Story The Project Canaan - Heart for Africa
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Project Canaan The
Story
The ingdom of
Swaziland
The Kingdom of Swaziland is a landlocked country In this orphan headed household there are no funds
in Africa, bordered on the north, south and west to pay school fees, so the children stay home and
by South Africa, and on the east by Mozambique are not educated. They cannot work and have no
and is slightly smaller than the state of New Jersey. money for food and so the cycle of poverty and AIDS
Swaziland is one of the only true absolute monarchies continues as they sell themselves to men to survive.
existing in the world today with King Mswati III hold-
ing supreme judicial, executive, and legislative pow- The statistics are staggering:
ers since 1989. The country is made up of one tribe Q The highest HIV/AIDS rate in the world at 42.6%
and one language (siSwati) and can boast of being the Q Estimated 200,000 orphaned children in a
only African nation to have never been at war. Swazis country the size of New Jersey
are a peaceful and gentle people living in a beautiful Q 15,000 orphaned headed households
and mountainous country that is known as the “Swiss Q One pediatrician in the entire country
Alps of Africa”. Q Life expectancy has decreased from 61 years
of age in 2003 to 32 years of age in 2010
Swaziland is a Christian nation which also has very Q The population has decreased from 1.1 million
deep roots in traditional religious beliefs (often in 2005 to 950,000 in 2010
referred to as witchcraft). Christianity was
introduced to Swaziland not by white missionaries as Perhaps the most sobering comment was made in
in other African nations, but in a vision given to the a Swaziland newspaper: “Without significant and
first king of Swaziland as he lay sleeping one night immediate international intervention, there will
in the early 1800’s. In this vision, King Somhlolo was be no adults living in Swaziland by the year 2020.”
told that people would come who had pointed noses
and straight hair like horsetails. These people would Statistics from: Nercha, Swazi Observer 2009, CIA
come bearing two objects—an umculu (which means Handbook
“the book of the song”) and an indingilisa (a circular
object of metal—a coin). The king asked the being
what to do and was instructed to spurn the circular
object (money) and to embrace the book. In 1844 a
group of the King’s warriors set off to find the people
of The Book and their journey lead them to a mis-
sionary station in South Africa where they were given
The Bible.
The economy and life expectancy of Swaziland has
taken a downward turn with the onset of the HIV/
AIDS pandemic. Swaziland quickly became the coun-
try with the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the
world of 42.6%. The disease is most often brought
into the homestead by the husband who has been
away from home working in the mines or on farms
and who has not remained faithful to his wife (or in
the case of polygamists, his multiple wives). Each wife
becomes infected with HIV and within months the
man dies, followed quickly by the women. The re-
sult is disastrous, as dozens of children are now left
alone or with a grandmother. The children become
orphaned and very vulnerable to predators of all
kinds.
Project Canaan
Project Canaan is a 2,500 acre large-scale land will provide them a chance to live and grow as well as
development project being designed by business be educated to help break the cycle of ignorance and
people to come alongside Africans and bring poverty in their generation.
expertise, resources and heart together to find a
holistic solution to a complex set of issues. It will Farm Director: Kaleli Mulli, a native Kenyan,
provide training and employment, grow large amounts is a crop scientist and business strategist whose
of food to stimulate the local economy and allow for work focuses on the planning and development of
export while supporting orphans and vulnerable sustainable agricultural concepts. He graduated from
children on the property and across the nation. There The University of Nairobi with a BSc. Agriculture
are two sides to this development project, the first is degree (crop science major) and then worked for
the farm side and the second is the children side. three years in crop production before enrolling as
an MBA student at Daystar University, Nairobi. He
later graduated with a double major in finance and
The Project Canaan Farm (PCF) will have
strategic management in 2008 as one of the top
multiple approaches to agriculture utilizing both
students in his class.
outdoor and greenhouse crop production, fish
farming, dairy farming, the raising of chickens and
Kaleli’s work in Kenya and Swaziland includes the
goats, coffee, and the production of fruit wherever
development of greenhouses to establish climate
possible on the land. The proceeds from farming
change projects with annual production of one
will be used to help Project Canaan be a sustainable
million trees. He has been engaged in the planning
community, as well as help support existing children’s
and development of a 60,000 square yard state of the
homes that Heart for Africa has partnered with.
art computerized hydroponics system and several
water dams with combined water capacity of over half
The Project Canaan Children (PCC) a billion liters at the Mully Children’s Family Home
program will provide a safe haven for orphans and in Kenya.
vulnerable children. Children’s homes and schools
will be developed and Kaleli speaks and communicates fluently in
built to provide for the English, Kamba, Swahili, German and is currently in
ever-growing number the process of learning siSwati which is the main
of orphans being left language spoken in Swaziland. He is the author of the
in the wake of the Project Canaan Business Plan and currently lives at
AIDS pandemic. This Project Canaan in Swaziland.
