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Did you know that you can receive this letter directly to your own e-mail and that by doing so you are helping World Renew be a good steward of your gifts? To sign up, contact Carrie Elzinga at [email protected].
September 2014
worldrenew.net/uganda
Joseph & Robinah Mutebi
Program Consultant [email protected]
Edward & Milly Okiror Program Consultant [email protected]
Carol Musoke Constituency Bridger [email protected]
Nema Aluku Health and HIV Consultant East and Southern Africa [email protected]
World Renew Canada 3475 Mainway PO Box 5070 STN LCD 1 Burlington, ON L7R 3Y8 1-800-730-3490 Fax: 905-336-8344
World Renew US 1700 28th Street SE Grand Rapids, MI 49508 1-800-552-7972 Fax: 616-224-8060
Uganda Fresh from the Field
Greetings from Uganda! Once again, the rains are falling, and the long-term weather forecast for Kampala, Uganda, predicts rain every afternoon for most of the month. To provide proof, a hail storm bounced into our backyard today, making the young ones dance with glee and causing the urban farmers to worry about their crops. Greetings from cool and wet Uganda!
Hail storm or no hail storm, we do have wonderful stories to share with you. A cou-ple of years ago, World Renew began train-ing farmers in conservation agriculture methods that have a biblical basis and help small scale famers cope with changing weather patterns, pricey synthetic fertiliz-ers, and plummeting soil fertility. Since the training, many farmers have been able to improve their yields by applying mulch from plant residue, rotating their crops, no- or low-tillage activities, and in some cases improved seed varieties. And God, being forever faithful to farmers who have put these skills and methods to use, has given them a harvest of joy. One farmer’s group in northwestern Uganda has reaped more than they have ever expected to harvest—and not just in crops, but also in shalom and well-being in their homes. Jennifer, a partic-ipant from eastern Uganda, also shares her excitement about her very first harvest us-ing conservation farming practices.
Elsewhere, in Uganda's furthest southwest-ern corner, World Renew's partner Kabale PAG has been bubbling with excitement about hosting Uganda's first SWAP (Serve With A Purpose) students, Danielle Winkler and Zachary LaVizzo, who spent August interacting with community members in Kabale and the Kabale PAG staJ to learn about community development. Kabale PAG also hosted Lainna Tanis, a member of Bethany CRC in Bellflower, California, as they confirm their involvement in a Church-
to-Church Partnership through World Re-new.
While she was here, Lianna had an oppor-tunity to fellowship with the Kabale PAG congregation, visit a program supported by her church, meet with friends she made on her first visit in 2011, and above all, be an ambassador for her church and share the good things God is doing among them. In many African cultures, visitors are a treas-ure. For us, such tangible interactions are by far the best way to strengthen relation-ships, enhance cultural experiences, and educate people about World Renew's ap-proach to living justice, loving mercy, and serving Christ. And as a sneak-peak into next newsletter, we shall be sharing with you Danielle, Zach, and Lianna's heart-warming experiences. Watch for that just before Christmas.
To learn more about the SWAP program and Church-to-Church Partnerships, please visit the World Renew website at worldrenew.net.
May God bless you as you read these sto-ries.
Remnants of the hail storm at the
World Renew Uganda ofices
World Renew Canada 1-800-730-3490 worldrenew.net
World Renew US 1-800-552-7972 worldrenew.net
World Renew and PAG-Kaberamaido are piloting a conservation farming project among 150 farmers as a way of addressing persistent household insecurity caused by changing weather and deteriorating soil fertili-ty. One of the families benefiting from this pilot project is headed by 44-year-old Jennifer Otija, a mother of four and a farmer who is reaping her harvest with a smile. This is her story.
After I was trained in conservation farming, I was amazed to find that I could raise a nursery bed of toma-toes and cabbages during the dry season. All I did was mulch, water, and space the plants using the tech-niques I learned.
In December, the hottest, driest month of the year in this region, I transplanted 400 tomato seedlings and 500 cabbage seedlings from the nursery bed to my main garden. Thanks to the knowledge I got from conservation agriculture training, my crops survived!
All through the dry season, I wa-tered the crops regularly with water I got from the well. Many people in the village laughed at me and said that I was wasting time. But I continued
with the project and managed to mulch the cabbage and to-mato gardens.
In the end, I had a great har-vest and sold most of my crops. From just the sale of the tomatoes, I earned about US$700. I was so excited—I have never received or owned this much money in all my life! I used part of my income to pay my son’s high school tuition. I also enrolled two of my children in a better primary school.
I would never have been able to achieve these things if had it not been for the conservation agriculture training I received and the hard work I put in to the project. During the dri-est season, I was the only person sell-ing tomatoes to my entire village. I thank all the people who support us through World Renew, and I give glory to God who made this happen!
That is Jennifer's story—and one that she tells with a smile. With the re-mainder of her income, Jennifer bought more improved seeds which she will plant on a larger piece of land. She is now encouraging her neighbors to embrace conservation agriculture practices because it is profit-able and produces higher yields and higher income compared to traditional farm-ing methods.
Prayer • Pray for Milly and I as we plan and link up with friends and churches during our upcoming deputation in North America from September through November.
• Pray for continued rains as farmers have just planted their seeds.
• Pray for the work of World Renew and our partners in Uganda.
