I choose to see the the wide national and international reach of SIA as a positive characteristic of our organization. We bring people together from across the United States, North America, and the world – each sharing their perspective, traditions, and experiences with our strong network.

**To really understand our reach, scroll to the end of the post for a map showing the location of each individual connected with SIA around the world.**

Spirit in Action is right where you are

I wrote about the rootedness of our community partners in Africa. They benefit from living and working with their neighbors. Does of our lack of a street-front office show a lack of rootedness? No! Having a “worldwide office” means that for each member of our organization Spirit in Action is right where you are!

Rooted in the whole world

This summer I saw that SIA is deeply rooted in each community where we support projects. With me in Minnesota, SIA is rooted in the non-profit community here. Many SIA Board members live in California, giving us strong roots there. Each root of our large tree network brings local flair, regional understanding, and commands a respect for differences. 

God calling us

“A dream has no dimension, no boundaries, no limitations,” wrote Del Anderson in his Spirit-led writing, God Calling…. He encourages us to dream large for a SIA network that ignores geographic limitations. Although Del didn’t personally use a computer, he reveled in the miracle of the Internet, or “worldwide web,” to break down boundaries and connect us across the globe.

Del goes on to write, “In Me [God], you have the wisdom, love, and power to be My instrument in bringing My Kingdom into manifestation here and now.”

May we also embrace this call to bring SIA into our lives here (wherever that may be) and now (whenever we receive that special inspiration). In doing this, we fulfill our responsibility to put Spirit and love into action in our world. Let me know if you have ideas for rooting SIA in your community!

Spirit in Action is International! Map
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A lioness looks to the mountain in Samburu National Park in Kenya

Dream large, my soul, dream large
God thinks His thoughts through thee
If thou canst dream freedom for all
Mankind shall yet be free. 

Dream large, my soul, dream large
God wills for all His peace
If thou canst dream true brotherhood
Some day all war shall cease.
By Myrtle Williamson

I appreciate the beginning of the year because it seems to be a time when people are planning and dreaming. What will I do in the coming year? What are my goals? What will I do to push myself to be a better person? To me, January gives me permission to dream large for myself and for Spirit in Action.

Here are some of my dreams for 2012:

Get youth involved. Next month I’ll be creating a program about Spirit in Action for the junior high and high school groups at my church. I am excited about sharing information about other cultures and helping them create a global perspective. Of course, I also hope to inspire them to help others who are in need and further plant the seed of giving in their hearts.

Hear more stories. I still have so many interviews and photos of the people I met in Kenya and Malawi stored on my computer. It is my goal to transcribe these stories and get them out to you so that you can hear more about what SIA is doing through our wonderful partners and SBF Coordinators. Stay tuned!

Expand Small Business Fund. SIA is ready to begin developing relationships with new coordinators in new communities. I am excited to begin these conversations and to see how we might be able to help one more community create prosperity and joy through the Small Business Fund program. Please pray for this expansion!

Dream small. As in, small savings and loans groups. It was so exciting to see the success of the Manyamula Savings and Loans group in Malawi and SIA is motivated to try to share with program with other partners who are interested in providing low-interest loans in their community.

Celebrate. We are planning a special “Sweet 16” anniversary event for SIA in the California Bay Area on May 5^th. We’ll also have a silent auction with some handmade items that I brought back from our partners in Africa, and several items from SIA donors in the USA. We’re still in the initial planning stages. Let me know if you have something you can donate to the auction.

For myself: Let peace begin with me. Be open to new ideas. Forgive others. Work at collaboration and compromise. Improve my communication skills.

Sounds like a great year! What are your dreams for Spirit in Action? Please share the dream in the comments section.

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Women with fuel-efficient stoves in Ghana.

“Even though you might not see face-to-face how lives are changing, I want to let you know that your support is transforming so many lives in our community,” began Alexander Kedje of Shape Lives Foundation, Ghana in a recent email to me.

When we think of charity in Africa, big name organizations are probably the first to come to mind. We hear about World Vision, UNICEF, and Heifer International but it’s the small, unknown, local organizations like Shape Lives Foundation that are perfectly situated to help people in their own communities.

These local organizations, as the blogger Jennifer Lentfer points out, are able to best understand the situation on the ground, and are already rooted and integrated into the community. Where the large international organizations have to work hard to meet people and promote projects, local leaders like Alexander are already known and respected by the people they serve.

I’ve been in contact with Alexander and Shape Lives Foundation for two years now and I am always so excited to see the progress they are making toward empowering the poor and raising the standard of living for the women in their area.