Farm Director Kaleli Mulli, a native Kenyan, is a crop scientist and business strategist whose
work focuses on the planning and development of sustainable agricultural concepts.
In The
Beginning
Land Dedication
On June 21, 2009, the land was officially
dedicated to the glory of God. A small clear-
ing was made out of the dense brush for the
celebration, which was attended by the children
from the Heart for Africa partner Children’s
Homes and friends from around the world.
Land Clearing
Immediately following the dedication we
began clearing a place for the Farm Managers
Building (living quarters for 16 workers and a
family) and the first 30 acres for crops.
Farm Managers Building
The Farm Managers Building was complete
by October 2009 and a team of farm experts
arrived from the Mully Children’s Family
home in Kenya to begin the farm.
First
30 Acres
The land was cleared, strings were used to
make straight rows and seeds were planted
by hand, then the rains began. Record
rains helped produce a record yield with
maize reaching ten feet tall. The maize was
harvested in March 2010 and resulted in a
bumper crop.
Ten percent of the First Harvest was distributed
to our three partner children’s homes and
to the 30 church partners in the most rural
and impoverished areas of Swaziland. The
balance of the maize is being “sold” to donors
on the heartforafrica.org website.
With each $50 donation a 110 pound bag
of ground maize flour (which will feed 225
children) is delivered to the partner church to
help feed orphans in their community. This
supports the self-sustainability initiative of the
farm and feeds hungry children through the
local church. All proceeds from the sale of the
maize have gone to fund the next planting on
Project Canaan.
Ot her
Progress
Chapel
On July 17, 2010, we dedicated the chapel on Project
Canaan to the glory of God. The chapel is a place of
peace just as the land itself is a place of hope.
The plaque reads:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your
own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and
He will direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
On July 24, 2010, the Norman Borlaug Memorial
Park was dedicated on Project Canaan in memory of
Dr. Norman Borlaug who is credited with feeding two
billion people around the world with his advanced
farming techniques as we too plan to use advanced
farming techniques to maximize our ability to feed
the hungry and generate income.
Farm Offices were constructed using four
shipping containers that carried goods to Swaziland
from the US.
Tractors
Two brand new John Deere tractors were
donated, including one from the Rotary Clubs
of North Fulton, Carrollton and the Carrollton
Dawnbreakers in Georgia who worked in
partnership with the Rotary Club of Mbabane
Mbuluzi, Swaziland.
Backhoe
Thanks to this new heavy equipment we were able
to install 75 miles of drip irrigation so that we can
successfully plant and harvest three crops per year.
Agriculture
Project Canaan has three distinct growing zones ISO Building
that will allow a diverse list of consumable and A state of the art food packaging facility is critical for
exportable products to be grown. Greenhouses, shade Project Canaan to achieve high levels of profitability
areas and seedling gardens allow for short and long through export. This ISO* building will serve the han-
term planning. In 2010, 40,000 vegetable seedlings dling, grading, packing and cold storage of fresh farm
were started and 30,000 of those seedlings were produce. The 4,520 sq. ft. facility will be a HACCP**
planted by Heart for Africa teams at our 30 rural and GLOBAL GAP certified processing facility. The
church partner’s gardens. two certification processes are dependent on ISO
standards. The facility will include a grading room
Vegetables: 90 acres of outdoor production with the capacity of sorting over 25,000 pounds of
packaged vegetables will yield 9-1/2 tons of food for vegetables per day. A cold room will have the capacity
orphans and vulnerable children as well as 635 tons to store 75,000+ pounds of produce, which will enable
for export which will provide $900,000+ in profits to longer shelf life of farm produce for export. Daily
be used to handle ongoing expenses in the homes and audit protocols will be followed in the sorting and
on the farm. Once fully developed, Project Canaan packing of produce to insure that all international
will have 500+ acres of ground crops and 16-20 acres regulations are strictly followed.
of greenhouses.
* International Standards of Operation
Coffee is the second largest agricultural commod- ** Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Points
ity in the world and employs over 25 million people
worldwide. The Project Canaan Coffee
Company will grow 10 acres of premi-
um coffee. This coffee will be grown,
roasted, packaged and shipped directly
from the farm. Each farming initiative
provides training and employment
opportunities and increases export opportunities for
the Kingdom.
