Training – Field Study: A Night in the SlumsOur May Field Study is currently being held on SIFAT’s campus May 12-25. Sarah Murphree, SIFAT co-founder Sarah Corson’s great-niece, is a participant this year. She will be blogging about her experience and giving readers a glimpse of what types of appropriate technologies and community development topics are being presented, as well as a look into who some of the participants are. A 2012 graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Sarah recently directed and produced two short films, one taking first place in the 2013 Nashville Film Festival. She is currently working on her third film, a documentary about Camp Koinonia.
Tonight was a night I shall never forget. It was my first time to experience the slums at SIFAT. The Slum Experience is a program offered at SIFAT where high school students, adult leaders and college-aged staff experience life in the slums. During global training, we get a taste of this. Tonight was that night. Addison Shock, Learn & Serve director, divided us into families and led us down the wooded path to the slums where we would stay for three hours. We had no knowledge of where we were going or what to expect. This is how the majority of people enter the slums. People don’t choose to live here. Often times, they come across the slums in search of a place of safety. People never expect to stay here long, but with little knowledge of what else is out there and where to go, sometimes the slums seems like a diamond in the ruff.
 SIFAT’s Urban Slum simulates what life may be like for an estimated one billion people in the world. Training-Field Study: Greens Powder – the Next Cure to World Hunger?Our May Field Study is currently being held on SIFAT’s campus May 12-25. Sarah Murphree, SIFAT co-founder Sarah Corson’s great-niece, is a participant this year. She will be blogging about her experience and giving readers a glimpse of what types of appropriate technologies and community development topics are being presented, as well as a look into who some of the participants are. A 2012 graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Sarah recently directed and produced two short films, one taking first place in the 2013 Nashville Film Festival. She is currently working on her third film, a documentary about Camp Koinonia. It’s simply amazing what greens can do for you. As a child, I was constantly told to eat my greens. This typically included broccoli, peas and turnips. It just so happened I fell into the one percentile range of children who actually enjoy vegetables. My brother, on the other hand, was a different story. My mother was constantly trying new methods to get him to eat his greens. Unfortunately, many of her tricks never worked. This was probably because she never tried new methods in how she served vegetables, just new incentives. Now if my mother had known anything about green powder, I can assure you my brother would have eaten his greens.
 Classes on Wednesday focused on agriculture and nutrition. They were taught by Dave and Therese Kennedy of Leaf for Life and Martin Price of ECHO.
Training – Field Study: Bugs for DinnerOur May Field Study is currently being held on SIFAT’s campus May 12-25. Sarah Murphree, SIFAT co-founder Sarah Corson’s great-niece, is a participant this year. She will be blogging about her experience and giving readers a glimpse of what types of appropriate technologies and community development topics are being presented, as well as a look into who some of the participants are. A 2012 graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Sarah recently directed and produced two short films, one taking first place in the 2013 Nashville Film Festival. She is currently working on her third film, a documentary about Camp Koinonia.
Tuesday evening, Dr. Frank Franklin, Emeritus of Public Health at UAB, came to speak about the benefit of “Bugs for Dinner.” Frank arrived in full bug attire wearing moth wings and springy antennas, preparing us for the crazy night we were about to embark on – eating bugs.  Dr. Frank Franklin, center, shared about the nutritional value of eating bugs in developing countries. Training – Field Study: An Outsider’s PerspectiveOur May Field Study is currently being held on SIFAT’s campus May 12-25. Sarah Murphree, SIFAT co-founder Sarah Corson’s great-niece, is a participant this year. She will be blogging about her experience and giving readers a glimpse of what types of appropriate technologies and community development topics are being presented, as well as a look into who some of the participants are. A 2012 graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Sarah recently directed and produced two short films, one taking first place in the 2013 Nashville Film Festival. She is currently working on her third film, a documentary about Camp Koinonia.
I pulled into SIFAT Sunday afternoon preparing to attend the 2013 SIFAT Field Study. I was thrilled I was getting to attend the two-week program, but questions flooded my head as I made the drive from Nashville, Tenn., to Lineville, Ala. Who would teach us about international affairs? What would the people be like? Where would we stay? What would we eat? As I passed red dirt roads and luscious trees, doing my best not to get lost with so few road signs, I looked at the beauty around me and thought this won’t be so bad.
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