Missing Link Microfinance is launched

A new project launched

It was a ‘proud mummy’ moment, as well as an ‘honoured to be there’ moment yesterday when I sat under a mango tree in Mityana to be part of the opening seminar for the ‘Missing-Link’ Microfinance project.

John Njendahayo, Uganda director of CRED Partner Link International, and I first discussed this project back in November 2014 when I was here in Uganda with a team of young people. From that conversation came further discussions resulting in the decision that CRED, and its supporters, would raise the funds to set the microfinance project into being.

9 months on, and many generous donations later, as well as some writing of plans, M&E tools, projections and budgets, and the project is being launched.

The proud mummy moment is due to the fact that over the past few weeks both Rozzie and Natalie, and friend Ruth, have played key roles in getting the final bits and pieces sorted whilst they’ve been in Uganda. From drawing up the application forms, to Rozzie using her law degree knowledge to fine-tune the contract side of things, to sorting the logistics (as agreed with John) into a logical order, to Natalie and Ruth taking in application forms and answering questions from people who had heard of the scheme on the grapevine and were desperate to get involved, through to Natalie leading part of the seminar yesterday which explained to everyone how the scheme would work – definitely a memory I will treasure!

As the seminar progressed, after the outline of the programme had been explained, we moved to time for questions, and what a fascinating period that was. Some of the questions were quite straight forward clarification issues, but others related to some cultural issues that we ‘mzungus’ would never have been able to anticipate (and which just goes to show why projects should always be set up with local knowledge and input, rather than ‘outsiders’ coming in and laying down the law)

Mityana, where the scheme is taking place, is a rural farming community on the edge of a tea plantation, which employs a significant proportion of people from the community. So the main sources of employment / income are from farming, plantation work, cattle owning (which is different to farming apparently) and ‘other services’. And then there are the unemployed / casual labourers.

So some of the questions that arose yesterday related to the perception of each other from one group to another, and who would be best / most trustworthy at making the repayments etc. Then there was the issue of relatives of plantation workers feeling an innate sense of ‘bondage’ to the plantation manager and not feeling able to do anything in case it put jobs at risk for the plantation workers. And another group of questions related to spouses, and whether their permission needed to be sought – not wanting to encourage marital disharmony we replied that spousal involvement would definitely be preferable!

It was a very good session, and with approximately 60 people attending, the challenge will clearly be choosing whom to give the first loans to. That isn’t our problem of course, that is for the local field officer to decide, along with John, after they have done home visits and discussed the plans that people have on how to use the loans.

There is a long way to go in this journey, and no doubt lots of lessons to learn along the way on all sides. But it is exciting to see that the project is underway, and that a new opportunity is available to one community in the Mityana district to exercise their entrepreneurship and start to work their way out of poverty.

With thanks to John for dreaming the dream, for Natalie, Rozzie and Ruth for helping in the setting up, for Shaw Trust in donating the much needed laptop, and to all the various friends of CRED Foundation who have helped to raise the funds. And to John’s dad who lives in Mityana and opens his living room to be the office for the project, and provides the mango tree under which we sat for the seminar!

And finally (because I like to save the best til last) to God – for His great provision, and for choosing us to be involved in this part of His Kingdom work.

I look forward to reporting back on progress!

some of the attendees

Natalie and John leading the seminar

the youngest attendee - he didn't apply for a loan though!

Mary Zema of SWAR: Another inspiring woman to add to my list

Today I met Mary Zema, founder of Sanyuka Women At Risk. A quiet, humble lady, she is also a force to be reckoned with when it comes to standing up for the ladies that she supports.

Mary started Sanyuka in 2007, after feeling called to do something to help the many ladies who are caught up in the cycle of prostitution. This is the description of Sanyuka in her words:

Sanyuka Women At Risk (SWAR) exists to help women living in prostitution and their children towards a life of self sufficiency and a healthier lifestyle.  Our current activities include night visits, art therapy, structured counseling, home visits, skills development, church mobilization, entrepreneurship, capacity building, women fellowships, literacy education, children holiday program, school visits.

