Augustine Michael

Below is another profile of one of the kids that will be benefiting from your choices this month.

Augustine Michael, called “Ah-GUS-tin”, age 18



War rocked Southern Sudan throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and many South Sudanese fled to refugee camps in Northern Uganda. Augustine and his father were among those refugees, Augustine just a baby. In the camps traditional society broke down under the pressure of relocation and dependence on aid, so when Augustine’s father died in the hospital, he was left, orphaned and alone. He lived at the hospital until age 4, when a woman took him home to essentially be used as a servant. He was not attending school and often ran away back to the hospital, which he thought of as home.

After being placed in Amazing Grace, Augustine thrived. His grades have always been excellent, and his leadership skills have really developed in the atmosphere of caring for younger children. He is respected by the staff and children alike, and his ready smile and eagerness to help endears him to all.

Rice and Beans for a Mzungu in Tanzania

Reflections from Leisha Adams (Leisha is the Lahash Sponsorship Director and resides in Tanzania. You can visit her blog at http://leishainafrica.blogspot.com/)

At the beginning of the month, walk to the market to purchase the rice, beans, cooking oil, charcoal and kerosene. Spend several minutes in greetings with the owner of the booth of your preference, then buy several kilos of rice and several kilos of beans and a few litres of cooking oil. Walk to another shop to purchase a litre of kerosene, given in an abandoned water bottle. Walk to another shop to purchase a large bag of charcoal. Return home and store the food where cockroaches, lizards, and mice will not have access. Purchase carrots, onions, tomatoes, and green peppers from the local produce stand in the days before cooking.

On the day of the meal, measure the beans into a wide, flat basket and remove debris. Wash the beans thoroughly, and put in a large pot. Fill pot to the brim with water. Fill the charcoal burner with charcoal, and use small kindling to get a good, hot fire among the coals. Place the pot of beans on the burner. Bring to boil, and leave cooking until beans are soft. Drain off and reserve remaining water. Wash and chop up onions, carrots, green peppers, and grate tomatoes. Fry some onions in oil with the grated tomatoes and diced carrots and peppers. Leave cooking until soft, then add the beans, and cook for approximately ten minutes. Add salt and the reserved “bean water”. Cook for another several minutes until the water thickens into a kind of “soup”.

Measure the rice into the wide, flat basket. Pick out the small rocks, twigs, and bad grains. Pour the rice into a basin of water and wash thoroughly, then pull the rice out of the water by the handful, carefully pressing the water out of each handful. Place the rice in a pot with fresh water and a little oil. Fill the cooker with kerosene and raise the wicks. Light a match and hold to each of the eight kerosene-soaked wicks. Replace the cooking platform over the flame and place the pot of rice on the burner. Stir the rice occasionally until the grains start to absorb water, then cover and leave to cook until the rice has absorbed all of the water.

Move the beans and rice into serving dishes and carry to the table, where the cook is expected to pray for a blessing on the food. Load a plate with a heaping serving of rice, then cover the rice with the soup from the beans, then spoon the beans and veg over the rice.

If your appetite for the traditional “wali na maharage” is somewhat abated, a generous splash of Tabasco or local “pili pili” spice will give you a little different flavor and renew your enthusiasm for the national food of Tanzania.

Simplicity

Below are guest reflections from Cherish who is a volunteer part of the Rice and Beans team.


SIMPLICITY: Those of us who live in wealthier nations often eat for pleasure and eat in excess. We are going to eat a nutritious and simple meal to give up on wasteful consumption.

I was excited to return to diet similar to what I grew used to while living as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali, West Africa. Eating simply was the way of life and I couldn't imagine not being satisfied with what my host family worked for hours to fix in a huge kettle over a wood fire and were gracious enough to share with me day after day. Food was essential, but manners, conversation and blessings were the most important components of meals. Visiting the Philippines this winter reminded me of the joy of simple, communal meals. I hope that while I return to the simplicity I learned in Mali and The Philippines, I can focus my life here in America away from food and towards those I love, the world around me and my many blessings.

Tips from the Holcombs!

Week two of rice and beans at the Holcomb house! We were fortunate enough to test out this diet in December, so we have had a head start on ways to make it simpler to sustain. Here are some of our top tips to share with you:

1. Breakfast- eat it! I usually get really hungry around 10:30 am when I am waiting for my lunch of rice and beans, but breakfast helps soothe the rumbling in my stomach. We prefer a bowl of rice with cinnamon, sugar and raisins heated up with milk. Delicious, and not a bad smell to start the day. If you need a little more protein to get you through to lunch, try making Ful, a middle eastern bean dish served at breakfast.
   Ful Instructions: Take three cups of cooked kidney beans and blend them thoroughly in your food processor. Add 3 tablespoons of sesame oil and 2 teaspoons of cumin. Mix in completely. After blended, add chopped pieces of onion and tomato. Add salt to taste. Eat hot or cold. Yum.
   
