mom and dad could not financially take care of them anymore, or the mom, dad or relative see these institutions as a better life for the child. Actually what happens in most of these places severally damage the children’s emotional stability and maturity causing children to be hindered in their ability to make healthy connections with people in their lives. For so long this mindset, especially in third world countries, of putting kids in orphanages as the fix-all solution for children who appear to be without a mom, dad, or extended family, has become second nature. The mindset says it is much easier to just toss a kid into an orphanage than doing to the hard work of hiring a social worker, tracking down family members or training fit persons as an alternative to these institutions. Yes, having a child live in an orphanage is better than living on the street. However, research has suggested that if a child can live with a relative or a loving fit person family, the child’s ability to have healthy emotional connections, proper social development and overall success in life are greatly increased when compared to growing up in an orphanage setting.
While we were living in Tanzania, Lindy and I did not know much about any of this research or about either of these groups and what they were up to. We just followed the Lord Jesus the best way we knew how at the time and knewa that He would take care of us which He totally has done. Now that we’ve talked with people who actually have social welfare degrees and are familiar with international law regarding orphans, we want to change our current model of the orphan home into something that resembles what GCA and Pamoja Leo are doing. We want to do what is best for the development and well-being of these children that we minister to. We want to start breaking the mindset that an orphanage is the best and easiest option for kids. The local government, whom we have a relationship with, would love nothing better than to cram our little house full of kids until it becomes just any other orphanage. I have explained many times that this is not the purpose of what we are trying to do. This relates to a past update from Lindy about playing by rules that we did know existed. However, Tanzanian law does say that if someone is fit-person certified, they are only allowed to have 2 to 3 children in the home at once and no government official can say boo about that.
When are you planning to go back?
As of right now, the whole family is planning on returning to Tanzania this coming June. This will be for a longer stay of about 3 weeks to a month and possibly bring a couple of our students. We would have loved to bring a group of students and people (like all of you!) but with the covid situation we don’t feel like this is a good time. With Dan’s return to the country being as it was, traveling with a large group has the potential for many problems with covid test and such. We will continue to pray and plan for a time to take a group – hoping for that to be soon!
What are your needs at this time?
1) Please pray we get legally certified and quickly!!
In my meetings with Georgina, I also learned that Moyo Wakila Mama is not technically a legally licensed orphan home through the government of Tanzania. We are missing proper documentation that involves paperwork with stamps and signatures. Hilbert and Neema completed the Fit Persons Training this week – praise Jesus for the organization and completion of this process! Hilbert said they had a wonderful time and enjoyed the class. We will be hearing more about this later this week and I will write with an update there.
Their completing this class will now allow for us to become fully certified, which is a huge answer to prayer already!
2) Pray for a Tanzanian social worker to come on board with us.
Georgina explained that one of the most valuable people to have on your team when doing this type of ministry is a great Tanzanian social worker. They have been trained in setting up case plans for each child, networking to help track down potential family members, fit-person trainings, and exit strategies for children who have grown up and ready to live on their own. At this time, God has provided a social worker who would like to volunteer their time as their mission – such an amazing gift! Please pray that she would be able to begin her visits soon and begin relationship with the family.
3) Pray that Jesus would call people from the local church in Tanzania to become fit persons so we can expand this ministry in Dar es Salaam.
Our prayer is to have an established ministry that is sustainable and replicable in the area of Dar es Salaam where we used to live. That Jesus would call so many families to receive this training that we could start emptying out the bigger orphanages and place every child in loving and nurturing home environments. Where there would not be a need for the orphanage model anymore in Dar, but that every child would be either reunified with a family member or placed in a fit-person home.