Cheers • Thank God for the good harvest farmers have had here in the first season of the project!
• Praise for safety and health God has granted to us so far as we have served and travelled in the field.
by Edward Okiror Program Consultant Uganda Team
Global Volunteer Program You can volunteer in Uganda!
We are currently recruiting for a SWAP Program partici-pant. This is a youth opportunity for 4 weeks in Uganda. Summer 2015. Ages 16-24.
Learning groups from supporting churches are always wel-come, or there may be something that can be crafted to suit your skill set.
Find out more at worldrenew.net/globalvolunteerprogram
Jennifer’s garden
Conservation Agriculture Improves Household Income A Story of Transformation
Giving Idea
Farmer Exchange Visit.Farmer Exchange Visit.Farmer Exchange Visit.Farmer Exchange Visit.
When crop failure means
hunger, making even a small
change in traditional farm-
ing practices is a huge risk
for a family. Learning by
example can be a powerful
incentive to make needed change. A farmer exchange
visit allows subsistence farmers to travel to neighboring
communities to see how other families are getting posi-
tive results from applying their agricultural training from
World Renew. $80$80$80$80
Giving Idea
Seeds and Tools. Seeds and Tools. Seeds and Tools. Seeds and Tools.
Growing food is
essential to most
people who live
in poverty.
Provide at-risk
families with the
seeds and tools they need to grow food. The
kit includes hoes, a machete, a rake, and a
watering can as well as vegetable seeds for
tomatoes, eggplant, onions, cassava, sor-
ghum, and peanuts. $33$33$33$33
World Renew Canada 1-800-730-3490 worldrenew.net
World Renew US 1-800-552-7972 worldrenew.net
Enduring the Learning Process A Story of Transformation
For the last three years, the Ogo Farmer’s group in Koboko district in northwestern Uganda has focused on scaling up agricultural practices in demonstration gardens. These simple gardens use appropriate techniques that include seed-variety multiplication and other crop management systems. The demonstration gardens give local farmers the opportunity to learn, prac-tice, and experiment with new tech-niques.
Recently the Ogo group members had their second harvest from their demonstration gardens. From the sale of the harvest, the group bought a cow and invested the rest in the group’s savings pool. Nothing from this project goes to waste! The cow dung will be used to make compost, the compost will increase the soil fertility, and the improved soil will increase the crop yield. In addition, the group members divided between them some cassava cuttings that they will each start in their individual gardens. Cassava is a food staple and a good variety of cas-sava encourages the farmers as they experiment with new techniques in the demonstration plots. One group mem-ber uprooted a new cassava plant to compare to the local cassava variety, and the diJerence in yield was very significant. The group members saw for themselves that the 12-month ma-turity period of the high-yield variety is
better than the local variety that has a three-year maturity period. The farm-ers also noted that the new cassava plants are highly resistant to cassava mosaic disease that commonly infects the local cassava variety.
Diversification and Integration It’s not just enough for families to put food on the table—they must also have an income to meet their basic needs, like school fees and medical bills. Members of the Ogo farmer’s group decided to pool their financial re-sources in a regular weekly savings pool. The women were very excited about the opportunity to contribute to their family’s income—an attitude that the men seemed to appreciate. With laughter, the men said, “Our wives are no longer ‘goal keepers’ who are on the receiving end of the family’s re-sources. There is now more joy and harmony between us as husbands and wives.”
In August 2014, the district leaders in Koboko reflected on the project evalu-ation and confirmed the progress of the project. Not even an influx of more than 10,000 refugees from South Su-dan and the Democratic Republic of Congo between November 2013 and May 2014 brought about any food shortages in the project communities. The evaluation confirmed that the availability of food and increased in-come leads to better a living situation for families at the household level. Here are some highlights:
• “The joy expressed on receiving visitors at home is unreserved,” the evaluation said of one farmer’s home life.
• “The children look healthy because they have enough food available, and they are in school because the parents can aJord to pay their tui-tion fees.
• The children experience less dis-ruptions in their ability to attend school for periods of time and most of the children in the commu-nity are enrolled in school and are performing better while there.”
Lessons Learned There are several key learnings that we have gleaned from the Ogo farmer’s group project.
First, the group members have helped us appreciate that participants will en-gage in an activity as long as the im-mediate need is being addressed. It’s paramount to walk along side our par-ticipants, at their pace, with persis-tence, a willing attitude, and humility.
Second, change and transformation is an ongoing process. A response to first-line needs often leads to another level of needs. In one example, the Ogo farmer’s group can point to their live-stock management capability as a fac-tor in increasing their household in-comes.
Third, the member’s weekly savings and loans activities have a bearing on household stability and healthy rela-tionships between men and women. This result illustrates one of World Re-new’s goals in the communities where we work: to experience “shalom” at household level as the hope and bond that builds strong relationships.
Please pray for • the ministry of World Renew in the region.
• country teams, such as Kenya and Uganda, that God will lead in filling vacant positions.
• safety in terrorist attacks and for se-curity in South Sudan.
We are thankful to God for • prayer, support, and encouragement from churches and families.
• safety during travels.
• good health on the team.
• steady rains for promising crop yield. Ojo farmer’s cassava garden
by Joseph Mutebi Program Consultant Uganda Team
Ojo farmer’s cassava
