Breaking the Silence

I’m writing from the comfort of my own home. We made it home safe and sound – and on time! I’m sorry that our communications have been infrequent in the last couple of days. The internet availability in our hotel was not good, and I had begun to feel increasingly sick, so the combination has conspired against more frequent updates.

Our final day in Kampala turned out to be very interesting. While in business I made it a point to talk to as many people as I could in the markets I served, because you would never know when you would gain an insight that could change the way one approached the market. We had two such meetings that day.

The first was our breakfast with the country manager for Partners Worldwide. You can link to PW from the home page of this blog. He had invited a local partner to join us to describe her work. She works with small farmers to increase the production of certain crops and helps the farmers to gain a higher part of the value chain by owning some level of primary processing, whether milling, crushing. Pressing or roasting. We had seen people try to do this in many places. The problem was that there was never a strong link between the farmer and the collective and so supply was uncertain, there was no funding for capital expenditures and farmers received lower value for their production. This young woman had designed a method of tying the farmer in to the process that is both logical a practical. It might have immediate application in a number of other areas that we have looked at this week.

The second important meeting was with a leading businessman from Arua who now lives in Kampala. He moved to Kampala a number of years ago for better schooling for his children. I had heard this comment a few times. His desire would be to live in Arua, but not without better schooling. He is currently evaluating the possibility of building a new private school. We talked about building schools and the economics necessary. During our next trip we will review progress with his plans. More importantly though, we talked about how many people had left Arua once becoming successful. It is hard for a community to be viable if all of its successful people leave. We talked about how to encourage this group to become recommitted to their homeland. He believes there could be considerable interest in this approach. We agreed that next time we are in Kampala we should gather a group of Arua exiles together and share a vision for reengagement.

Increasingly I am beginning to realize how major changes in Arua will be best served by the combined work of the church, the political establishment, business people and a team of leading citizens. Fortunately we are beginning to build good relationships with all of these groups. Perhaps we can act as a catalyst in the process.

In the next couple of days I will try to pull together all of my thoughts from this last trip and try to summarize for you all.

As always thanks for your prayers and good wishes. I have found quite a few responses to the blog in my e mail inbox and I have been encouraged by them. If you have any further thoughts, please write me at amills@tkc.edu

Blessings

En Route Home

Just a brief blog from Amsterdam Airport. We had technical problems most of the time in Kampala and so couldn't update the blog. I'll update it when I get home, and George and I will spend some time on some final thoughts about this trip.

We are keeping our eye on the flight schedule as we know there is another snow storm in Boaton. Please pray we make it - we're both more than ready to be home!

Blessings

A

Goodbye Arua!

George and I have arrived in Kampala - an "on time" Eagle Air flight!
But before we left Arua, we had breakfast with our missionary friends Billy and Joanna Coppedge and their two small daughters Elsie Jayne and Lucy May. The Coppedges were the reason that I came to Arua in the first place, as they were close friends with my daughter, Victoria, when she was in Uganda. I tell them that this is all their fault! They are missionaries with World Global Missions and are focused on teaching pastors in smaller rural churches. Their mode of teaching has evolved from a workshop format to storytelling. Billy is a master story teller and he brings the Bible to life and asks questions that really drive the listener into considering the deeper meaning of the passage. Their hope is to extend their work not only into the Sudan, but into the Congo too this year. Billy thinks very deeply about missions and the best way to reach people and I always find time with him to be very stimulating.
In Kampala we had a couple of meetings with people involved in the business of trying to make loans to small scale business people. Leonard runs a small private loan company and Archie Mears is the head of Opportunity International in Uganda. Both were very helpful in continuing to fill out our knowledge of Uganda and the difficulties of making capital available to small businesses. The difficulties are myriad from heavy government regulation to monopolistic-like practices of many large corporate agribusiness concerns to the disregard for contracts of the farmers. Generally there is an attitude of low trust and loyalty. In other words we have a moral problem! It is clear that if we are to be successful in Arua, our loyal band of Christian business men and women are going to have to break this cycle of distrust as Jesus would have them do.
We finished the day having dinner at our home in Kampala - the Namirembe Guest House on Namirembe hill. The restaurant is an outdoor veranda and it was relaxing overlooking the lights of downtown Kampala as we ate dinner. No power problems her – at least at the moment!
While we have a few appointments tomorrow (our last day in Uganda), we are both now in the “just get me home” mode.
We are trying to process as much of our time here as we can, because we know that when we get home both of us will have to hit the ground running and there will be little time to think.
Please pray that we can finish strong. Blessings from the Namirembe Guest House, home of the “million dollar view”!

