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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The first week of December, Nalu Prossy, gathered together 18 people to prepare them to start and run their own businesses. Nalu, a Spirit in Action Small Business Fund local coordinator in eastern Uganda, is soft-spoken and hard-working, and when I met her this summer in Kenya, she told me that this work “is in my heart, I have that spirit of helping others.”

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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As a new year begins, I take a moment to rededicate myself to serve God and the world by serving others. This week I repost a writing from Spirit in Action’s founder, Del Anderson.

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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This time of year is a good time for reflection and appreciation so this morning I sat down and wrote out five things about Spirit in Action that make me proud.

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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