Medicinal Plant found in our school- Croton Macrostachyus and Cajuns

We wanted to fill you in on a new addition to our medicinal garden at Heartbeat Farm-Croton Macrostachyus 

It has has a wide range of uses, including timber, agroforestry, medicine (mixed with other plants to make poultry medicine), and as an ornamental plant. 

The plant is fast-growing and drought-tolerant, and is used in reforestation projects, for erosion control, and as a shade tree in arid and semi arid area.

Cajans are popularly known as pigeon peas. The pigeon pea is a perennial legume from the family Fabaceae native to the Eastern Hemisphere. The pigeon pea is widely cultivated in tropical and semitropical regions around the world mainly in Arid and semi arid lands , being commonly consumed in South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Cajans are used in food poisoning, as colic and in constipation. The  pigeon pea leaves are used to staunch blood, as an analgesic and to kill parasites. In some parts of India, the leaf, seeds and young stems are used to cure gingivitis, stomatitis and as a toothbrush.

Some Health Benefits of Pigeon Peas include:

  • Pigeon Peas Maintains blood pressure. 

  • Pigeon Peas Prevents Anaemia. 

  • Pigeon Peas Assist in growth. 

  • Pigeon Peas helps in losing weight. 

  • Pigeon Peas Boost energy. 

  • Pigeon Peas aids immunity power.

  • Pigeon Peas for healthy heart. 

  • Pigeon Peas better for digestive health

Christmas Wishlist 2019

Hello Everyone,

What a joy it is for us to greet you all and to share a little about the wonderful work that God is doing in Bura, Kenya, and well beyond, with the support of your financial gifts and prayer. It has been such a wonderful year, with our Kenyan Team often using words such as “marvelous”, “life-changing”, “outstanding”, and “miraculous” in their calls and messages to us. The brand new 'free tuition' pre-school has set a precedent in the area and among the villagers. Even the local government departments are talking about the work that is going on through Heartbeat's love and relationship with the people. Indeed, the lovely letter we received from the Ministry of Education, giving us permission to build a school, emphasized that it was the relationship with the people that helped us to win their approval. We bless the Lord!

Heartbeat Ministries Preschool

Heartbeat Ministries Preschool

The school is opening soon with an enrolment of 40 little ones and two teachers. We will also provide security and a principal for the school. Oliver who is qualified through his university degree will stand as our Principal and Headmaster. The children chosen to attend will begin with those little ones who have never had the opportunity to go to school due to a lack of funds. Some will be as old as 8 or 9 years. When there is no money, the child cannot go to school. Until now! Our school will teach the proper curriculum with the wonderful news of a loving Father who adopts every orphan and makes them His own.

Heartbeat wants to offer each of you the opportunity to take part in this exciting new plan through a monthly donation of $ 40 CAD which can be automatically debited from your account, through e-transfer, or through PayPal on our website. This donation will supply a uniform to the child, a mattress for their rest time, workbooks, school supplies, food for their lunch meal, and all the other expenses incurred throughout the year. If you are willing to help, please call Elaine at 902-865-4714, Tammy at 902-865-4861, or email at tammymurphy7@gmail.com.

Freshly picked tomatoes

Freshly picked tomatoes

We have also been planting gardens for food all year round. It is the custom to plant twice a year, which are their growing seasons, but with encouragement, our Kenyan Team has been planting this year, differently, and rotating crops with amazing results! We are so excited to see their joy as the crops continuously grow, providing food. They also expect a wonderful crop of fruit from the orchard after a good pruning this year to the mango and orange trees and they have added new trees to the crop such as banana and other fruit.

Local clinic sponsorship in October 2019

Local clinic sponsorship in October 2019

Our team plan to go to the farm this year in February. All of the fruit should be ripening, the school will be opening, and there is much to do. We are presently planning to take a small medical team with a local doctor who has shown a real interest in helping out with local clinics and visits to the outlying villages. Heartbeat helped sponsor a local clinic in Bura this past October, and many sick and suffering turned out for free medical care! We partnered with the local Anglican church and the Clinic. Many were able to be treated, but others returned home disappointed. We are believing that a longer clinic will give us the opportunity to help many people living in rural villages and in the bush!


A group of Mama’s with their new fencing.

A group of Mama’s with their new fencing.

The fencing project for widows and Mamas in the local areas is also going strong. These Mamas come to the Shamba (Farm) to work so that they can earn a fence to protect their gardens from rummaging animals. They are so happy to have hope again for a crop undisturbed by taking home a fence!

Steven & a group of Mama’s around a newly built Keyhole Garden.

Steven & a group of Mama’s around a newly built Keyhole Garden.

With many other projects on the go and vision for so much more, this whole area is being transformed and mobilized as they see and witness that they can have an opportunity too to change their lives. We are very happy to include with our letter a few pictures of our latest exciting projects!

Gardens on the Shamba.

Gardens on the Shamba.

We welcome any donation, for any of these projects or one dear to your heart. We also pray that you and your family will enjoy a Christmas filled with hope and belief that Jesus' presence changes lives everywhere. His love, spread in our own communities and even in countries abroad, still tells the story,

"For God so loved the world…"

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Update on our children's feeding program from Oliver

Hello! It is my hope that you are doing very well! We thank God for the more and more of His presence here at the farm as we continue to serve Him. 

I want to thank the donors and the Heartbeat Ministries for the wonderful work you are doing to try and support education of these young future leaders. The impact of the food support is just like daylight! Three of the pre schools which had called off  their lunch programs are now back with not only the lunch but as well the 10 am porridge which now we have donated milk to add nutrients to the food.

After we distributed food to the two schools which were to be considered first, we were left with some kg of beans and 25kg for rice and 2 milk cartons. We decided to consider Kituma pre-school which is also in our list. The school has so many other challenges apart from food. The kids have no toilets or mattresses to nap in the afternoon as required. We gave the little we had but promised to start with them when we have more donations. 

The food situation is so concerning that we need God to help us through it. So far we have reached out to 52 kids with the 40,000ksh donation. So wonderful.

Here is a photo of the kids receiving food!

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"A picture is worth a thousand words"

"A picture is worth a thousand words"

In these few pictures, we are trying to give you a small view of three separate pre-schools, whose children  suffer with lack of water & food, to the point that some of them are fainting at school. Several are ill due to malnutrition. We cannot help but want to do something. 

Our team in Kenya, have visited the schools and shared with us the conditions at the schools and with the children. I learned today that one school had decided to send the little ones home at 11:00 as there is no food to feed them at school. Most pre-schools try to give the children porridge with milk, and a little sugar, at morning break, and also some protein, like beans at lunchtime, if they have any.  But there is no food and unfortunately, for many, there is also no food at home either.

 

 

Daily Update

From Oliver:

Yesterday morning, a local media House from voi broadcasting in Taiga covered news about heartbeat ministries. ANGUO FM. They emphasised the need for the county government to support heartbeat ministries.

Again I got a chance to book an appointment with the county minister for education to introduce our project to him. We are meeting on Thursday morning in his Wundanyi office.

More parents kept coming from different places to present there requests for sponsorship of their children. We are still praying for a miracle to sort these many application. Our God is big and will Glorify Himself through the situation. 

Bless you