Spirit in Action

A friend recently asked me about how Spirit in Action chooses our grant recipients. I first launched into an account about how we work with Small Business Fund Coordinators who help choose people in their community and how the Board votes on proposals we receive from partners and new contacts. After listening patiently to that explanation, my friend clarified that shewas really wondering about the psychology of the grant-making progress.

How do we decide whom we support? This is quite a different question from how you choose proposals; it is a question about the core values of the organization. It was a thoughtful question, one that I am still thinking about weeks later. Of course, these are just my thoughts, and perhaps, other SIA Board members would have different ideas.

I think the simple part of the answer goes back to last week’s post. We support people we trust. And we actively work on building trust with people we may support. Del Anderson strongly believed in developing a working relationship with people before supporting them financially. This relationship is built through sending many letters (before email this could be a very slow process!), providing relevant self-help information, and sharing experiences, ideas, and prayers. Part of the process that I still employ faithfully is listening to the needs and ideas of the people who write me letters and responding with encouragement, information and ideas. *

We are upfront about wanting to develop relationships with people. I really like this letter that Marsha Johnson (the previous SIA Administrator) wrote to share about our philosophy with a new contact:

“We welcome new relationships like with you, and hope to get to know one another, pray together, and follow God’s guidance in how we can work together in service to those in need in your community and in our world. Our desire is to serve God and humankind, without encouraging dependency on us, but by working TOGETHER, developing ways that people can grow their own food, start small business when they have a saleable skill, and become increasingly self-sufficient and growing in their faith in God as well.”

We don’t just work in one area or one country, which means that we depend on recommendations from our international network when we are considering a proposal or building a new relationship. One of our strongest sets of connections is Camps Farthest Out International (CFOI), an organization that provides leadership training and organizes non-denominational Christian retreats promoting peace. Many of the people we engage with are also involved with CFOI and the camps create a built-in accountability system, especially since people traveling for CFOI are often able to meet other SIA partners and check in on their projects. Right now, most of SIA’s relationships are built on email and letter correspondence and recommendations from CFOI. I hope that someday soon I’ll be able to meet some of our international partners face-to-face and further deepen our connection!

Dennis Kiprop (Kenya) and Jacob Lipandasi (DRC) meet to exchange ideas about improving their communities.

*This is perfectly parallel with the findings of the Listening Project, which found that international aid recipients want more long-term relationships with aid organizations and crave more “listening in open-ended” ways. Read the very interesting summary.

An important part of Spirit in Action’s mission is to respond to the real needs of the people and support already existing grassroots community organizations abroad. We start by acknowledging the experience and local knowledge of the community leaders and encourage with them as they hone projects that will work for the their specific community.

One such grassroots organization that Spirit in Action has supported is Welfare Concern International (WCI), in Livingstone, Zambia. Moses Chibanda, the current director, left a job in teaching in 2005 to run WCI full-time because he felt a deep calling to help those around him work their way out of poverty. The organization’s mission, in Moses’ words is “to bring hope and give people life survival skills through training and economic empowerment programs”.

Community members meet to pray and plan for the new WCI building.

Most of WCI’s members are widows who have lost their spouses due to the AIDS pandemic, and many are working to have enough money for their children to attend school. Moses explains, “One of the crucial problems faced by guardians is lack of capital to start their own income generating activities to sustain themselves and their families.” WCI provides skills training and small loans for new Income Generating Activities (small businesses) for the widows.

To help WCI in their efforts, the Livingstone City Council, donated an old building (pictured right) that will house a resource center and serve as a place for skills training and other economic empowerment activities. Not wanting to let any space go to waste, the group will use the land around the center to raise chickens and plant a vegetable garden. Spirit in Action will continue to follow their renovation progress and encourage them to reach out to more widows in their community.

Through the challenges of starting to build a center for WCI and seeing the mounting poverty around him, Moses continues on, always expressing dedication to his mission and acting as a strong role model for those who are able to do great works in their community by starting small and dreaming large. Moses shares, “I desire to serve the less privileged people to the best of my ability and take Welfare Concern International to great heights of success. There are moments in my life when I have felt like giving up but because of Spirit in Action’s encouragement and prayer support I have continued to soldier on to drive the work of WCI.”

‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ –Matthew 25:40

Part of our mission at SIA is to serve God by empowering others. The passage above clearly states that, indeed, the best way to serve God is to help others, especially those in need. In the Bible parable, those who helped did so by providing clothing, caring for the sick, and visiting those in prison.

Prison officers and their wives enjoy Moringa-enriched meat pies.