Sanyuka Women At Risk (SWAR) is situated in Mbikko, a semi urban township just outside of Jinja, a town about 80 km from Kampala, Uganda.  Mbikko is one of the main stopovers in Uganda for long distant drivers who come with a lot of money with the aim of spending it on alcohol and women.  It has also become well known as a place for drugs, alcohol and most especially prostitution.  Every year, many young women and girls come to Jinja and Mbikko with the aim of making money for themselves in an honest way.  Unfortunately due to the lack of opportunities in the area, many women are unable to earn enough money to support themselves, and as a result they fall into the trap of prostitution.  Their vulnerability to falling into prostitution is heightened by the high number of bars and loose morals in the region – and as this is one of the few ways women can earn a living they find themselves being forced, coerced and deceived into prostitution. 

Mary, and her small team of incredibly dedicated staff, run a rehabilitation home for a group of ladies who have shown over a number of months that they are dedicated to getting off the streets and starting a new and better life. The project takes 10 ladies at a time, and their children, and the programme that they undertake is a year in length, to give time for them to completely leave behind their old habits and get discipleship, counseling, skills training etc for the future.

Today, when we visited the project, we heard testimonies from the ladies, about how they have journeyed from a place of darkness and hopelessness, to a place of light and hope. How they have moved from hating themselves and all that their life represented, to experiencing love and in turn being able to show love to their children. How they have moved from anger and bitterness against those who wronged them in the past, to a place of forgiveness and reconciliation with family members.

One of the ladies had a child called Miracle, and she told us of the story of his birth, and what a miracle it was that he was born at all due to all the obstacles that loomed in her way – health and financial – at the time of his birth. As she told us the story there were tears of joy in the eyes of many, and I was prompted to remind them that each of them has a story that is miraculous in its own way, that each of the ladies is in their own way a miracle.

The needs are great in this project, like so many other projects out there. Whilst there is funding for the one year programme for the ladies, there isn’t money to continue to cover the cost of the education fees for the children. It only costs £30 / term per child, but for ladies who are starting out in a new job even that is a lot.

And there are professional needs – further counseling training for the staff, play therapy for the children’s worker. And a vehicle so they can get out to do the home visits more easily. And land so SWAR can build their own place and take in more ladies, and not have to turn so many women away…. Many needs, much prayer, and in the meantime they keep forging ahead, doing what they can, with the resources that they have.

Once the ladies are out of the programme and having to make their way in the world, it could be easy for them to slip back into the money making profession of prostitution, if their new plans for work don’t succeed. But I pray, as do the ladies and the SWAR staff, that the determination that each of the ladies showed today in their testimonies, and that they have shown in getting this far through the programme will carry them through the tough times and out the other side.

Mary Zema oozes love, compassion, selflessness, generosity and a determination to see the best done for each of the ladies who comes into her programme. May she be rewarded for her ongoing efforts, by seeing great provision, for the Sanyuka Women At Risk project, and for the ladies and their children as they forge forwards into their brave new worlds.

PS - if any one out there feels inspired to support one of the children at £10/ month, just let me know.

The current group of ladies on the programme

Mary Zema is the lady in pink standing at the back

A little bit of me and whole lot of God

As many of you know, the Acholi community in Kampala is one that is very close to my heart, and part of my ongoing visits to Uganda are to explore how God is calling me to get further involved in equipping and empowering that community.

Over the years of visiting, not surprisingly one gets to know certain individuals more than others, and there has always been one little lad, Innocent, who caught my attention. He has a very endearing smile, always tries hard, always looks out for others younger than himself, and at the same time has a vulnerability about him that he is trying to rise above

Late last year I was able to find out more about him and his situation, including family set up – he is the youngest of 3 boys, and then there are 2 girls above them, so 5 children altogether. Dad is not on the scene – a common occurrence in this community; and the children don’t all share the same dad – another common occurrence.

