Because of the substantial flight delays from Arua, my time in Kampala has been cut short, but it has still been productive. I spent Sunday evening and morning with Ted Pantone who was visiting me from Kenya. Ted is a gradute of The King's College, spent two years in the manufacturing industry in Cleveland and then came with me to Arua last summer. He got bitten by the Africa bug and is now back working for a non-profit organization backed by the Gates Foundation bringing clean water to communities in Kenya. He arrived by motorbike that he has acquired over here! We talked about Arua, Kenya, his organization, our sprirtual lives and families. Most of our conversation took place at the terrace restaurant of the Namirembe Guest House, overlooking Kampala - the "Million Dollar View" as it is branded here! Ted is doing well, enjoying his experience and learning a great deal. I am proud of him!
We then headed over to Jesus Commissioned Ministries on the back of his motorbike - through the center of Kampala no less. We must have been quite a sight, two Mazungu on a small motorbike weaving our way through the Kampala traffic. The Kampala drivers took pity on us a number of times and we arrived unharmed, though I still don't know how Ted got the bike and us through a number of narrow spaces!! Nothing like ahving an inexperienced Boda Boda driver!!
Jesus Commissioned Ministries is the church we have been working with for 3 years now. They are situated off the Entebbe Road in a slum area of Kampala. Kampala is a city of hills,and generally the wealthy live on the hillsides and the poorer citizens live in the valleys. You understand why when the heavy rains come! The school is in the church building (read a tin roof supported by wooden poles and grass/corrugated metal walls with a hard dirt floor). Currently we have built three classrooms, one for the "baby" and kindergarten classes, one for Primary 1 (P1) and the other for P2. The children range in age from 3 to 9. The classrooms have been built with raised floors - some 3 feet to avoid flooding during the rains. each classroom is now equipped with newly made desks and benches or tables and chairs for the younger children. There are now three teachers who are beginning to receive some small level of compensation. Currently 55 children are enrolled, up from 30 last year. The goal is to have the parents pay some amount of school fees for every child. Experience has shown that if parents get the education for free, they will not value it. If they pay, they are more likely to make sure their children are benefitting. The children performed three songs/dances for us and it was very moving! They had been looking forward to our visit all day and apparently not much work had been done that day!! I sat with the church leaders to talk about the school afterwards and we talked about a number of things that would make the school more valuable to the community. I was able to present the church with money that had been donated by a couple in my home church - Hope Christian Church. The response was wonderful and they will provide a full accounting for the use of the funds. Thanks to the donors - you know who you are!! We had also had a group from The King's College, New York City visit and teach a couple of weeks prior to my visit. I received nothing but glowing reprts about their visit and their teaching skills. Thanks to these wonderful students.
Today I met with one of my Arua entrepreneurs who was in Kampala and agreed to another loan to move his business forward. It is exciting to see the way these men and womne in Arua are getting the vision of work. For the rest of the day, I will try to make contact with a lawyer here who can help us think through the future structure of BVA and the Arua initiatives, and see if a couple of the WGM missionaries are available for a meeting. Then its off to the airport for my return flight. I'll try to write a summary blog once I'm home.
I can't tell you how much I have valued your thoughts and prayers during this time. There is so little time to spend in quiet with the Lord on this kind of trip, and it is so great to know that others are raising you up in prayer!
Thanks and Blessings! See you in the States!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
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The Genesis of the 5810 Project
Vision
When Jesus was asked what was the most important command he answered: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your heart and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments”
As a follower of Jesus, it is challenging to obey these commands, particularly with regard to my neighbors.
How can I love my neighbors? How can I love my neighbors in a global context? How can I love my neighbors who are struggling to thrive in developing countries?
The classic response of western Christians has been to “send”. Whether we send those that have been called to vocational ministry, or send money and resources to “give to the poor”, or occasionally send ourselves on short-term missions trips. Each of these has value, but is this enough? Is it effective? Is it all that God calls us to?
The questions become more complex when you consider that no matter how much money we have spent on the “war on poverty” over decades, the problem remains as acute as ever. We are not winning the war, even here in the US. Are there other approaches?
As I struggled with these ideas, I was led to consider Isaiah Chapter 58. Here God tells us what true fasting is – to loose the chains of injustice; to set the oppressed free; to share food with the hungry; and to provide the poor with shelter. Then verse 10 says “…if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will become like the noonday.”
“If you spend yourselves in behalf of others …….”
While we should send, we need to spend too.
What does it look like to spend ourselves?
For me I have been led to spend myself as follows:
• To go to a developing country, and to go repeatedly.
• To develop personal relationships with innovative leaders
• To use my own specific gifting and experience in business
• To find ways to move people out of the poverty cycle on a sustainable basis
• To invest money in parallel with my activities
• To share the love of Christ with my neighbor and to spend myself on their behalf.
5810 Project
The 5810 Project is predicated on the belief that while “teaching a man to fish” will provide him with a fish diet for a lifetime, it will not lead him out of poverty. To escape poverty people need to develop sustainable business activities. The 5810 Project’s vision is to provide an opportunity for business people from developed countries to share the love of Christ with their neighbor by “spending” themselves on behalf of others who are trying to build businesses and break the poverty cycle.
The 5810 Project is currently focused on two principal activities in Uganda.
Arua
Arua is a significant market town in the NW of Uganda, with Sudan to the north and Congo to the West. It is an agricultural market town that has grown because of government and NGO activity primarily in S. Sudan, but now increasingly in E. Congo. While the town has prospered and grown, the native Aruans have not enjoyed this economic boon.