An inspiring expression of this good action, Newton Amaglo, a SIA grant recipient and professor at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana, is now working with over 400 officers and 2,000 inmates at four prisons new Kumasi to help them improve their diets.

So far Newton and his team have contributed free samples, 50 grams for each prisoner, of the highly nutritious Moringa leaf powder to the prisons. That’s a significant supplement to the prison diet, especially considering that just one gram of Moringa has the same nutrients as:

Considering the rumors of poor food in prisons in the US, we could take this as a lesson!

In these Ghanaian prisons, now, the leaves are used in tea and as a supplement in meat pies. Newton and his team have also recommended Moringa for use in the infirmary because of its many know medicinal healing qualities.

This is not just a handout; Newton also knows the importance of training the inmates. When giving aid the best help leaves the recipient with skills they can use long into the future. As such, Newton claims that the greatest success of the project so far is that “the prisoners are learning the technology of Moringa cultivation and processing so that they can live their lives on it even after serving their sentences.”

Not only do we want to care for our brothers and sisters, we also want to care for our earth. Moringa helps with this too. Newton, who also works as Scientific Manager for Moringa Partners, a Moringa discussion forum, recently recorded this podcast about the ways that Morniga can help combat global warming. (His voice is pretty difficult to hear, but the information is very interesting.) Since Moringa grows so quickly, it can help reforest the denuded land. Its green leaves are also high in chlorophyll and in the podcast Newton tells how these trees can absorb carbon dioxide at a faster rate than an average tree. Another interesting fact: there are currently studies being conducted to see if Moringa can reliably used as a biofuel, reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. If you want to read more, Trees for Life has a good, reputable resource page about Moringa.

Wow! Every time I read about Moringa, it is a bit clearer why people call it the “Miracle Tree”. And Newton’s work visibly embodies our passion for providing individuals with simple tools that can drastically improve their lives.

50g Moringa samples are handed over to the prison officers

The best part about talking to librarians is that they know about books on almost any topic! It was through a librarian friend that I heard about the children’s book One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference by Katie Smith Milway and Eugene Fernandes. This beautifully illustrated book tells the inspiring story of a boy in Ghana, named Kojo, who starts a small business with a loan to buy one chicken.

The book, for children and adults alike, clearly shows how micro-finance works to change the lives of a family, community, town and country. On the grassroots level, people in a community pool their savings together to create a small loan fund. As the story explains “None of the twenty families in the village have very much money, but they do have a good idea. Each family promises to save a bit of money so that one family can borrow all the savings to buy something important” (p.7). The families take turns borrowing the money to start or expand their businesses. When they pay back the loan, another family gets a chance to borrow the funds.

SIA small business grant recipient in Kenya with her chickens

This idea is what Spirit in Action calls a “merry-go-round” loan or a micro-savings group. In fact, one of the grant proposals approved at the June 2010 Board meeting helps establish a small-scale chicken project in Malawi, where the profits are added to the micro-savings pot, to be lent to different communities members on a rotating basis.

Giving people a chance to borrow money gives them a chance to make an investment in their future. In the story, which is based on the real life story of Kwabena Darko, Kojo borrows a few coins to buy one chicken. He takes care of the chicken, selling its eggs in the market so that he can pay back the loan and buy more chickens to expand his flock. He and his mom also eat some of the eggs to add more protein to their diets. After a year Kojo has made enough to go to school!

Kojo and his mom also benefit emotionally from the initial loan. “Kojo is proud of his eggs. And his mother is proud of Kojo. Bit by bit, one small hen is making a big difference” (p. 11).

Del Anderson knew just how much a few words of encouragement could bring hope to a person’s life. People who know they are loved and supported are more confident in all their enterprises! That’s why, for SIA, sharing and communicating with all our international partners is an important part of our mission. As Del always reminded people: Don’t let impossibilities intimidate you ~ do let possibilities motivate you.

This women's small poultry business experienced high demand for eggs

If you want to find out about just how successful Kojo is in his chicken enterprise, why not check out One Hen? And then read it to a friend or a child and get them thinking about how one small gift can make a significant difference in our world.

Jacky with an orphan and SIA small business leader Henry.

