Theresa's Eco-Jiko

Theresa prepared her financial plan before coming to the microloan workshop hosted by Jacaranda Creations, Seed of the Lord, and Surprised by Hope. She detailed a well-thought out pricing strategy and repayment plan and presented that plan to me as we worked together to complete the application form.

Theresa was asking for 8,000 KES (about $90 USD) to start an eco-jiko business. An eco-jiko is a clay stove that can burn either wood or charcoal (which is also made from wood so I’m not really sure of the difference other than size). She indicated that she has a demand for these stoves that will give her an immediate income. Believe it or not, that 8,000 KES will take about one year to repay if Theresa sells three stoves at the price she is asking every week.

One of the financial principles addressed in the workshop is how to respond to friends and family who ask for money when they know your business is prosperous. East African’s are almost socially bound to give whatever they have when asked, so overcoming this cultural demand is tricky. Attending the workshop opened the eyes of many women as we gave them permission to say “no” given the workshop teachings. Hopefully they really will have the courage to do so. Theresa acknowledged this flaw in her previous business attempts, but she now understands that keeping her business money and the salary she earns from the business separate is essential to the success of the business.

A multi-cultural committee will meet to evaluate each individual product analysis, including Theresa’s. I look forward to meeting with Theresa to talk about the importance of tithing, a financial element she neglected to include in her plan, and to show her how she can and will be profitable by tithing off the first part of her income.

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Microloan Workshop

Recently Brenda brought some small (by American standards) financial needs of the Jacaranda Creations women to a group calling themselves Seed of the Lord. This group is interested in anonymously offering microloans to meet these needs. Their heart is not only to meet the needs of these ladies, but also to help them learn financial principles that will give them a greater opportunity for success in the future.

Jacaranda Creations, Seed of the Lord, and Surprised by Hope worked side-by-side to bring relief to these ladies by creating and delivering a workshop (my role) to help them prepare a simple financial plan. We hope to continue providing workshops that will lead to even greater growth and prosperity by helping the ladies develop and implement full business plans.

To all of our surprise, about 20 ladies and a few men appeared in the doorway as an expression of their desire to learn these financial principles. Granted, some came thinking that a microloan meant we were giving way free money…but they stayed. Maybe they learned a thing or two that will help them even if we didn’t give them free money.

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Driving in Kenya

Day One:

Three practice drives in Uganda and I’m taking the girls to Nakumatt today. I hope they know where they’re going. Katie is keeping me on the left and Karen is giving directions. Becky recommended assigning someone for speed bump patrol too, but I’m out of girls.

Day Two:

I dropped Katie off at school for a clean-up day – only one helper in the car – and made it home all by myself. I’m such a big girl now.

Day Eight:

I’m an old pro at driving one particular path. I can get to Village, to Roslyn Academy, and to Jacaranda Creations. Just as I started to feel like I need more variety in the places I drive, off to church we went…highway and lots of road construction. I’ll never complain about Michigan road construction again (for a while). Then…the power steering and brakes went out just as we neared home (thank you, Lord). We made it, but almost took out a few posts and gates along the way. Big trucks are hard to turn and stop without power. Worked up a sweat on that one.

I hauled out my dusty old knowledge of how to jump a car battery and the dusty old jumper cables that went with it. The second car’s battery was dead. Dead beyond revival.

Just as I was wishing for a road map of Kenya like we have in the states, so that we could have a driving/sightseeing adventure, it all came to a screeching halt. Oh well, God probably protected us from something.

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Jacaranda Creations, Maruri Branch

Jacaranda Creations is a ministry designed to serve the ladies who live in the Nairobi slums by providing work and thus income. The needs of the families who live here are much greater than could ever be met by one ministry, but the effect Jacaranda Creations and Brenda are having on the women who live there is tremendous. I hope to learn more about her business model with the idea that it might be duplicated in Uganda, perhaps with the Konoweka women.

We visited the Maruri slums, the location of one of several branches where the women gather to work on projects assigned by Jacaranda. The office is simple and is one of four small sections in a larger (but still very small) building. The two rooms are tidy – one is filled with sewing machines that the ladies come to use every day, another is a workspace with a tall table and access to irons and other equipment needed to make the products. The walls are painted a soothing shade of lavender and a jacaranda tree graces one of them.

As I think about what this workspace means to Jacaranda and the women who work there, I think about the practical value. What goes into having such a space? First, rent and electricity (monthly). Second, equipment and maintenance (sewing machines, irons, scissors, etc.). How simple the idea seems, really, provided the cost of rent and utilities can be kept up. In Uganda, I believe this cost would be about $75 monthly.