Our efforts in Arua are centered on helping the church and Christian business people develop sustainable businesses.
We work with businesspeople to analyze the market situation in Arua, to offer training sessions, to encourage and mentor entrpreneurs and to invest in their businesses.
Kampala
Jesus Commissioned Ministries (“JCM”) is a church founded in 2000 serving three poor communities on the outskirts of Kampala. The leadership of JCM has a heart to reach the many underprivileged children in the communities it serves. Without education, there is little hope for these children to thrive. While education is available, the costs are prohibitive for most families. JCM has established Mercy Junior School (elementary) for these children. In addition to education, the children receive uniforms, food and school materials. The school currently has over 50 pupils in two Pre-K classes and Primary 1 (P1)and Primary 2 (p2) and is building classrooms for P3,4 & 5 for completion in the spring of 2011.
The 5810 Project has helped Mercy Junior School develop its rudimentary facilities and to buy a neighboring plot of land for expansion. We also advise the administrators of the school on business and education practices and have steered them through a process of becoming a fee-baseda significant drive to parent involvement and elevated educational standards and outcomes.
Opportunity
We believe that the 5810 Project offers a significant opportunity for the body of Christ:
• Grass roots opportunity to create sustainable businesses and deliver families and communities out of the oppression of poverty.
• Many business opportunities are apparent with relatively small investment levels necessary.
• Opportunities for talented business people to connect personally with emerging entrepreneurs and spend themselves on them.
• Opportunity for the body of Christ in the developed world to share the love of Christ with our neighbors in developing countries.
• Transformational impact on the “spender” and recipient alike!
If you would like to discuss this further, please contact me Andy Mills at amills@tkc.edu
When Jesus was asked what was the most important command he answered: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your heart and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments”
As a follower of Jesus, it is challenging to obey these commands, particularly with regard to my neighbors.
How can I love my neighbors? How can I love my neighbors in a global context? How can I love my neighbors who are struggling to thrive in developing countries?
The classic response of western Christians has been to “send”. Whether we send those that have been called to vocational ministry, or send money and resources to “give to the poor”, or occasionally send ourselves on short-term missions trips. Each of these has value, but is this enough? Is it effective? Is it all that God calls us to?
The questions become more complex when you consider that no matter how much money we have spent on the “war on poverty” over decades, the problem remains as acute as ever. We are not winning the war, even here in the US. Are there other approaches?
As I struggled with these ideas, I was led to consider Isaiah Chapter 58. Here God tells us what true fasting is – to loose the chains of injustice; to set the oppressed free; to share food with the hungry; and to provide the poor with shelter. Then verse 10 says “…if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed then your light will rise in the darkness and your night will become like the noonday.”
“If you spend yourselves in behalf of others …….”
While we should send, we need to spend too.
What does it look like to spend ourselves?
For me I have been led to spend myself as follows:
• To go to a developing country, and to go repeatedly.
• To develop personal relationships with innovative leaders
• To use my own specific gifting and experience in business
• To find ways to move people out of the poverty cycle on a sustainable basis
• To invest money in parallel with my activities
• To share the love of Christ with my neighbor and to spend myself on their behalf.
5810 Project
The 5810 Project is predicated on the belief that while “teaching a man to fish” will provide him with a fish diet for a lifetime, it will not lead him out of poverty. To escape poverty people need to develop sustainable business activities. The 5810 Project’s vision is to provide an opportunity for business people from developed countries to share the love of Christ with their neighbor by “spending” themselves on behalf of others who are trying to build businesses and break the poverty cycle.
The 5810 Project is currently focused on two principal activities in Uganda.
Arua
Arua is a significant market town in the NW of Uganda, with Sudan to the north and Congo to the West. It is an agricultural market town that has grown because of government and NGO activity primarily in S. Sudan, but now increasingly in E. Congo. While the town has prospered and grown, the native Aruans have not enjoyed this economic boon.
Our efforts in Arua are centered on helping the church and Christian business people develop sustainable businesses.
We work with businesspeople to analyze the market situation in Arua, to offer training sessions, to encourage and mentor entrpreneurs and to invest in their businesses.
Kampala
Jesus Commissioned Ministries (“JCM”) is a church founded in 2000 serving three poor communities on the outskirts of Kampala. The leadership of JCM has a heart to reach the many underprivileged children in the communities it serves. Without education, there is little hope for these children to thrive. While education is available, the costs are prohibitive for most families. JCM has established Mercy Junior School (elementary) for these children. In addition to education, the children receive uniforms, food and school materials. The school currently has over 50 pupils in two Pre-K classes and Primary 1 (P1)and Primary 2 (p2) and is building classrooms for P3,4 & 5 for completion in the spring of 2011.
The 5810 Project has helped Mercy Junior School develop its rudimentary facilities and to buy a neighboring plot of land for expansion. We also advise the administrators of the school on business and education practices and have steered them through a process of becoming a fee-baseda significant drive to parent involvement and elevated educational standards and outcomes.
Opportunity
We believe that the 5810 Project offers a significant opportunity for the body of Christ:
• Grass roots opportunity to create sustainable businesses and deliver families and communities out of the oppression of poverty.
• Many business opportunities are apparent with relatively small investment levels necessary.
• Opportunities for talented business people to connect personally with emerging entrepreneurs and spend themselves on them.
• Opportunity for the body of Christ in the developed world to share the love of Christ with our neighbors in developing countries.
• Transformational impact on the “spender” and recipient alike!
If you would like to discuss this further, please contact me Andy Mills at amills@tkc.edu
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