Jacky Buhoro has been blessed with eight healthy children of her own and yet many more children are lucky enough to call her mother. In 2004, one of Jacky and Jacob’s sons asked his parents to pay the fees for an orphan in his class. That was the beginning of Jacky and Jacob’s ministry to orphans…

Years of violence in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have left many orphans, fatherless children, and widows in need of assistance in Jacob Lipandasi and Jacky’s border town community of Bakuvu. Responding to the need, Jacky and Jacob, who is a SIA Small Business Fund Coordinator, now care for 25 additional children in their home and in other host families in their community. I recently had the opportunity to interview Jacky about her service; here is a longer version of the interview, which is excerpted in the SIA Spring/Summer 2010 Newsletter.

*We are deeply thankful for a grant from the Charles Wentz Carter Memorial Foundation, which enabled SIA to support Jacky’s school for orphans and other vulnerable children. THANK YOU!

1. Tanya: Tell me about your family.

Jacky: I am the eldest daughter of my family. My parents have given birth to 8 children including 6 girls and 2 boys. When I met Jacob, he was already mentoring orphans of the first church he led in our hometown. In my family with Jacob we have produced 8 children (2 girls and 6 boys). In 2004, our son, Philippe KOKO Lipandasi (our 5th child) asked us to pay school fees for an orphan in his class who could not pay for it. This is the beginning of our ministry to orphans.

2. Tanya: When did you first accept orphans in your family?

Jacky: After the war of the RCD (Congolese Rally for Democracy) families traveled with orphans and abandoned them in the street as they were unable to take charge. First we hosted 3 girls and one boy (4 fatherless) and a widow in other fatherless families in our community. The community knew that we accompany the orphans. Now we have up to 25 orphans in our family and in several other host families.

3. Tanya: Tell me about your work with orphans.

Jacky: To help these orphans living with us to study, I organized a nursery school. It helps my orphans and also other children of vulnerable families without access to public schools (because their parents are unable to pay). During the holidays the older could come and learn trades (carpentry) in the studio of Jacob with other orphans. Praise the Lord! Before, students who completed kindergarten were directed to public schools and Jacob could pay for them. But now we do not have the funds to continue this. As the curricula of these schools do not have the same goal as our training: I started primary school to continue our vision to support the most vulnerable.

Children play in a garden near the school.

4. Tanya: What are the biggest challenges for schools and teachers in DRC?

Jacky : A) Education in the DRC: The exclusion of the poorest in the education system. The girls, especially orphans have no easy access to school education. Schools provide teaching theory without practice as there are no materials. Only the rich kids access to quality training and focused. Lack of school library. Schools (especially rural) lack access to computers and especially the Internet. B) Important Challenges Teacher DRC: The Congolese government does not pay public officials in general and teachers in particular. The school is supported by parents when they are able. However, 80% of teachers are unemployed and others work without wages.

5. Tanya: How do the Women’s Garden Project and your school work together to help children?

Jacky: The community garden project for women helps us a lot to feed orphans. They help us with vegetables in their crops. It serves as a demonstration site to help children understand the importance of gardens and the role of working together.

6. Tanya: Tell me about how you and Jacob work together in your projects to help others.

Jacky: We organize our time to visit the poorest of our communities and put our attention to widows, orphans and disabled in our pastoral ministry. With the support of Spirit in Action, we organized the community garden and piggery for the widows. We initiated the widows to plant trees and banana trees, because before it was taboo for a woman to do in our communities.

Children surround Jacob and Jacky at home.

7. Tanya: Is there anything else you want to tell me about yourself or your work?

Jacky: I want to have additional training in the care of orphans and vulnerable groups to improve the quality of my services to others. Thank you for your support.

Last year two generous contributors donated used laptop computers to SIA. After clearing the memory, we distributed them to 2 long-time SIA partners to use in their service in their community. As you can image, the benefits of receiving even an old laptop computer are great for our international partners.

Musindo uses his new laptop sent from Spirit in Action.

The first donated computer was sent to Musindo Sibiya in Chipinge, Zimbabwe, who is trained in computer repair but without a computer of his own. Not content to just use the laptop for their own benefit, Musindo is taking on projects to Share the Gift with many other households in his community. He will print calendars, wedding cards, invitation cards and posters informing the community about public events as well as health awareness campaigns.

Musindo has already secured two contracts to print report cards for two schools with a total enrollment of 1500 students, making an arrangement with the school development committee for a deposit payment to buy a printer. In addition to report cards, he will also print medical cards for patients at clinics in our community. “I will charge affordable fees for my services so that I will be able to sustain myself and keep the laptop working.”

Musindo continues, “I thank all the staff at SIA and everyone who made it possible for this donation to be successful.  I want to share this letter so that others can come to know the good work that SIA is doing for God’s people around the world.”

What will Musindo use to charge the laptop battery? A solar panel – very cool!

