A Message from Wendy Black-Nasta

Here it is summer 2024 and I realize it’s been a while since I gave a little update about everything going on with AFWP. Our huge news is that we closed on a 2+acre maize farm in Tanzania. After many years of renting our PEACE HOUSE, and moving our kids periodically, we finally were able to purchase land where we are going to build our permanent PEACE VILLAGE. This will be a home base for all of our kids. We are planning on having a communal vegetable garden in the middle of our village, with an indoor/outdoor kitchen, complete with a pizza oven where all of our kids can cook, garden and share meals. We are naming our garden “Ciara’s Garden” in memory of a beautiful young artist/humanitarian from our home state of Connecticut. That way Ciara will be nourishing our children with her energy and light for many years to come.

I’ll be returning as soon as possible to begin to design the PEACE VILLAGE.  We know for sure that this will be a permanent home base for our kids, no matter where they go from here. With so many already out of college, about to graduate, getting jobs and opening their own businesses, their futures are totally flowing in all directions. We love the idea that whenever our kids want to come home to live, visit, or just rest for a while, their home will always be there waiting for them!

This summer we are also returning to Rosebud Reservation with our Free NATIVE EYES Clinic. The difference this year from the past is that we are focusing on children from K-3rd grade. In past years our issues have been with transportation. There are 2,002 children waiting to be seen by our doctors. Many kids have missed their appointments due to a lack of a ride to get to us at Sinte Gleska University in Mission. Therefore, this summer our clinic is going to them! We partnered with Todd County Elementary School and will be setting our clinic up right in the gym located inside the school. We have our AFWP travel team working with a few of our Rosebud team members from past years. We are adding team members from Todd County Elementary School who will escort the students from their classroom to our clinic and back again. It’s very exciting to find a way to provide the necessary care, and we thank everyone who is making it possible. A huge shout out to our two main sponsors: First we want to thank the Padre Pio Foundation of America, who provided all of the necessary funds to purchase the expensive and sophisticated equipment on our wish list. With this equipment there is no need to administer drops into the children’s eyes. This will expedite the clinic and remove the “fear factor” from the children. With the new equipment we’ll be able to see any issues developing within seconds. Essilor Foundation, and Changing Life Through Lenses are once again fabricating every pair of eyeglasses we’ll be needing. They have fabricated thousands of pair of eyeglasses for us throughout the years. Without them our clinics wouldn’t be possible! Please stay tuned as we announce this year’s travel team on our home page.

Our concert series, “One Concert/One Child” will begin again in September. We are taking the summer off to travel with our team. Meanwhile, we are planning wonderful events for the future and look forward to sharing them with many of you.

We wish you all a wonderful summer and look forward to seeing you again soon.

In Peace, and with best wishes for a safe and lovely summer,

Wendy