Do you remember your 16^th birthday? For me, it was an important milestone – a transition from having to ask for rides to the freedom of driving my own car. Flying down the freeway in my yellow ’76 VW Bug with the engine roaring, gave me a sense of joy and excitement. (Don’t worry; the car maxed out at 65 mph!)

Tanya Cothran at 16 years old in her VW Bug!

But the car also brought responsibilities. My sister and I had to learn how to push start the car from second gear and figure out how it was going to pass the smog check. It was worth it, though!

On May 5^th, Spirit in Action will celebrate its 16^th anniversary and I think it will also bring the same mixed sense of joy and responsibility. We have the sense of moving forward – the wind in our hair, so to speak – the excitement of really changing lives and communities in Africa. Meeting SIA change-makers and community organizers last summer was a real thrill. At the anniversary event, I’ll share about Canaan Gondwe, who is one of SIA’s great role models effecting change in his village in rural Malawi.

Our “sweet sixteen” birthday also brings responsibility for Spirit in Action. We must figure out how to stay true to Del’s dream and innovate to provide the best support to our worldwide partners. I’ll be moving to Toronto, Canada this summer and we’ll have to work out some details regarding that change. I’ll keep you posted as we settle into these new situations.

Sharing the Gift

The motivation for the silent auction part of this celebration came after Boyd and I met with the Small Business Fund Coordinators in Kenya last summer. We were showered with beautiful gifts from our SIA partners and rather than keep them all for ourselves (as tempting as that was!) we recognized the chance to share the gift! Each of these items are an opportunity to take a bit of SIA home with you and also support more SIA craft businesses. Click here to see the full list of auction items. Here is a taste of our unique auction offerings (click on image for larger copy):

Handmade briefcase by SIA partners in DR Congo. Wonderful leather work. Boyd has his eye on this one!

Clay pot made by SIA Small Business craftspeople in Uganda. Safely brought back in our suitcases.

Decorative carved wood from SIA craftspeople in Malawi.

Necklace with wooden animal beads made by orphans at Samuel Teimuge's school in Kenya.

Leather patchwork purse from SIA partners in DR Congo. Distinctive and beautiful.

P.S. I hope that you will be able to join us in the celebration! You can RSVP to me at admin@godsspiritinaction.org, or 831-227-1169. If you can’t be there and you want to put an initial bid on any of the items, email me and I’ll put your name on the list!

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Alan woke up one morning last July filled with gratitude. He was up early that market day to set up his bicycle repair business in the village center. He turned some bikes on their handlebars to replace missing peddles with pieces of wood. To other bikes he would affix new handles or fancy seats to the back for bike-taxi passengers. That morning, when Boyd and I met Alan in Manyamula village in Malawi, Alan thanked God for getting him through the night so that he could meet us and thank us.

Tanya, Alan, and Boyd at the Manyamula Market

He was thoughtful as he told us his story of receiving a Spirit in Action Small Business Fund grant and starting his repair business. He paused often to make sure we understood the impact that this had on his life: his son now attends high school; his wife started her own small grocery kiosk. And so he thanked us that day as representatives of Spirit in Action.

It was a short encounter and it left a strong impression on me. Maybe it was because he was the first shop we visited that day, but I think there was also something about his kindness and openness that impressed me.

That was not the last time we saw Alan during our short visit to Manyamula nor was it the last time we saw his kindness. The next day, we met up with him in one of the village churches. Alan’s short testimony told of how the church brought him out of the dark pit of alcoholism onto a road of light and faith. Then he showed his gratitude by giving his pledged tithe of maize to the church to be used to help others less fortunate than himself.

After church, Alan hung around outside, waiting while people took pictures with us. As the group thinned, he shyly approached us with a gift – a wooden spoon used for serving the local staple food, nsima. For a third time, his kindness was an unexpected blessing.

