It's good to be able to report on the things God has been doing these last couple of weeks here, but the sheer amount worthy of reporting is a daunting task, so this is an attempt to mention some highlights.
The appropriate technologies that SIFAT teaches are world renowned and are leading the way in producing solutions to many of the problems faced by the developing world, such as malnutrition, impure water, sustainable shelter, etc. Community leaders from 87 different nations have been trained in and have taken back to their homes the various technologies that SIFAT specializes in, and the results have been overwhelming. It's because of these results that SIFAT is regarded as one of the top organizations in the nation addressing third world community development. It goes without saying, then, how much of a blessing it is for these students to have the opportunity to learn the exact same material regarding appropriate technology that is being taught to international community leaders. These students are being equipped with this knowledge not so much to use in their own communities, but more so to expose them to the idea of "appropriate technology"; to show them the difference between helping people and empowering people to help themselves; to get them thinking about what it means to live appropriately.
Jeremy Hall leads a group of students at SIFATS training campus
Along with the technologies, SIFAT offers the opportunity for students to experience life in a rural developing nation environment through the global village located on campus. This village, which holds ten different living environments from different developing nations around the world, gives the students an opportunity to live out a period of time similar to how it might be lived out in the nation being represented. Its one thing to tell a student how families live in Ecuador, but when the student gets to feel the same feelings and experience things an Ecuadorian experiences, the student finds empathy, which equipps and motivates, rather than sympathy, which doesn't require much action, for 85% of the world who live in a situation similar to that.
SIFAT offers more moments of refreshment than anywhere else I could imagine. It has been a wellspring for my soul thus far, and I am confident in the fact that it will continue to be so for myself and those coming here after me. More to come
Love always
Jeremy Hall
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