Part of Del Anderson’s mission for Spirit in Action was to encourage and promote local leaders and so, although we have not given a grant to Shape Lives Foundation, I share with you a few highlights from 2011 so that you too can appreciate their local work and service:

* Twenty-five women are now employed in their Moringa Processing Center, plucking the leaves and grinding them into a powder. This great video shows how they process the Moringa leaves into a highly nutritious dietary supplement.
* 1200 Moringa trees have been replanted to grow more leaves to process in 2012.
* Seven women received fuel-efficient stoves and training. Not only will the stoves produce less smoke, they also make it so the women do not have to gather or buy as much wood to cook meals.

Congratulations, Shape Lives Foundation! And we stand with you as your continue your important work in 2012.

Take action, for it is your duty, and we are with you; be strong, and do it. –Ezra 10:4

Related posts:

• Moringa in Prison
• Moringa = Miracle Plant
• CIFORD Kenya: Compassionate Community Action
• Local Realities, Local Adaptation (On How Matters blog)

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Nalu Prossy shows us some of the baskets made by SIA business owners in Uganda.

This new round of small business owners came from the rural villages of Isegero and Nakigalala, south of Kampala (see map below). The 18 people formed themselves into 5 groups, chose a leader for each group (4 of the leaders are women), and started to think through their business plan. Two of the groups are families and other groups are colleagues and friends that have decided to go into business together.

Please join me in welcoming these five new Spirit in Action-supported businesses in Uganda! We’ll follow their progress over the next year as they face challenges and become successful in their chosen enterprises.

* Brick Making and Pottery – “We will produce and sell our wares along the roadside.”

* Mat Making – People use mats for many things in Uganda, for sleeping, sitting on in the house, screens, and drying food in the sun.

* Chicken Rearing – This is a family business led by the mother, Betty Nabuso.

* Mat Making –  This group already has needles, thread and weaving skills that they will contribute to the business.

* Tailoring and Sewing – This family business will take advantage of the inexpensive cloth made in Uganda and will use the sewing machine that they already own.

Related Posts:

• Quote of the Day: Nalu Prossy
• Welcome our new coordinator, Nalu!
• Realizing potential with just $150! Small Business Fund FAQs
• Nalu was also highlighted in our Winter 2011 Newsletter, which you can download here.

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How often we follow society instead of the call of the Divine, pleasing people, not God.

I believe every Trustee of Spirit in Action should be aware they are purposed to follow the Christ and to say often “Yes, Lord, yes!” Living in the world a person can live a noble life without risk, and that is okay for the world, but Jesus has overcome the world and He has challenged us to go and do likewise.

It is our privilege to go beyond pleasing people and being a “good” citizen, safe and secure. We have been brought into Spirit in Action by God to take the risk of being aware of God’s presence within us and allowing God to think, feel, act and respond all day through us as we say “Yes, Lord, yes!”

Then the Sacred One will use us as its representatives, expressions and manifesters and we will fulfill God’s intent and we will hear, “Well done, good and faithful friend. You are incarnating My Spirit and Truth. You are moving beyond the safe and secure life.” Knowing about Jesus is not enough. We need to abide in Him and experience Him.

I am learning, finally, that in this life each of us has a Divine Plan and a special, particular mission. Our challenge is to be aware of God’s Presence and constantly listening and responding all day with the words, “Yes, Lord, yes!” Thus, the higher purpose and meaning of life become a set goal before us. This life of adventure and risk leads us into a daily fellowship with Jesus, a journey of fulfilling our high destiny, and becoming our own true self. This is our call to wholeness.

The Christ is still speaking to us the words Jesus said, “I have called you friends because I have disclosed to you everything that I heard from my Father. You did not choose me. I chose you. I appoint you to go on and bear fruit, fruit that will last.” (John 15:15-16) God wants to know God’s Self in you and me.

We are answering the call to be whole, the call to be truly all we can be. Are we ready? We answer, “Yes, Lord, yes!”

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Elephants follow each other's path across the Samburu River in Kenya.

1. We build relationships that are multi-sided and on-going. I learn from SIA partners and they learn from me. We enrich each other’s lives.
2. We are flexible. SIA responds to the needs and ideas of our partners, rather than dictate the exact approach to address their challenges.
3. We focus on positive change. You won’t see humiliating photos of children with flies in their eyes on the SIA website. We honor the dignity and joy of our dedicated partners.
4. We start small. Our small grants give a family or community necessary assistance to make the first step towards their vision for change, without making them dependent on our support.
5. We share the gift. A SIA grant doesn’t have to be paid back, it has to be passed along to another community member in need. Grant receivers are also gift givers!