Alan’s gifts and kindness perfectly embody the sentiment of Sharing the Gift – realizing that we have received kindness and acting to share that kindness with others. As the quote by Bob Kerrey reminds us, kindness that comes at an unexpected time is the “most underrated agent of human change.” I have no doubt that we saw just a small sample of Alan’s kind actions and that even today he is helping more people know hope, joy, and gratitude.

How has a recent act of kindness changed you? What kindness will you share with others today?

More photos! Click here to see more photos of Alan and the other people we met that day in the Manyamula village.

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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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If a photo is worth a thousand words, this post is worth at least 5,000 words! You should be getting your SIA Newsletter in the mail soon, or you can download a copy here. I always have so many more photos to include than will actually fit in the newsletter, so here are five more for you!

SIA SBF Coordinator, Godfrey Matovu, with his new laptop! Before, he had to keep all his records in notebooks and now he can use this laptop, which was donated by a generous SIA donor. (Uganda)

Woman with a piglet, which she is going to give away through Sharing the Gift to another family in need. (Uganda) Read more about Sharing the Gift in the SIA newsletter!

Ifiok Ubong Friday (in the white shirt) started this retail fuel business with a SIA SBF grant. He has pledged 3% of his profit to help another group get started. (Nigeria)

This group of SIA partners and Small Business Fund Coordinators gathered for 5 days in Eldoert, Kenya this summer. We had people from all over Africa there!

We visited Stella in her farm with lush kale crops. She rotates the crop between maize/beans and kale to get the maximum yield. (Kenya)

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These four women learned to bake and market donuts from another woman through Sharing the Gift. (Malawi)

“How do we make our SIA programs self-sufficient?” This question has long been a topic of conversation among the SIA Board of Directors. Del Anderson was very insistent that we create partnerships that empower so that there is lasting change in a community.

The Solution

In December 2006, we considered the option of turning our SIA Small Business Fund (SBF) grants into micro-loans, which would help perpetuate the program. However, we discovered that there were several major drawbacks to loans, including the cost of administering the loans and transferring the money and the inability to reach rural populations. Instead, the SIA Board came up with a concept called Sharing the Gift.

Sharing the Gift is a “pay it forward” program. Our training manual, presented to all SBF groups before their receive their first grant introduces the concept this way, “It is a spiritual truth that blessings multiply when they are shared. Also, we are blessed as we bless others. Each business group has received the gift of a grant to begin a small business. How can we share this gift with others?”

How It’s Done

This woman received the gift of a pig from another SBF group in Uganda.

Sharing the Gift takes many different forms, including:

• Tithing a percentage of profits toward future groups
• Contributing a piglet or chick for others to begin raising
• Contributing seeds for others to start a garden
• Training others in new skills

Today, Sharing the Gift has been more successful than we ever could have imagined. Nalu Prossy, SIA SBF Coordinator in Uganda, reported at our conference in July that, “Sharing the Gift has helped create two new business groups, including the purse-making group. It is also informal giving and social help, such as helping to pay for a funeral.” In Malawi, Winkly Mahowe received the gift of a piglet in 2007 and was able to build a new home for his family.

Giving the Gift of Giving

In addition to starting new business groups, Sharing the Gift also empowers the business group members to be givers as well as receivers. It has been found that people receive genuine happiness from giving to others. Perhaps you have noticed how good it feels to be able to help a neighbor or to help others through Spirit in Action. The Small Business Fund and Sharing the Gift enables people who have grown up with very little to have enough to share with others and to be respected for their gifts to neighbors.

Five years later, SIA is proud of the impact of our unique Sharing the Gift program. We have seen that through Sharing the Gift, a SBF grant can go on to help another person, another family, and the community at large. Thank you to all SIA SBF groups that have shared the gift they have received with others in their community!

The Fall/Winter 2011 SIA Newsletter is dedicated to stories of Sharing the Gift! Look for the newsletter in your mailboxes and email inboxes soon!

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