Last Push!

Tomorrow we fly back to Kampala for a couple of days, so this was our last full day in Arua and George and I packed it in today!

I started in downtown Arua at the largest furniture manufacturer here - Superior Furniture. Joyce is a wonderful lady who has been running the business for many years. They make high end furniture and the market is currently weak for premium products. Unfortunately the factory keeps producing product at the normal rate and so inventory and debt are increasing rapidly. We spent a couple of hours analyzing the business, and reviewing a few alternatives. The good news is that they keep good operating data, so I was able to bring a selection of figures back with me to see if I could help further. Ultimately the business will improve when Joyce actively looks for customers outside Arua and the production process matches the demand for their various products. Joyce came to the training for the first time last Saturday, and is a new addition to the BVA family, but she already sees the enormous benefit of what BVA has to offer.

Following that we headed off to SNV, a Dutch NGO to meet with the agricultural experts that George had met on the plane into Arua. They are working to increase cash cropping in West Nile by understanding the value chains in agriculture. Interestingly enough, George and I had been developing similar ways of thinking about building sustainable businesses and we found that we had a lot in common. After talking about Sim Sim (sesame), honey, rice and dried fruits, they agreed that we could use them as a source of research, for contacts and for general advice. We appreciate their openness, not always found in the NGO world.

Peter, our pork sausage manufacturer was our host for lunch at his place. We talked marketing pork and beef products and how to increase sales volumes. This is not always easy in an environment where power is very unreliable and there are a significant number of Muslims (no pork). Peter fed us roast pork for lunch and then we walked around his production facilities.

I then met with the Bishop of West Nile and Madi for the Church of Uganda, while George headed back to Slumberland(our hotel!) to meet with Jimmy our Hygienic beef man. I appreciate my growing relationship with the Bishop, and we are trying to understand how we can better integrate business people into the church.

After George met with a chili pepper and sorghum dealer, we began our final and vital BVA Board Meeting. I think we have successfully launched BVA into the hands of our Aruan friends, and I fully anticipate that there will be a fair amount of member activity between now and the timing of our return in late May or early June. After the meeting, we all had dinner together and said our farewells. I will miss this wonderful group of people. Their enthusiasm and spirit and their focus on God make quite an extraordinary combination. They are grateful for our being with them, and are eager to learn at all times, which makes it very rewarding for George and I.

Please pray for our travels. Last time we made this trip, George was 6 hours late and I was 35 hours late!! We are also both feeling a little under the weather. Nothing serious, but like the beginning of a cold or minor flu symptoms.

We appreciate you all and I know my friends can't wait to get the full picture show along with commentary - all 2 hours of it!?!?

Blessings form Arua!

Steady Progress

Today, we visited with old and new friends, then ended the day with a meeting of the BVA leadership team.

One old friend, Hillary has been building a landscape design business. He has a wonderful garden in his home and has always been interested in plants and garden design. He thought that this would be something he would do when he retired to make a little pocket money. However we have encouraged him to move forward aggressively in this area and now he has a growing business. He is considering devoting the majority of his time to it. We talked particularly about two things today. First, how to guarantee a low cost water supply at his home where he has literally thousands of plants that he has propagated and which he uses when he fulfills landscape contracts. Second, how to begin to market and sell his capability to landlords and contractors alike. Hillary has been relying on word of mouth to bring him work, but he recognizes that he needs to go out and find new business. We find that passive marketing is very much the norm here. Many people work on the basis that "if we build it, they will come". Not so!