To try to make ends meet, mum had resorted to prostitution, and the boys often were found wandering the streets as they waited for mum to finish her ‘work’ in the house. They would often go with only one small meal a day. None of them went to school as mum couldn’t afford the cost of the educational extra’s – uniform, pencils, books, shoes etc

Innocent had various health issues as well, including TB and a problem with his liver – treatment was more than they could afford.

When I found out about Innocent’s situation, I discussed with the community leaders whether it would be appropriate for me to provide any financial support so that the health issues at least could be treated, and the boys education covered. The leaders wisely advised that this would be appropriate, so long as Innocent’s mum was given the task of finding a better job, and sticking to it. As far as she knew, if she lost the job due to reasons of her making, then the support for the boys would stop. NB reality is I wouldn’t have stopped, but the leaders wanted that stipulation in place to give her the motivation to stick with it, and I was happy to follow their lead as the people who understand the cultural context best.

Now I’m not trying to make myself out to be a Holy Joe here, or big up what I did, but yesterday I had the delight of seeing the fruits of that little bit of input on my part and a whole big load of healing on God’s part.

We visited the Acholi community yesterday, and I was thrilled to bump into Innocent’s mum, who is still working as a school cook, and has held down the job now for 9 months – this is longer than she has ever had a job before. The boys are in school, and as a result are getting not just an education, but porridge at morning break, and food at lunch time.

Innocent goes for check ups every 3 months and on the last visit the doctors said his TB had completely gone, and they were very impressed with his liver function which was pretty much back to normal. I didn’t get to see him, as he was in school, but I’m guessing that his smile is back, and broader than ever!

I came away from the Acholi community yesterday with a clear reminder that God can take the little that we give and turn it into great things. We are after all just stewards of God’s provision, and it is so wonderful to be part of His work in blessing the innocent ones in this world.

The shirt off your back – almost, but totally voluntarily

Rwanda CRED Team – the story so far, well a little bit of it anyway!

Unlike many CRED teams who comprise at least one main cohort and so several of the team know each other beforehand, this team is made up of lots of individuals, or little groups of 2’s and 3’s, with the result that we were all mainly strangers to each other at the start of the trip.

But, you wouldn’t know it to see the team now, and indeed by the end of Sunday evening (day 2), there was a real sense of family between everyone.

This has carried on into the week, and the support and encouragement shown between the team members when it comes to teaching, or dealing with homesickness, or coping with the impact of the genocide memorial museum, or running the activities has been beautiful to watch. A definite sense that God wants us all here together, and has a reason for bringing each one of us to this country.

Watching the individuals come together as a strong unit has been very lovely, but equally wonderful is seeing the various individuals develop in personal ways – through increased confidence in their ability, stepping outside comfort zones and surviving, finding the real them inside themselves unhampered by the range of pressures imposed on them at home.

Lots of prayers for the individuals being answered, as they let go of various bits of inner baggage, and take hold of new dreams and opportunities

Today was a very special day in the week. Most of the time we are with the students of the Catch Up school, and that is great, don’t get me wrong. But this afternoon the Catch Up kids went home at lunchtime (not that they have any lunch), and instead we spent the afternoon with 27 of the kids who live on the streets of Kigali, and who Theoneste (GNPDR Street Pastor) looks out for as much as he can.

This was very spur of the moment, only being confirmed yesterday, and as a result the team had to pull together resources to provide the activities. They also did a little bag with some pencils, bubbles etc in for each of the street kids, but when I looked at the bags this morning they seemed a bit empty.

My mind went to the scripture that talks about giving the shirt off your back to the person in need (or something like that – apologies to any Bible scholars), and I put out an optional challenge to team members that if they would like they could see if they had a spare t-shirt that could go into the bags so that each street kid had a t-shirt to take with them.

I was blown away by the response. Within 5 minutes we had all the t-shirts needed, and more – a clear understanding that each of the team really are here for the right reasons, with a selfless heart and a clear desire to give of themselves in any way that they can.

Having seen that in the morning, and then how much the team embraced the whole afternoon with the street kids, as well as how the first half of the week has gone, I am looking forward to seeing what happens in the rest of the week, and how much more God works His purposes out through this lovely bunch of people.