Children in grades one through four who attend Sabbath School classes at North Cascade Church in Burlington, Wash., raised funds to provide chicken flocks for caregivers of orphaned children in Tanzania.
This was part of the primary Sabbath School's mission focus and represented an active partnership with Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA).
"My sister and I helped my mom babysit," says Makena VonBergen, a first-grader. "We raised $80 for the chicken flocks."
Leili VonBergen, a fourth-grader, worked with a friend to make hand-knit scarves and asked for permission to sell the scarves at Skagit Adventist School. "We told our classmates and teachers about what ADRA is doing to help orphans in Tanzania with the chicken flocks," she says.
In order to learn about ADRA's world impact, the students received geography lessons, studied ADRA's different focuses in various countries and tasted ethnic cuisine. They also gained knowledge of culture through viewing collections and clothing lent by church friends.
Altogether, the children earned more than $750 — enough for five complete chicken flocks, including coops, setup and education. Their enthusiasm for this project was at its height as they participated in creating a DVD of their accomplishment for their church family.
"It's fun thinking of the kids' happy faces when they get our chicken flocks," says Madisen Argueta, a fourth-grader.
The North Cascade Church primary class holds nests of plastic eggs representing the average amount of eggs their five Tanzanian flocks of chickens could lay in a week.