Moringa trees: The Moringa tree foliage and fruit
pods are rich sources of calcium, iron, vitamins A, B,
C and protein. Dried, crushed leaves will provide a
healthy supplement for malnourished children and
adults alike.
Fruit trees: Commercial and indigenous trees
will provide healthy fruit for consumption and an
additional source of income through export.
Agriculture
Project Cana an Land Map
Fish Farming Long-Term El Roi
Crops Volunteer Housing Baby Home
Entrance Gate
Also in progress:
Large Dam Kufundza-Training Center
Farm workers housing
Dairy Medical Clinic
2,500 acres
1,000 hectares
Farm Manager
Building
Chapel 
El Roi
Baby Home
The first home for babies is being built in memory Future plans include
of Jared Birk from Cape Girardeau, Missouri, who homes for the children
went home to be with God at the tender age of two. to grow up in and
The name “El Roi” is a Hebrew name for “the God schools for them to
who sees me”. This was chosen knowing that most obtain an education.
of the babies who come to this home will have been
abandoned under trees, in pit latrines Kuthula Place: The mental and physical health
or on the roadside by mothers who of caregivers is very important for the health and
had no hope for their survival or well being of the children. Kuthula Place (“Place of
future. We hope to have the building Rest” in siSwati) is designed to be a quiet room for
and plan finished by September 2011 caregivers who are living with and caring for the
for the first baby to arrive. children. It will have a day bed, toilet/shower facility,
quiet room and small kitchen facility.
El Roi Baby Home
Kuthula Place
Long -Term
Volunteers
A long term volunteer home will be built with five environment for individual, couples and small
individual units and two dorm style rooms with specialty volunteer groups
a common kitchen. This will provide a safe
In phase three, individual huts called “Ka” in
siSwati will be built for people living and working
permanently on the farm or with the children.
The e y to Li fe and Grow th
Water
Before the rain After the rain
One of the questions most often asked is “do you have
water on Project Canaan?” and the simple answer is
“YES! And lots of it!” The more complicated answer
is that we have water, but don’t have it where we
need it when we need it. There is one rainy season in
Swaziland that usually lasts from November to March.
Africa is always subject to drought, but when the rain
falls we receive an average of 23 inches during the
season, which means we can only grow food during
that season without irrigation. Two boreholes have
also been drilled and water was successfully found
at only 30 feet below the surface.Two dams holding
approximately 50 million gallons of water have been
built to capture the rain so that it can be used for
irrigation. During the first days of rain these dams
filled in only three days.
A third and larger dam will be critical to provide
70 million gallons of water to irrigate the farm
expansion that is planned in 2012. The new dam will be
65 feet high, 250 feet long, 280 feet wide at the base,
and 26 feet wide at the top. This dam will also be used
for the aquaculture – the growing of Tilapia for a
source of protein for the children and for export.
A year-round 250 foot waterfall is located at the top
of the property that can be used in the future to
generate hydroelectric power for the farm and that
we can sell back to the grid to generate a profit.
Irrigation: In 2011 drip irrigation is being installed in
the first 30 acres of land. This requires that we dig
5-½ miles of trenching (3 ft deep x 2 ft wide) to install
the piping. Then 75 miles of drip irrigation tape will
be laid on those fields, which will allow us to plant
and harvest up to three crops per year. The cost of the
first phase of this project is $280,000 and includes
the building of two pump houses that will be able to
provide for all 90 acres once funds become available.
The
Future
Training Center: The Kufundza (“learning” in
siSwati) Center will be used to teach and train young
Swazi adults the skills needed to gain employment
and provide for their families. It will include a
carpentry shop and a multi-purpose classroom.
HOW? Women’s Center: HOW is an acronym for
“Helping Orphans and Widows”. This building will
be a training and employment center for women to
teach sewing and jewelry making and will also include
a multi-purpose room for teaching about hygiene,
family planning and other important issues.
Goats: Raising goats will provide employment for
their caregivers. Goats clear land of weeds and other
unwanted vegetation as they graze, reproduce quickly
and abundantly, and provide nourishing milk for the
babies and meat for the children when needed.
Poultry House: There are over 50 billion chickens
grown each year as a source of food. We will start
with a small poultry farm with two coops housing
500 broiler chickens and 500 laying chickens. Meat
and eggs from the chickens will provide food for the
children and income for the farm.
Dairy: Swaziland consumes over 15 million gallons
of milk annually but produces only 2 million gallons
internally, requiring them to import 13 million gallons
of milk each year. The government encourages milk
production and processing because the current
processing plants are already at maximum capacity.