**If you have a used laptop with some life left in it to contribute to our international coordinators, contact SIA at: spiritinaction@sbcglobal.net or (831) 227-1169.

Thank you!

Newton Amaglo has dedicated much of his adult life to studying, understanding, and teaching students at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana about the Moringa oleifera plant.  Why this plant?  Because the amazing Moringa leaf is known to be a rich and cheap alternative source of protein, vitamins and minerals, and thus a potential solution to the malnutrition and hunger pandemic in our world!

In 2008 Newton and Christian Action and Support (ChAS) received a small Community Grant from Spirit in Action to contribute to the government efforts towards reducing poverty, through combating malnutrition, providing access to safe water and energy, creating jobs and preserving the environment. Newton proposed that his could be done through promoting the development of the value chain of the Moringa oleifera plant:  growing, processing and marketing.

From the Moringa leaves, high nutritive value food supplement for malnutrition can be produced; seeds can make oil for biofuels, leaves can be ground into powders to add to food,  and a cake can be processed and used for water purification and other traditional medicine uses.

Since receiving the grant Newton and his colleagues have lead over hundred workshops all across Ghana in churches, military barracks, schools, jails, etc. They have also been able to garner extensive media support through the television, radio and newspapers.  Newton shares that there are all kinds of innovations using Moringa, like soap, Moringa leaf powder infusion bags, capsules, etc. This expansion of the Moringa market, and a sale of one ton of Moringa seeds to Cameroon, which was organized by ChAS, has generated many more income opportunities and stability for their Moringa growers.

As a “Sharing the Gift” project (SIA’s program for “Paying it Forward”), Newton reports “we have trained the MNISTRY of FOOD and AGRICULTURE (MOFA) staffs of two districts on the growing and processing of Moringa.  Each district has at least 40 extension officers. We decided to train them so that they will be in the position to train the farmers under their care.  We have had a workshop to train all extension offers of the 22 districts in Ashanti region.”

While last week we barely got above freezing in Minneapolis, this is the “solar cooking season” in Kenya! Camily Wedende, a SIA grant recipient, trains people people who have been internally displaced and are living in refugee camps near Eldoret to use the power of the sun to cook their food and pateurize water.

Here, in his own words, Camily reports on the utility and popularity of solar cookers in his community:

“Right now its too hot nearly the whole country, we cook most food in solar cookers in less than three hours. Most food that we eat at lunch time is cooked by the sunshine. The solar cookers are outside everyday people seeing, taste food and news spreading as people come for trainings.

Many can now boil water in the solar cookers before drinking most rivers are dried up and if you happen to get little is contaminated and needs to be pasteurized . Solar cooker is the best to pasteurize the water.”

Thank you Camily! How exciting to be able to use the sun, a resource that God has provided, to cook food. Now if you could only send some warmth my way….

Here is the latest update from Samuel Teimuge (Eldoret, Kenya) about his recent Spirit in Action grants:

ANIMAL FEED MACHINE

Filling bags full of grain for the animals.

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“The Machine was very useful last year but not as expected. It had some difficulty in producing. We used to get up to 30 bags per day and so it proved to be slow. With the savings of last year I have renovated the machine and is faster and would produce up to 80 to 100 back if the corn is very dry. So I have to start from Zero again. Together with some few farmers we were able to feed our cows and so we did not lack animal feed. Because of this my cow is now giving us 24 litres of milk per day. I hope to help many farmers this year and even take more pictures this time. Our son Obadiah is great help in assisting conduct the dairy farmers around the UTDC (Ukweli Training and Development Centre) and he is really encouraging them.”

IDPS (INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS) – Immediately Relief Aid

Internally displaced people wait for blankets.

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“We had 17 families who were affected who lived close to UTDC. We bought 100 blankets and we gave to 25 families whose houses were burnt and also we gave each family 30kg of rice. We could not even mention this loudly because the need was too huge. But the families who received them were very grateful. Not all of them have return though the Government has encouraged these people to return. Empowering Lives Int’. helped with the maize seed. You will find attached pictures during blankets distribution. I did this with another group called Rebuilding from Ashes. The whole exercise went on well. And the families are happy.”

Photos from the latest round of Spirit in Action Small Business Fund groups are beginning to roll in! This month I have been receiving the Business Plans for small businesses started in May.

Here are just a few of the business groups in training and at work:
(Click on the photo to see a larger version.)

Woman in Rwanda selling Minnows.

Women in Democratic Republic of Congo making mats.

Small Business Fund training in Uganda.

Community Garden in Kenya