Another friend, Samson, is in his second season of rice milling where we have been helping him with working capital to buy increasing amounts of rice to mill. Today we watched his millers work and produce finished rice. Later, his wife Neria cooked a meal for us, featuring their own rice. It was delicious. George and I had a hard time believing it didn't have butter on it, but Neria assured ut it was just the rice boiled in water! In his first season, Samson milled about 8,000 kilos. This season he has processed over 7,000 kilos for the Christmas , and buying period and has another 16,000 waiting to go. We talked about him holding the rice for a while and milling and selling it when prices rise. Rice is currently selling at 1800 shillings per kilo, but by June and July the price could be as high as 2500 shillings. We showed him how to calculate the cost of carrying the rice for that time versus the dramatic increase in price. It is encouraging that he continues to plow back his profits into expanding the business. His business is not only good for him, but it provides consumers with a steady source of local rice, and farmers with a steady source of income as they determine what crops to plant each year.

The BVA leaders team meeting is another step on the way to having an independent organization that drives economic activity forward in the West Nile region. We are working toward a clear statement of what BVA is, and does, and then create a series of tasks and a timetable toward implementing the vision. Education and training and building community are clearly the key goals of the organization, and all of our efforts will be focused on establishing and expanding these capabilities.

As we come toward the end of our time in Arua, we are rushing to see all the people who would like to spend time with us. There is never enough time, and always more things to be done.

Well I'm falling asleep as I write this and I need to end now. Thanks and blessings to all who are reading the blog and praying for us!! We can't do the things that we are doing without your support.

No water, no power, no internet!

We hit the big trifecta today! No nothing. It was a bad day for utilities in general. But it doesn't stop life. The internet has now returned - hence the post, but we remain without the other two. It is interesting to think which I miss the most. George might have a different answer, but for me the lack of water is the worst. We currently have big gerry cans of water in our bathrooms. My frustration is that I know my water tank is full of hot water, but without the municipal system being pressurized it just sits there!

Still, this is how the majority of people live every day here. Many homes have no electric power and, other than homes in and around the town of Arua, few have running water. The gerry cans we have in our bathrooms now are the water distribution system for most people. Each day you see streams of people - well women and children - going back and forth from their homes to the bore holes to fetch water. Biblical stories of women at wells come to life for me.

I preached on being Children of Light from Ephesians Chapter 5 at the large Anglican church in town this morning. Somehow the metaphor of being brought from spiritual darkness to light by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ had more meaning today as we got up at 6:00AM in complete darkness. Initially we stumbled round our rooms trying to remember the layout of the room and where we had put things the night before, so that we could turn on our computers and use them as a light source, or find the cell phone - cleverly equipped with a flashlight! In the darkness we were deprived of information, we didn't know what we were doing, we were lost. But then even the smallest amounts of light from our equipment brought immediate knowledge and understanding of our circumstances. An hour later dawn broke - a beautiful red sunrise and darkness was quickly dispelled and the whole world came into focus. I love the light! And so it is with God, he is the light of the world, and if we believe in him we pass from spiritual darkness to light. We see the truth clearly, we understand the world as it really is, we come to understand the attributes of God himself and are asked to imitate him and are even given the mind of Christ.

And all that because I didn't have power this morning!! But this is yet another example of the ways that life in Africa teach me, in very tangible ways, the truths of my faith.

The service at St Phillips was filled to capacity, possibly 600-700, and we had a great time together. I love listening to the African voices sing songs of praise and when it come to praying as a congregation - watch out! After my sermon a seminary student asked to come to the podium to testify how my words had ministered to him. I pray that many others were challenged by the words of Paul to the Ephesians.

After church, George and I went our separate ways. George has spent the whole day with Jimmy, who has established a new butchers shop in town that processes and sells the meat in hygienic way. George has been helping Jimmy since his last visit and it was fun for them to be together and talk through all the different aspects of the business. As I write they are meeting with another person to talk about goat farming! Go George!