The part I have yet to understand is how the equipment stays put and stays in good condition. I don’t mean to sound negative, but it’s much more common that equipment breaks down and stays in disrepair and that the scissors are “borrowed” never to be returned. Instilling a sense of ownership in the ladies who work here is essential but it’s not often enough. I look forward to talking to Brenda more about how she manages these outposts and how she identified and selected leaders to help.

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The Great Rift Valley

The Great Rift Valley is one continuous trench about 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles) long. The Rift runs from northern Syria in Asia to central Mozambique in Africa. Once upon a time the earth’s crust weakened and tore apart, which created this jagged rift. The land on both sides erupted with great volcanic mountains and the valley floor sank into a low, flat plain. The Rift neatly divides Kenya down the length of the country essentially separating the East from the West. The Great Rift Valley is home to about 30 active and semi-active volcanoes and numerous hot springs.

While waiting for the girls, Don and Becky drove me just a few minutes outside Nairobi to see the Rift. Unfortunately, the day was pretty cloudy. What little I could see was beautiful. Although the site reminded me a bit of Estes Park, the size of this valley is beyond compare.

As with any touristy area, the small wooden shops lined the roadside. Rather than actually sitting on the road, though, these shops hung over the edge of the drop off supported underneath only by a few sticks. What a view! I did wonder about the toilet…given that they tend to be pit latrines.

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Seed of the Lord Microloans

I think the new Jacaranda office is on one of the roads near the school, although I wouldn’t bet my life on it. I met with Brenda today, the servant-leader behind the ministry. She and some other ministry-minded folks have been hoping to start a microloan service to meet the immediate and urgent needs of a few of the many people in Nairobi. Although we realize that most microloans are offered only to businesses that have already proven to be viable, they’re willing to take a few risks with start up businesses as well.

After establishing the goal as being that of teaching loan recipients some financial planning skills, we talked about our need for learning about the successes and failures of other microloan organizations. We hope to connect with experienced lenders to learn what to do and what not to do pertaining to these loans.

Several assignments were made, including assignments for me. I’m charged with reviewing an existing curriculum and concentrating that teaching into a 2 hour workshop. We’ll spend an hour reviewing the principles of business to help equip applicants to develop viable financial plans. We’ll spend the second hour reviewing the plan they develop, refining it, and talking about loan alternatives for those whose plan isn’t viable. I’ll deliver the workshop this week primarily to the initial loan applicants, but the workshop will be open to anyone wishing to apply. Finally, the applications will go to a committee who will decide whether or not to approve the loan based on the feasibility of the plan.

A few of us, including me, will provide ongoing business training to continue to equip loan recipients and applicants to understand principles of financial and business planning. I’m so excited to become part of what God is doing through Jacaranda Creations!

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Andrew and Lauren's Wedding

Witnessing the planning of an intercultural wedding was…interesting. The wedding committee meets several times ahead of the wedding to advise the bride and groom and to help ensure things run smoothly on the day of the wedding. In Lauren’s case, Andy was in the UK for several of the early meetings and Lauren was left to hold her own against a band of Ugandan cultural traditions. No, she would not have a changing dress (post wedding, pre reception) to the gasp of many. No, the budget would not allow inviting the entire community of family and friends related to each and every individual guest. Yes, she would choose her own reception music. And yes, she would actually kiss the groom during the ceremony. Every decision was a clash of cultures, but in the end the blend was beautiful.

Lauren chose me to be her matron of honor. I am under no illusion that her choice was based on the fact that her closest friends could not afford to travel to Uganda for the special day. But I’d like to think that I was a close second or third. We’ve become good friends during the five months we lived together, we have a rhythm that just works. Likening me to Rachel (from her favorite television series, Friends) at Barry and Mindy’s wedding sealed it. You would never do that to someone you didn’t know for sure would forgive you later. Now that I see the photos, she may have been right.

The pastor gave the best man and the matron of honor a lifelong charge to be wise counsel, among other things, for the bride and groom. I take that role very seriously. We may not always be in physical proximity. Friends grow apart. But I want both Andy and Lauren to know that I will always be there for them in whatever way needed for the rest of our lives. Andrew and Lauren make a beautiful couple and I look forward to watching their marriage mature.

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Open Air Film Ministry

The Namulanda trading center was the location of our open air film ministry. The center boasts a small circle of open space surrounded by vendors of various sorts. As darkness descends, the food vendors emerge. This nightlife is all new to me. I’m instructed to stay inside at night for safety reasons – with special dispensation when surrounded by lots of guys from the ministry team – so I never knew all this yummy food became available after dark.

