Monday, December 3, 2012

The Good, Bad and Good


Power is out and I have a low battery, so this will be short and sweet, and I hope I can get it all done.
This was my last day in Arua, so it was filled with trying to get things wrapped up.

The first meeting was with an old friend, whose business is struggling, but he perseveres. He has tried several things in a related consulting and training space and may now have a good idea to productize an offering that will get him away from the value-added man hour business. This was a time for encouragement and mentoring and I look forward to the progress he will make next time I’m back.

The second meeting of the day was going to be with my most difficult default client. She was scheduled to come with her husband and he had confirmed the meeting on Friday. But guess what? They were no shows and when we called they just hung up. This is my most frustrating experience lending in Africa. She took the money and used it for purposes other than that which it was intended, and then has lied to me three times to my face about when she will repay. I have discovered that her reputation in the market is very poor, but I did not know this at the time. Proverbs 22:1 says that “A good reputation is more important than silver and gold”. Obviously this is not part of God’s wisdom that she has chosen to follow! Her failure to act well in this matter is well known now all over town. This is a classic lose lose situation, but I will not let it dampen my desire to help others move their businesses forward.

T he fun part of the day was signing two new loan documents with new clients. Both of these men had brought overly large and complex business ideas in June when I was last here. They were the product of the “grant” mentality that exists here – ask for the kitchen sink, package it in a nice document and see if you can get an NGO to fund it. We talked about how and approach to business differs and how they need to start small and build up as they go forward and learn. Neither man was put off by the June rejection  and have worked with Blasio over the Fall to rethink their business approach and have both developed very sound plans. It was on the basis of those realistic and sound plans that we inked the loans today. They will have the money in their account tomorrow, and they are off and running! Blasio has done an excellent job of working with them and has shown me how much he has learnt in the time we have been working together.

Finally, we met with our original group of entrepreneurs that formed the original Business Vision Arua (BVA). It was really a time to share issues and ideas and talk about the future. These folks are committed to seeing business grow in Arua and for Christ to be honored. Their group is informal, meets regularly, discusses their business issues (rather like a YPO activity) and they are the nucleus for a broader group being formed in town. Above all they are friends and we enjoy our time together.

Tonight I’ll try to pack and get ready to move on. I will be sad to leave my friends here (and the weather for those of you in the Northeast US!). It has been a very profitable trip and I am surer than ever that God is working through these minor efforts of ours.
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1 comment:

  1. Dave ThomDecember 3, 2012 at 11:03 AM

    Good times. It's interesting to see women at the business table in the picture. By the way, tried to find 5810 at Guidestar and I couldn't find it...a retail company that makes donations out of profits invited nominees so I was going to nominate 5810 - but could not! Oh well, there must be a more formal name. Typed in "Andrew Mills" and the site blew up. No, not really. But it did say that if I did that again, the next step would be a doozy.

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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