In the summer of 2006, Carson Stewart and I set out on an African Adventure. The crown jewel of that adventure was climbing to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, and though that experience exceeded my wildest expectations in virtually every way, author Tom Bissel explains in the New York Times that the mountain guides often come to it with a much different perspective:

Here we were attempting to insert a 19,340-foot mountain into some perceived ontological hole in our lives. Helping us would be a small army of Tanzanians. For us, the mountain was a challenge. For them, the mountain was a daily, unmysterious fact of life, pictured on their beer bottles and laundry detergent boxes. It was, indeed, one of their largest employers.

With Kilimanjaro being a primary source of tourism, and the spending that comes along with it, mountain guides have a coveted job. As you might imagine, they're not easy jobs to get. It takes communication skills, completion of guide school, knowledge of the wilderness and wildlife, and basic medical skills, among other things.

Our guide on the climb - PrayGod Munguatosha Mtui - had all of these skills, but perhaps just as important, he was (and is) an incredibly kind, humble and trustworthy friend. After all, we trusted him with our lives and safety and he certainly didn't disappoint. Indeed, PrayGod's friendship was one of the most rewarding experiences of my African journey.

Yet we also saw, firsthand, the poverty and violence that PrayGod and his family had to endure. In 2004, the average per capita income was a mere $300 per year, or roughly $6 a week. As a mountain guide PrayGod was shouldered with the difficult responsibility of providing for both his immediate and extended family in a world where the only certainty was uncertainty. The stress and heartache was impossible to ignore.

So when PrayGod wrote to us seeking assistance in his quest to start raising cattle, and thereby work toward lifting his family out of poverty, Carson and I were more than happy to help. I call it "Project PrayGod" and this page is dedicated to helping him.

Banda and Cow No. 1

The first phase was to build a banda (a barn) for the cows. After sending a bit of seed money, we got the first image below, on the left, featuring the banda's early development. The door and floor weren't quite done, but you could get a sense of where it's headed. The second picture, on the right, features the the first cow and its proud owner.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

After sending additional monies to help PrayGod along, he was able to purchase a second cow, and one of them became pregant. His total number of cows grew to three; a picture of PrayGod and the cows is below.

All of his hard work paid off, for on 14 April 2008, we received the following message:

"Ihope that your fine my side iam okay brother joshua my project its relly fine iam succed to save 22500 for the milk which isold the money i save it enable my young sister for school fees at the last team because she expect to do national exam in november.so until juni i expect to save half of money for another my young sister who also she is in secondary school.
Best regard
praygod"

In short, cows have been the gift that keeps on giving. Thanks to this wise investment PrayGod has been able to provide valuable schooling for his sister.

Future Assistance

If you would like to help assist PrayGod in his endeavors, please click the link below. Your donations and name will be sent to PrayGod when we next send contributions.