Evaluating our Impact

From time to time, it is important to take a step back and examine the impact of our work. We ask ourselves questions like: Is our work going as planned? Is it making a real difference in the life of the community? What are we doing well? What can we do better?

A significant portion of my time has been dedicated to asking these questions over the last few months as we have conducted program evaluations with five of the churches and two of the local networks World Renew works with in Cambodia.

While we also look for areas of improvement, it is very encouraging to hear about the ways that World Renew and our local partners are making an impact in communities in Cambodia. Here are a few highlights:

One interviewee said, “Before we were not a community, but now we work together!” Another said, “Five years ago, the relationship between the church and the community was almost nothing, and there were no results like those we see now. People did not work together. We lived in the same area, but we were not a community.”
We heard about exciting agriculture changes that are going on. Many people are raising animals and growing vegetables and rice using less chemicals than they used to (Overuse of chemicals often causes health problems for farmers.), but still getting good harvests. One of the churches has helped the community work together in the dry season to grow watermelons. They also used to have problems with theft, but now they take turns guarding the field and organize a truck to come to the village to buy their produce so they get a better price. One of the Community Organizers (staff of our church partner) said, “I used to think that I had to teach the farmers new things, but now I realize that I can learn from them too!”
Savings groups have made a big impact on livelihoods in many of the communities where World Renew works. Again and again, people comment about the ways that their savings groups have helped them work together to become more self-reliant. (See the story of how one community used repaid loan interest to repair roads.)
Many people commented that when the church first began working in their community, they didn’t trust church members because they thought they just wanted them to become Christians. Now they see that the church does not discriminate in their service to the community: they serve both Buddhists and Christians. As a result, people no longer distrust the church, and they want to learn more.

Praise and Prayer:

Praise God for the way He has been working to transform communities through the Cambodian church!
Pray for wisdom during this busy time while the regular work continues, we evaluate some projects, and also begin planning the next phase of other programs.
Pray for health and safety for our staff and partners as we travel hectic roads.
Pray for patience and endurance during the hot season which is now very much upon us.