   
2. Rinse your beans. Really, this will make a huge difference in your ability to digest them and avoid, well, gas. Rinse them thoroughly after being soaked, and throw out the soaking water. After cooking them, rinse them again and throw out the cooking water before adding vegetables, etc. With this strategy, we have eliminated the problem.
   
   
3. Make enough for tomorrow. Our rhythm of rice and beans is to make a large meal at dinner with enough for leftovers to have rice left for breakfast and servings to take to work for lunch the next day. Enjoy your leftovers, and cook another large dinner that night. You end up cooking once per day, but it feels like you have more variety without a lot of extra time.
   
   
4. Share with friends. Meals are meant to be shared, and simple meals are even better in good company. Invite people over. It is great to share suggestions with fellow participants and encourage each other along the way. We have found that those who are not participating in the event still enjoy experiencing the meal with us, and it makes for great table conversation.

Juan Catherine

The reason why we're doing this month is so that we can stand in solidarity and share with the kids in East Africa. Here's a profile of one of the kids that will be benefiting from your choices this month.

Juan Catherine, called Catherine, age 10

Some of the refugees from the war in Sudan made it all the way down to the capital of Uganda, Kampala, where they found themselves destitute without a community to support them. Catherine’s parents, two young street kids, were barely more than children and just trying to get enough food in their own bellies. They could not possibly take care of Catherine as well, and they heard that IWASSRU could give some help to South Sudanese children. Mama Susan accepted Catherine to the home for fear that she wouldn’t live much longer if left with her parents.

Catherine loves playing games, singing, and dancing. The children have several games that include sing-song directions to play along to, and Catherine is always ready to play. She does a really good job of including the very small children and neighbors in the games as well, and if there is a tickle fight going on, she is sure to be right in the middle of it. She is really bright and always busy with some job or play.

Eating Rice and Beans with the Haaks

This is a reprint of a post from last week at the Haaks blog. They've graciously agreed to let us repost it here. Visit them at their blog to see how their journey continues.

So we decided to join in the Eat Beans and Rice for a Month challenge, and tonight was the first night. Having 4 children makes it a bit more complicated in the taste bud arena. I'll get to that in a moment.

We are joining for several reasons,

1. We support in prayer the Schilperoorts (sp?). We have a passion for Africa and for the work they are doing there.

2. We want to educate our children about other countries and cultures and expose them to different ways of life.

3.We want to join our brothers and sisters in Jesus and eat like them for a month.

4. It'll save a lot of money and we want to donate it to Lahash International.

You can view the main blog at http://www.eatriceandbeans.com/

Everyone did better than expected. We started out by showing the kids a map of Africa and then showed them several other countries where rice and beans are a main staple. I asked them what animals are found in Africa. I got everything from giraffes, to bulls, to scorpions, to lions and so on. I was surprised at what they acctually knew.

Then I dropped "the bomb." "They even eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner!" Jaws dropped, and the look of incredulation was hilarious. You'd have thought I'd told them they eat slugs 3 times a day.

I was proud of them though. Everyone but Good Lookin' ate everything in their bowl. Nater Mater of course liked it. He loves rice and beans. Then again, he'll eat just about anything...including bugs off the floor.

I also served cheese quesedillas with their meal (except Mr. Smiley who can't have cheese. He ate a half a pbj). I figured they couldn't go completely hungry and the only rule was they had to take at least one bite. A rule at our house is, "try it before you don't like it." What got Precious Jewel and Mr. Smiley to eat all theirs was a promise of a piece of Valentine's candy after their meal. A little bribery goes a long way.
It will be interesting to see how the rest of the month goes.

Day 2 brought more complaints. Dear Precious Jewel asked if God could make everyone else in the world rich like us so that we could stop having to know what it was like for them. I told her that God doesnt' work that way. He gives us opportunities to share in each other's suffering. Eating rice and beans for supper for a month isnt true suffering. But on her little scale, it's apparently intense suffering. I promised they could each make a sandwich if they ate what was in their bowl.

Spicy Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup

I used this recipe as a template for a soup a few of us had last night and it was great! I made a handful of alterations based on what I had on hand and served it over rice to cut down how spicy it was.

Alterations:
1 can of Mexican green chili's instead of jalapenos
1 tsp fresh garlic instead of powder
1/2 the amount of chili powder (I ran out)
I didn't have cayenne so substituted it with couple shakes of red pepper flakes
Added some diced onion since I had it
Added 2 diced red potatoes partway through since I had them
I ran about half the beans/potatoes through a blender halfway through to thicken the soup

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spicy-Slow-Cooker-Black-Bean-Soup/Detail.aspx
Ingredients:
1 pound dry black beans, soaked overnight
4 teaspoons diced jalapeno peppers
6 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
Directions:
Drain black beans, and rinse.
Combine beans, jalapenos, and chicken broth in a slow cooker. Season with garlic powder, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, pepper, and hot pepper sauce.
Cook on High for 4 hours. Reduce heat to Low, and continue cooking for 2 hours, or until you are ready to eat.