I spent time with Ronald, who is a trained radiologist who started a small radiology clinic a few years ago, and now has expanded his offering to include: ultrasound, X-Ray, Laboratory services, a pharmacy, consultations with doctors and minor procedures (sutures, growth removals, fractures etc). He has plans for further growth, and he is expanding the number of offerings available to the people of Arua. Ronald and I like talking with each other and planning each new step for his business. A true free market approach to health care that is both cost effective and customer responsive. Seems like we need some of that back home! On this trip I visited his home, met his wife and two small sons and took a tour of a new house he is building for his growing family. It is a blessing when we become part of people's lives like this.

Please pray in the next two days for a series of meetings we are having with the Board of BVA to discuss the future of the organization. We are at a key transitional time and could see BVA grow very rapidly under their leadership.

It is a privilege to be here and we are blessed by your prayers. Thank You!

BVA Training Day

Dear Friends: Hello – this is George and this is my first post to the trip blog. I greatly appreciate the encouragement and prayers that each of you represent. Thanks.

Kigali, Rwanda
To catch folks up on my travels, I departed ways with Andy when our Amsterdam flight arrived in Kampala. From there, I took a quick jaunt down to Kigali, Rwanda, and spent a couple days with some guys who are running a for profit management consulting firm, Karisimbi Partners, focused on business growth as a means for economic development. I really enjoyed touring around with one of them to meet several of the Rwandan business owners and to hear about the business opportunities and issues that they face (construction company, bakery, real estate rental agency, software developer & systems integrator - I could be helpful to several of these entrepreneurs and I hope to find a means to do so!). It was also fun to explore how these three families arrived at their joint decision to move to Rwanda and begin this new life.

While in Rwanda, I also took a quick tour out to the countryside to visit a private catholic high school that a friend was instrumental in starting. Around the corner, I visited one of the Genocide churches that has been left intact since the 1994 mass killings imposed by the Hutus on the Tutsis. It was a tough reality to see what we as humans are capable of doing and to see what we as humans are capable of letting happen. The Rwandans keep these memorials as a reminder to what has transpired. I then went back to Kigali to visit the national Genocide Museum. I was handheld throughout by a genocide survivor (and brother-in-law of Kennedy School friend who now works at Hope Intl) who lost his parents and two brothers during this time. Sobering to say the least, and I need time to sit still long enough to begin to process the whole experience and new understanding.

I was blown away by Kigali – it is super clean and supposedly very safe. I never felt uncomfortable during my visit.


Arua, Uganda
Today (Saturday), we facilitated a business training session for a local Christian business association of men and women entrepreneurs (Business Vision Arua). We had ~40 attendees - about 60% repeat folks from back in June and 40% new folks.

From our recent work with many of these entrepreneurs, we had selected product/service value proposition & competitive positioning, sales/distribution strategies, and constructing & reading income statements as the three core topics. I covered the last of the three and had a fun time walking through a representative income statement for a butcher shop owner with whom I have been working. Honestly, though I labor to prepare for these things, I get a ton of enjoyment out off teaching these classes. It’s simply fun to work with these folks. I love to learn about their culture and to simply be part of thinking with them about how to grow their businesses.


I also believe that we struck a chord on the value proposition material. Andy led several brainstorm exercises which helped the group to resist price reductions as the ONLY possible means of market differentiation. I could see the attendee’s brains churning – I’m really happy about this outcome because this low price approach has been a sure race to low margins for most of the businesses. Andy also did a great job of engaging the folks on how to be much more proactive in their outbound sales activities. Many folks are purely focused on making their products and then sitting passively with the hope that customers will stream through their doors (imagine 100 people sitting side by side selling mangos). Though most people in this group are not subsistence farmers of mangos – the general approach is very, very passive.

The training ended well and we were encouraged by the many successes that were shared and the many relationships that have developed within the group over the years (that Andy has been coming to Arua). It’s time for bed! Andy preaches at a local church tomorrow morning at 7:30am.

From Little Mango Seeds ....

George joined me today after his trip to Rwanda. It is great to have him here and to brief him on progress to date. Tomorrow we are offering a one day seminar for BVA. Our focus will be threefold. First a review of the basics of what a business is and how to create a successful and sustainable enterprise. Second a deeper dive into marketing, from product definition, through channel strategy to communications,and finally a look at the importance of good financials and how good business decisions can only be made with a sound understanding of what's really going on in the operation. We have been busy for the last few hours putting together our presentations and we covet your prayers for the success of the day - that a good number of people would attend, and that we would be able to teach in a way that would lead to the ultimate improvement of the attendees businesses.