As we set up the video stand and screen along with all the necessary equipment, we learned that the house from which we would get our power could not support the sound system, computer, and video projector. Snap, the power went out just as we were prepared to show the film. Two weeks in a row the power of electricity zapped our ability to have this time of ministry. I choose to believe the enemy is fighting a battle against us because we are doing a good thing for God.

As we made preparations to set up, the children swarmed to see what was happening. One tiny tot – she couldn’t have even been a full year old yet – grabbed my finger without fear. I couldn’t resist but to pick her up. She snuggled up to my chest and promptly fell asleep. Again, disappointed that the film ministry didn’t take place but loved the little surprise I got at the end.

So many people were disappointed that the film wasn’t shown. Sometimes they think we’re liars and trying to trick them. Please pray that the enemy would be defeated to the glory of God. Amen.

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Change for Change

Many of us have heard that change is normal and that we should get used to it. Just about the time we get used to constant change, something changes. Some of us have even choked on a change wheel designed to “help” us through the change process.

For the women of the Nairobi slums, sometimes change doesn’t happen fast enough. When will change come to their living conditions? When will change come to the cost of school fees? When will change come to the sanitation facilities? When will change come to the lack of food on the table? You can help!

1.      Take one of the Jacaranda change purses. 2.      Fill it to the brim with the biggest change you can find. Ask your coworkers, talk to your neighbors, let your kids take it to school, empty the ash tray in your car, dump the Mason jar, clean under the sofa cushions, dig out the bottom of your purse. No, you don’t have to be able to zip it shut. 3.      Give the change (and keep the change purse) to a woman of Jacaranda Creations. 4.      Contact me for delivery and pick up.

One change purse to create positive change one woman.

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Attention Coffee Lovers

Six million people work in the Kenyan coffee-growing industry, an industry regulated by a corrupt government auction system. The idea was to create fair international trade for even small and family-owned farms. However, because the industry has become so lucrative, given the delicious flavor and high demand of Kenyan coffee, small and family-owned farms are losing out.

Unlike Kenya, I’ve actually been into Kapchorwa and Mount Elgon of Uganda to see the local people growing, harvesting, drying, and selling the coffee along the roadside. The Uganda Coffee Development Authority was designed to foster the growth of a quality coffee industry there; whether or not the authority includes corruption is unknown. Since the early 1990s, the coffee industry of Uganda has been entirely in the private hands of almost 2.8 million people working in the industry.

If you’re a coffee lover then you’ll love this. Help the small farm families of East Africa by ordering 2 kilos (roughly 1 pound) of whole bean Kenyan or Ugandan coffee for $20 and I’ll hand deliver that coffee directly from the country of origin into your hands. Don’t worry, I’ll purchase the coffee for you just before I leave.

If you’d like some fresh East African coffee, just send me a note and I’ll give you more details.

In the mean time, check out these links for more information about the coffee industry in East Africa.

Coffee Board of Kenya

Uganda Coffee Trade Federation

Uganda Coffee Development Authority

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Fred's Mom's House and Bujagali Falls

The house was a generous gift from a Florida family and we stopped there to visit the woman known only as Fred’s mom. Henry, Gabriel and others helped to build this small house for Fred’s mom, who took five grandchildren into her original one-room home after both their parents died.

We found Fred’s mom and daughter sitting on the outside veranda shucking beans for their one meal of the day. They welcomed us into their simple structure and thanked Mercy Uganda for the generous gift. Ugandans have such good manners – they’re very formal in the way they greet and thank visitors.

Just a hop, skip, and a jump beyond Fred’s mom’s house was…Bujagali Falls. Yep, you can’t drive all this way and NOT visit the falls…right? The falls are scheduled to be flooded within the next four months. Sad. Hopefully that’s four months Africa time and not mzungu time.

This lovely lizard thingy crawled up next to me and sunbathed, while I watched to be sure he didn’t decide to have me for lunch. As usual the view was magnificent. During my next trip to Jinja, I’ll be sure to do some rafting lest the falls be gone completely.

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Street Children

Cars come to a screeching halt at the wave of the traffic police (never mind the stoplights) in the 1.5 million-person city of Kampala. A 10-minute or more wait is not unheard of during rush hour traffic. Most people call this a nuisance, I call it motion economy. The hawkers shove their wares – sunglasses, belts, airtime, maps, sugar cane, and more – into open car windows until the passengers forcefully decline. They move on to the next vehicle.

