Chris Gates – Janada L. Batchelor Foundation for Children

Chris Gates knew from a very young age that he wanted to work in East Africa. At first, he thought he wanted to be an exotic wildlife veterinarian in the Serengeti National Wildlife Park, but a month long trip to Tanzania as a teen with his grandmother showed him a different side of life in Africa. While volunteering in a remote village, Chris was shocked by the extreme poverty and lack of opportunity for the people there, particularly for young girls. He knew he wanted to do something to help, so he founded the Janada L. Batchelor Foundation for Children (JBFC) in Tanzania to offer safety and housing for young girls to keep them from needing to enter brothels or domestic servitude. Chris soon realized that safety and housing weren’t enough and that the girls and the community at large needed more support, so he built two schools, a community garden, water wells and an on-site restaurant to give all people from the community a resource for education, healthy food, and sustainable development. Since they started in 2006, the JBFC has provided safety and shelter, education, healthy food, and accessible water to thousands of people in their Tanzanian community.

Contact Information:

Phone: (918) 706-2268 Address: 1934 East 45th Place | Tulsa, OK 74105 https://soundcloud.com/etown-3/echievement-award-chris-gates