Fish Farming: Our goal is to build a fully operational
fish farm that will provide a high protein food source
for our orphans and vulnerable children as well as
profit through local sales. Further development will
include cage farming and will allow for significant
export and profitability.
Renewable energy: We hope to be able to generate
hydroelectric power by harnessing waterpower from
the waterfall and we are investigating methane gas as
a bi-product of the dairy farm.
The
Medical and Dental Clinic
The goal of the clinic is to not only heal the people
of Swaziland physically through quality medical and
dental care, but also to heal their broken hearts and
downtrodden spirits… to give hope to the hopeless
in a nation in dire need of optimism. The need for
health care is obvious on Project Canaan and the
surrounding community, which is currently home to
3,500+ people. The area is rural in nature with little
access to medical care. The immediate need for medical
care became obvious when the construction of the El
Roi Baby Home became a reality. Most of the babies
that will be brought into this home will be distressed
and will need immediate medical attention to survive.
Services provided will include:
Q HIV testing, counseling and education
Q Minor emergency care for workers on
Project Canaan
Q Primary care to treat common ailments and
diseases indigenous to the area
Q General physical exams
Q Basic prenatal care and counseling
Q Care for the children in the children’s homes
Q Pharmaceutical dispensary
Q Dental and eye care
Q Laboratory
Q Minor day surgery
The “Litsemba Memorial Wall” (Litsemba - to those waiting for medical care. Each plaque
siSwati word for “hope”) will be located on the outer will be created for a donation of $5,000 and
wall of the clinic facing the outdoor waiting area. those funds will go towards the funding of
This outside wall will be filled with plaques in mem- the first year of operation. Other naming
ory of loved ones and, in addition to their name, a opportunities will be available for exam rooms and
special scripture or quote will provide encouragement dental operatories for a donation of $25,000 or more.
Drawing depicts Memorial Wall only and is not a reflection on the size or design of the clinic.
2011–2012
Development
Project Canaan Budget Funding
Development Plan 2011 - 2012 Needed
Phase II: 2011
Water:
Dam III $280,000.00 $220,000.00
Drip irrigation - first 30 acres $238,400.00
Pump house at dam to suck water into main pump house $ 11,600.00
Main pump house that pushes water to fiesds mixed with fertilizer $ 30,000.00
Water to the baby home and laundry facility $ 45,000.00
Water to the Long Term Volunteer area
Electricity:
Main pump house $ 11,500.00 $ 11,500.00
Dam pump house $ 20,000.00 $ 20,000.00
Borehole $6,500.00 $ 6,500.00
Children’s home area $ 20,100.00 $ 20,100.00
Volunteer’s home area $ 23,200.00 $ 23,200.00
Hire Construction Contractor
Build Long Term Volunteer Housing $210,000.00 $125,000.00
El Roi Baby Home $122,000.00
Kuthula Place $ 25,000.00
Farm Managers home
Building Managers home
Kufundza center, (Vocational Training Center)
Goat Pen $ 8,600.00
Poultry House $ 15,400.00 $ 13,600.00
ISO building $339,000.00 $294,000.00
Fire fighting Bowser $ 12,500.00
Greenhouse expansion
Plant coffee seeds in greenhouse
Plant 2nd crop using drip irrigation
Seedling Planter for tractor $ 21,800.00 $ 21,800.00
Bed maker for tractor $ 14,300.00 $ 14,300.00
Phase III: 2012
Medical & Dental clinic
Worker Housing (8 room) $ 47,000.00 $ 37,000.00
Toilet and shower block $ 22,000.00 $ 22,000.00
Kitchen block
Security office & compound
Fencing around security compound
Long Term Volunteer housing II
Main volunteer lodge
Coffee Shop - volunteer lounge
Clear 10 acres and transplant 8,000 Coffee bushes
Pre-School
H.O.W. woman’s work shop
Kufundza center, (Vocational Training Center) II
Drip irrigation for the next 25 acres
Clear 35 acres for more crops
El Roi Baby Home II
El Roi Baby Home III
1 Hectar hydroponic green house
Project Canaan is a Heart for Africa initiative in Swaziland.
If you would like more information or would like to
make a contribution please contact us at:
Heart for Africa Heart for Africa
13680 Highway 9N, G-400 PO Box 246, Department HOPE
Milton, GA 30004 Pickering, Ontario L1V 2R4
USA Canada
678-566-1589 1-800-901-7585
www.heartforafrica.org www.heartforafrica.caYou can also read