The children descend on those same passengers in hopes of being given a little money. The streets of Kampala are filled with beautiful, smart, imaginative children. Unfortunately, these very children are often taken from far-away Karamoja (although some are from other places) and made to work as beggars. They have pimps. Even the babies and young toddlers know their role in this giant world. Imagine how your child would respond to being asked to sit on the sidewalk with their tiny hands out for 15 minutes, let alone all day every day. Add to that not speaking the language of the majority of people in the country – the Karamajong children speak Karamajong, not Luganda or English.

Taking pictures is usually met with forceful insistence that payment is required, but upon this occasion I used the logic that they approached me…I didn’t approach them. How odd that we pity the children for how they are forced to live, yet we also find them a nuisance when they come to the car window begging for food or money. Food or money they won’t likely get to keep for themselves.

We lamented over how nice it would be to take these children off the street and love them, educate them, and help them grow. Then we anguished over the fact that they would hardly be let go of their income-generating positions without a serious fight. I pray that God would grant us the wisdom to know exactly how we can make a difference in this crazy world.

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Konoweka Bibles

“Turn in your Bibles to Ephesians 2:1-10.” Typically the sound of pages fluttering would fill the room. However, silence filled this small church. The group of women meeting at the Konoweka Orphans and Widows Hut are learning about entering God’s presence thanks to a set of Bible study guides donated for their use. Unfortunately, they cannot turn to the Bible verse because most don’t have a Bible where they can meet with and learn about God.

The loving folks at Beaverdam Baptist Church felt led to collect and send Bibles for these ladies and wow did they ever send Bibles. Five huge boxes arrived; each box carefully stuffed with Bibles, bookmarks, and personal notes to the ladies. I just got a message that six more boxes are on their way. What an amazing gift!

I explained to the women that these Bibles appear well-worn. In some of the Bibles the leather was cracked, the pages were written in, or the paper turned yellow. We talked about what the gift of heavily used Bibles really means. People in the United States tend to keep their Bible for a long time. They write in it, pray from it, and sometimes carry it wherever they go. They record their names, births, deaths, and other important events. These books are not just any books. What all this Bible wear means is that the most treasured items were sacrificed just for them. These Bibles had owners, they have histories, they have life.

The women debated over who would get which Bible – some loved the KJV translation, some needed the larger print, others wanted the blue Bible whose specific history was known. They hugged these Bibles to their chests like they were defending a football.

Yea God! Thank you for putting all these people in my life – Konoweka and Beaverdam.

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Konoweka Children

Children scream “mzungu” and come running at me as soon as I turn the corner. Runny noses, dirty paws, coughs and all…I greet these children with hugs and cheers. We walk together – three or four tiny hands in one of each of my own hands – toward the church. Initially the children ran around the dirt-floored structure until they were shooed out by a passing adult.

Last week I began singing children’s Bible songs and we enjoyed a short time of child-like worship together before the ladies arrived. This week, the children came running as usual but instead of running crazy each child sat quietly on the bench in front of the room waiting for me to begin singing.

Eight little voices sang the Hallelujah, Praise Ye the Lord song among many other songs I scarcely recalled from my own childhood. Then, each child sang in their best little voice the song of their own choosing. Such a beautiful part of the Ugandan culture includes music and dance. One small girl had a voice that almost brought me to tears. She sang well enough but that wasn’t it. The Holy Spirit was in that particular voice. Oh my.

Once the ladies began to arrive we rounded the children into a circle and Pastor Jessica and I prayed over them. What a special gift! Dear God, please make every week before Bible study just like this one.

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Real Pancakes

Betty Crocker has been tucked away in a Ziplock for several months now just collecting dust on the lower pantry shelf in the kitchen. Mom sent me two boxes of white cake mix with frosting because Lauren had a hankerin’. Lauren picked up the box while I was away and never made the cake. These boxes called to me…but the dilemma, as always, was how to cook them with only a propane gas stovetop cooker.

Eventually I got around to thinking to myself, self…how different are pancakes from cake-cake really? They can’t be that much different. I wonder if white cake in the shape of pancakes would cook in the pan properly. Hmm, pan-cakes.

I broke open the box and carefully measured the powdery mix out onto a plate-bowl. (That would be 4 cups exactly.) I chose to divide the mix into thirds because three egg whites were required and dividing eggs seemed most challenging. Then I moved 2.66 cups back into the original bag and used a clothespin to seal it from our ant friends. I divided the remaining ingredients into thirds – 1 egg white, 1/3 plus 1/3 of 1/3 cup water, and 1/3 of 1/2 cup oil.

Oil in the pan and cake mix in the pan in small pancake-cookie shapes. The cookies were a bit lighter and fluffier than pancakes but, um…they were soooooo good. Frosting topped the mix although that may come back on me later. The can seemed to have popped open like the individual size can of Pringles on an airplane. So, this frosting may have been open since January. I thought the little brown things were chocolate chips.