May peace be yours in the New Year! We are so grateful for your encouragement and support of SIA worldwide. You can add what makes you proud of SIA in the comment box below. I’d love to hear from all of you!

Tanya visits Gaudenziah at her family's thriving Solar Cookers business in Eldoret, Kenya.

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Boyd and I met Slyvester Nkoma in Malawi this summer. He shared his testimony with us while we were there and we did get to try the milk fresh from his dairy cow!

Related Posts:

• Small Business Fund FAQs
• What’s it like in Rural Malawi?

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Saul (Malawi) was able to expand his crop of green maize with a SIA grant.

Have you heard about “angel investors”? In the business world, Angel Investors are wealthy, entrepreneurial-minded individuals who provide capital to start-up companies.

Now, imagine a world where Angel Investors didn’t just back Silicon Valley tech start-ups. Actually, aren’t SIA donors already Angel Investors for small business entrepreneurs in Africa?

“No successful company in the U.S. started with loans,” said Alan Patricof in his article about microfinance in developing countries, “Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, and Mark Zuckerberg did not borrow from their local banks to start Apple, Dell, and Facebook. They got angel investors.”

Grants, Not Loans

With Spirit in Action we all have the opportunity to be Angel Investors. Think about it, if I have just $150 I can give it to a family in Africa to start a business. I don’t need that $150 back. It’s only $150 and it can make a world of difference! Corporate Angel Investors give to projects that inspire and excite them, projects that give them hope for something better in this world that their precious money can go to help. What’s just money for me, is a tool for empowering our partners.

You may have heard about other micro-loan organizations, like Kiva. However, these traditional micro-finance institutions take people down the path of dependence with high-interest loans and by making them prey to in-country loan sharks. I was shocked to hear stories of interest rates as high as 48% for a two-week micro-loan in Malawi! How can that possibly create success?

Businesses started with SIA Small Business Fund (SBF) grants are more likely to succeed and thrive than those started with a high-interest micro-finance loan.

Justina Phiri (Malawi) sells beans and popcorn. She can now afford to pay for one child to go to high school and one to university!

Our SBF grants, give people a windfall to start their business without debt, to start off in the black. This means that their first $150 in profit goes to pay for school or health care, rather than to pay back a comparatively wealthy investor. We realize that $150 can have a much bigger impact when it’s given graciously to an entrepreneur, rather than restricted through a loan process.

Because Angel Investors assume a high level of risk, they are also betting on a high return on investment. At SIA, we bet on the entrepreneur’s success, rather than depend on their interest to earn our money.

Invest Early

A Minnesota angel investor group found it is best to fund a project early on, when there is still a chance to lead and plan with the group for a successful business. In addition to the micro-grant, Spirit in Action also provides business training in the early stages of the business. Our  local coordinators participate in the development of the business plan by guiding initial group discussions and helping them estimate costs and income. This direct, early (and then on-going) support is crucial for the group’s success.

Be an Angel Investor

Juliet Namusobya (Uganda) received a SIA grant in 2007 and is still in business today!

Spirit in Action also puts the “angel” in Angel Investor. We are an organization founded on compassion for others and the world. We encourage SBF groups to pray together for their needs and for the needs of their customers and communities.

This Christmas, I’m choosing to be an Angel Investor to a new shop keeper in Kenya, a new tomato farmer in Malawi, or a new mat-weaver in Uganda. Boyd and I give to Spirit in Action because we believe that it’s worth at least the $150 “investment” to see these businesses started, these leaders trained, and these families changed forever.

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You can also be an Angel Investor, through a tax-deductible donation to SIA.

Are you new here? Welcome! Sign up for SIA eNews in your inbox.

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Looking for the perfect, meaningful gift this Christmas? I give you some reasons to consider donating to Spirit in Action this season.

1. Give a meaningful gift! In his annual Gifts that Say You Care article, New York Times columnist Nicolas Kristof said, “Give Grandma a bit of credit! These holidays, would she rather receive a silly reindeer sweater or help a schoolchild acquire glasses to see the blackboard clearly for the first time?” This Christmas, instead of another lotion set, how about honoring your loved ones (especially those with everything they already need) with a gift to Spirit in Action to help someone like Linly Nkhata start a business and buy a cow? Watch a video of Linly sharing her success story.