This morning I took a trip to meet Emmanuel. He is one of the original BVA folks and has also been a recipient of a loan from us. Emmanuel is an expert in growing mangoes. He grows seedlings, carefully grafting improved varieties of mango onto the root stock of the local mango varieties. It has long been his dream that he could build a mango juicing facility to provide the local farmers with a cash crop and to encourage mango growing in the region. However, this is a costly project, and so when I first visited Emmanuel in November of 2009, he had only been able to dig some ditches to mark the boundaries of the facility that he envisioned. My entry into his Welcome Book for that November visit reads "May God bless your vision". Today I stood among the construction of that facility! In ways that defy human logic, a Ugandan Government Agency has given Emmanuel enough money to build the production buildings,and in addition is being given a full set of equipment to begin juicing. The total value exceeds 1.1 billion Ugandan shillings ($500,000)!! God has indeed blessed his vision. The picture shows the work in progress. Emmanuel expects to be producing his first juice in May of this year. We spent the morning looking at the site and then talking through short-term implementation and start-up plans. He will need a lot of business help and we are looking forward to helping in all the ways we can. It is important for the region that this project becomes successful. This is the result of one man's dream, some encouragement through BVA and the intervention of The Holy Spirit. It gives a glimpse of what can be done here. Pray for Emmanuel.

Encouragement

I still believe this is one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life.Trying to help a community reorient around business and begin to help itself to work out of abject poverty is difficult. When you add a cultural and language divide it becomes so much harder. Sometimes I wonder what good I'm doing. But then I remember that I am here at the leading of the Holy Spirit and that I am simply asked to be obedient. God has to be responsible for the outcome, not me! Still, I have to confess to times of self doubt and questioning.

Then days like today happen and I can rejoice in what the Holy Spirit is doing!

Today I met with three of our leading entrepreneurs. One by one they told me of all of the ways that they had been helped by BVA, and also shared stories of others whose lives are now changed becasue of what God has us doing here over these last four years.

Sarah runs a trucking company and as a result of our training, encouragement and investment, now is the exclusive transport provider for BAT for all of their tobacco operations here in Arua District and has become a trader, moving goods from Kampala, Gulu, Ginja and Arua in Uganda to destinations in the Congo.She moves agricultural products from Uganda, and returns with loads of scrap iron from Congo. Today we were discussing expansion, the correct treatment of depreciation and mainenance costs and the appropriate salary for her to be taking from the business. I can't tell you how far she has come in her understanding of business in the last three years. If you have any trucking needs in Uganda, I have your woman .....

Silvia runs and internet cafe in downtown Arua. As a result of BVA training she has expanded into the photocopying and printing business and has now added a stationary line. Rent is one of the biggest costs that retailers face in Arua, and the more product that can be carried in each store, the more the rent can be amortized across the businesses and the lower the costs per product line. Silvia has taken this teaching to heart and has established three businesses in her small store. We talked about ways to launch and market her newest product line. She has a very keen mind and absorbs ideas and information quickly. You have to be careful what you recommend - she just might do it!

Moses is a very successful entrepreneur in Arua. He is the MTN franchisee(the largest cell provider) in the area and also has timber lands, real estate and is now moving into the construction business. We spent time talking about the construction business and how to grow that business. I think this will represent a very attractive opportunity for investors in the US to make a good return while helping provide significant employment and build vital infrastructure (e.g. schools and roads)in the West Nile region. We spent time walking through the opportunity and talking about how we could prepare an investment document that I could take back to the US. Social investing anyone?

In addition they shared with me many other stories of people whose lives are being changed by BVA activity. I hope to share some of these stories later in the week.

Encouraged? You bet! Thanks be to God!

On the ground!

Arriving at Entebbe airport right on time last night, George and I immediately set out in different directions. George headed to Rwanda Air to fly to Kigali and I headed to meet our friend Dennis the driver for the Executive Airport Hotel! George is spending a couple of days with friends and ministry partners in Rwanda before flying up to join me in Arua.