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People of Karamoja

The woman on the right is Gabriel's mother.

The girl sitting up had been wobbling back and forth
trying not to fall over as she dozed off to sleep.
The little one in yellow obviously had the right idea.

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Leslie Learn's to Drive

Along that remote dirt road returning from Kotido some of the team hopped out for pictures of the countryside, others hopped out to “ease themselves.” Gabriel had taken my camera so I, devious person that I am, hopped into the driver’s seat and took off down the road at what could have been clocked at 10 km per hour…at least. No cars had passed to this point so driving down the center of a remote dirt road seemed reasonable practice. Patrick, the driver, didn’t come chasing after me so I took that as permission.

Whoops, a car came speeding up behind me. Which side am I supposed to move to? I started to the right then realized the mistake and moved to the left. Yep, swerving all over the road trying to figure out how to get out of the way. Watchers might have thought I’d been sipping on the local brew…until they saw I was mzungu.

I think when you drive a taxi you’re supposed to have passengers. Well, they needed the exercise.

Closest first: Laura, Mark, Patrick (driver)

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The Back Way Home

 Our trip to Kotido added a few hours to the very long return drive, but the view along the way was beautiful. Uganda is very mountainous, although a bit like the foot of the Ozarks rather than the Ozarks themselves. We watched the people go from being bone thin, wearing wraps, and walking with a staff to having just a bit of meat on their bones, wearing western-donated clothing (although literally falling apart at the seams), and sauntering down the roadside.

Two known dangers of taking photos along the road exist. Some people believe evil will come if their photo is captured and will become quite furious at passer’s by. Other people are happy to pose and then promptly put out their hand for payment. Most of the time they just love to see themselves on the camera and forget about demanding money. Sometimes, though, we end up speeding away.

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A Dolly in Kotido

Mercy Uganda visited Kotido for the first time “on the way home” from Matany in Karamoja. Our objective was to meet with a family who was building an orphanage there to see if we might find ways to work together. I came across this proper little young lady who seemed the perfect size for a dolly. I love spreading these gifts far and wide across the vast African continent.

This young lady knew exactly what to do with her dolly. She carried the doll on her back like the other maamas do. She traipsed all around the compound with her doll on her front and on her back. All the children were curious but they politely left her to her games. She kept saying something to me with a big smile and those beautiful white teeth. Her father approached and easily translated that she was “appreciating me.” Awe, sweetie.

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A Dolly in Kayapath

For the first time ever, a dolly recipient (not shown in photos) rejected the gift, perhaps out of fear. Keep in mind that Kayapath is far away from the semi-developed parts of Karamoja and the concept of a doll or any man-made toy may have been quite foreign…let alone a very bright mzungu. The nearby men quickly moved the gift to another girl who took a while to warm to the thing.

The older children pulled at the doll wishing to have their turn to examine the odd creature. Of course, investigating underneath the dress was proper protocol. In the end this young girl wouldn’t surrender her doll for examination by anyone else.

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Matany to Kotido

A long dirt road connects Matany and Kotido – subcounties in Karamoja. Somewhere in between a game preserve promised some interesting scenery. While this preserve is not the same as the wildlife preserves where giraffe, elephants, lions and the other expected African animals could be found, we did see two fox, some partridge, and a few four-legged hoppy things (like the deer family but very small).

The landscape changed from barren, dessert-like cover to occasional green bushes and then to full trees. The view was nothing like a forest, but it was certainly a more densely covered landscape resulting from semi-plentiful water.

The game preserve gave way to large garden plots where women and a few men plowed and tended the orderly crops. Why such a difference in the development of the garden between Kotido and Matany? Supposedly Kotido receives even less rain than Matany but even so the groups living in this region were a bit more advanced. An inquiry revealed that because the whites came and fed knowledge and money this area. It’s amazing what a little outside help can do to help (and hurt) a nation.

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Rain for Karamoja

  

Typical landscape
with a few watered crops from the new well.



Green, green, green. Karamoja seldom gets rain…seldom as in a few days each year. This lack of rain causes starvation for the people in this region. Boarding schools send students home for weeks at a time because of a lack of food. But this week the rains came…and they came. The formerly brown and gray landscape became that lush, rich green so common to the southern part of the country.

  

Current lush landscape.



The crops responded to the moisture by popping out of the barren ground in haphazard dots across the landscape. Some gardens were man-height, others baby-height. Whatever the case, the people are less familiar with how exactly to care for these crops because they seldom have enough water to see them through to harvest. Can you imagine?

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