2. A little goes a long way! The enormous impact of our Small Business Fund, which gives a $150 grant and business training to entrepreneurs in Africa, is another reason to give to SIA. That $150 can start a business is one heck of a deal, as we would say here in Minnesota! Consider, this amount that isn’t enough to even cover rent for one month in the US is enough to get a family business off the ground in DR Congo. Read about SIA’s success in DR Congo.

3. Join your friends! 88 individuals, groups, and foundations have already contributed to make Spirit in Action’s work happen this year! These people are passionate about our work. One of our donors wrote to me: “Being led to continue what Del started in my prayer life years ago has been fulfilled by your faithfulness! I’ve enclosed a check to join the Celebration of being at one with the rest the joy-filled followers…Happy fifteenth birthday!”

4. You gift will be shared! You gift to the Small Business Fund doesn’t just help the family who receives a grant. Each new business group is called to share compassionately with another family in need in their community. Through our Sharing the Gift program Winkly Mahowe (Malawi, pictured right) received the gift a pig from a neighbor. Since then he has been able to build his family a new home, feed his widowed mother, and give a piglet to another family! This way, the blessings of God are spread throughout the whole community.

5. Build Relationships! Christmas is all about visiting friends and family and sharing joy together. Spirit in Action is also all about relationships. Del Anderson started SIA because he was drawn to help people in developing countries and encourage them through sending letters, seeds, self-help information, and also praying with them. Fifteen years later, relationships remain central to our work. Once we build these connections with our international partners and coordinators we are drawn through compassion to help them develop sustainable livelihoods, send children to school, and eat better food.

This season is about giving and the joy of sharing! We hope you will join Spirit in Action in giving the gift of empowerment this Christmas. Remember, just $150 is enough for a family to start a new business and any amount helps us continue our compassionate service to those who need it most.

You can make a tax-deductible contribution online here or send a check to the address below. And don’t forget to designate your donation to honor or remember someone special!

Spirit in Action
PO Box 3384
Santa Cruz CA 95063

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Rows of crops on the Common Ground "Feed the Village" farm

The view out the window of the minibus from Eldoret to Kitale, Kenya was surprisingly familiar. Though I was on a continent well known for its deserts, the rows and rows of corn made the Kenyan countryside look just like the rolling hills of Iowa or South Dakota! I now know that Kitale is the “breadbasket of Kenya.”

During our visit with Joshua Machinga of Commmon Ground just outside Kitale, Boyd and I were impressed with the abundant produce on his farm and kitchen gardens. Machinga uses bio-intensive agriculture techniques, which he learned at Manor House Kenya, to produce more food without chemical inputs. All the produce here goes to feed the 400 students at Pathfinder Academy, where Machinga is the director.

Spirit in Action Poultry Project

Next to the Pathfinder kitchen garden stands the impressive SIA Poultry Project – a sturdy building close enough to the kale and maize beds to provide the chickens with some greens and the garden with some chicken manure. Now that’s a great exchange!

SIA Poultry Project house made with sturdy materials and built to last many years. Maize in training garden grows in front. Chicken droppings are used for compost in the garden.

Students are assigned a rotating schedule to check for eggs. The chicken coop is right next to the school and cafeteria area.

As we entered the poultry house, five Pathfinder students proudly showed us around the two rooms, one for the layers (chickens for eggs) and another for the broilers (chicken for meat). Machinga has conducted several trainings with students on how to manage the chicks and student volunteers take turns caring for the chickens, feeding them, helping the vet with vaccinations, collecting eggs, and even slaughtering them when the time comes. He told us that the younger children like to care for the young chicks and keep them warm during their first nights.

Project Success

Some of the eggs are used in school meals, some are sold to local families, and most of the meat is sold to a local restaurant! After the initial Spirit in Action Community Grant, the Common Ground SIA Poultry Project is now self-sustaining, with profits from the chickens being put into buying more chicks to expand the operation.

What else? A scholarship fund has been created with some of the poultry project profits! The student with the best 2010 exam scores got a scholarship for this year’s school fees as he graduated from Pathfinder and went on to secondary school. “His favorite subject is history,” Machinga told us, which brought a nod of approval from Boyd.

Fresh eggs for sale! A Common Ground employee takes eggs to market on the back of his bike.

What’s making me happy this week: SIA supports education through the economic empowerment of our amazing community partners!

Tanya and student volunteers at SIA poultry project house.

Related Posts:

• A Report by Joshua Machinga, Common Ground Program – Poultry Project
• Poultry Project Update – October 2010

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