After a night at Entebbe, I took the early morning Eagle Air flight to Arua. It was surprisingly quiet with only four passengers, and on time, so for all of you who prayed for safe travels - thanks!

We have a very full agenda set for our time here. I started today with a meeting with Canon Isaac Anguyo (the Chariman of BVA) and Blasio Leeti, who works part time for George and I. Then we moved on to have lunch with the leadership of BVA. BVA stands for Business Vision Arua and was formed in 2009 as a community based organization to help Christian men and women grow their businesses to the next level through educaton and access to capital.The organization is now formally incorporating and registering with the Government of Uganda.

We met in the gardens of a local hotel, under the thatched roof of a pavillion. The meeting focused primariy on taking BVA forward and what we have to do to make it a thriving organization to which large numbers of people would want to belong. Ultimately BVA must work well for our endeavors to be successful, since it is impossible to build momentum from the U.S. I think we developed a good game plan and will continue to refine it through the week. Then we'll figure out the next steps before George and I leave on Wednesday.George and I will meet individually with all of the leadership team in the coming days to talk about their businesses and about the future of BVA.

One thing that we notice is that the best business peole are more interested in us helping them think about their businesses than about investments in their business.They recognize that good ideas and good practices drive good businesses.

In the afternoon I met with the leaders of CAFECC, a Christian micro finance group that is affiliated with Peer Servants in Woburn - small world! I have been meeting with CAFECC since my early days in Arua and I'm delighted to report good progress. Under a new Executive Director and a vibrant Board, CAFECC has dealt with many of the issues that we have talked about through the years. In 2010, they provided loans to well over 200 people, most of whom will have enhanced their small businesses and strengthened the economic position of their communities and families. I think a further $10,000 to be matched by Peer Servants could take them into the black, and into being sustainable.

Finally I had a short dinner with Sally and Isaac Anguyo. It was great to see Sally as the last time I was here I prayed over her at her bedside - she was very ill with what turned out to be a combination of Maleria and Typhoid. Now there's a winning combination! Anyway, she has fully recovered and it was wonderful to be able to have dinner with her. It certainly reminds one of the fragile nature of life - here especially.

Finally, the South Sudan referendum is done with a minimum of violence, but most people also know that this theater has only just began to play out. The final outcome is far from sure. Please remember to pray for these people who have lived with violence for a quarter of a century.

Well, I've fallen to sleep a couple of times while writing this, so I'll sign off and head to bed.

Blessings

A

Back to Arua

George Veth and I are looking forward to returning to Arua for ten days beginning on January 10th. We are excited to see our friends again and to continue our work there. The 5810 Project is devoted to ending poverty in the West Nile Region of Uganda by the creation of economically sound and sustainable businesses built by local entrepreneurs. We are all still learning. Some things we seem to know by now, others remain a mystery. Each time we return, we do so as students and mentors both. Some of our activities are paying dividends, others have been disappointing. Yet we feel called by Jesus to come alongside the people of Arua and to be faithful friends. We leave the outocmes to the working of the Holy Spirit. In His power we can do much together.



On this trip we will meet once again with a variety of businesspeople in whom we have invested time and/or money, and a number of aspiring entrepreneurs who will be new to us. We will offer a day long seminar focusing mostly on cash flows and 'going to market". We will meet with leaders in the community, most notably the Bishop of the Church of Uganda. We will have an opportunity to preach in the largest local church and spend time with an American missionary family who are spearheading a major effort to train pastors in the more remote ares of Uganda and Southern Sudan.

We will try to post on a regular basis, but technology sometimes (always!) seems to have the last say!

Would you please pray for the following: For safety and health(there is an outbreak of yellow fever and the Sudan referndum is taking pace when we are there); for wisdom in seeing and communicating opportunities; for energy and strength to fulfill the obligations of a very full agenda and lastly for grace that we might be the face of Jesus to the people of Arua. I pray that by the way George and I live our lives that people would be drawn to the person of Jesus Christ.

Awadifo (Thankyou!)

Andy Mills & George Veth