TLT equips pastors and church leaders, helping them to apply God's Word to their ministries in practical ways. It is especially helpful for those leaders who have not been able to attend Bible college. Anthony has only just begun teaching TLT, but he will be teaching it for the remainder of our time in Uganda.
So far, though, he has been focusing on the training he created based on the book, 'When Helping Hurts'. The training lasts a week and covers a huge span of material learned through both lecture and group discussion. The participants learn a biblical foundation for why and how we should help the poor. They learn that poverty is about more than just lacking money.
The training focuses on avoiding mistakes that harm the poor which Americans and others have often made. The participants learn how to help in appropriate and wise ways. They discuss how broken relationships with God, others, themselves, and the creation can contribute to poverty. They learn to diagnose the real problem causing a person's poverty rather than automatically thinking that giving money is the solution. They discuss how broken systems contribute to poverty and try to come up with ideas to fix those systems.
Dependency is a huge issue in Uganda. Some organizations in Uganda try to help and make things worse by causing dependency. For example, some organizations pay Ugandans to attend trainings. This causes some Ugandans to refuse to come to a training like Anthony's where they pay for their own manual and food.
Exciting outcomes of Anthony's training is less dependency. By the time participants leave the training they realize it feels good to work for what you get, and that knowledge is valuable. They leave the training saying, "I am not poor!" even though Anthony never tells them this. They leave marveling at all the gifts that God has given them, and want to use those gifts to develop their families and communities instead of waiting around for donors. They leave feeling equal to Westerners instead of inferior.
Here are a few of their testimonies:
- ''I have learned that work is a gift, not a punishment."
- ''I need to begin to develop using the little I already have."
- ''I used to think [Westerners] are rich and I am poor but now I see that I am rich in other ways that they might not be."
- "I have to go teach my community so that they can also know how to use the little resources they have rather than depending on the donors only."
Anthony has been encouraged that so many of the participants plan to teach the material to their churches and some have already begun to doing so!
Agricultural News:
Sara has continued spending her time doing a variety of different activities, which change from week to week. She got to attend a training in Kenya on how to plan programs that will result in positive behavior change.
After that, she participated in the actual planning process for a program that will work to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS among fishermen in a certain community. This was with a Ugandan partner organization in Kaberamaido, a region near Soroti.
It was very interesting to be part of a focus group discussion with these fishermen and to see the results of surveys that will help this program address real and pertinent issues in their community. Hopefully knowing this technique for program planning will be helpful for her in her future work, whatever that is.
She also has been learning from Edward, our supervisor, about his work as a program consultant. He will be in the US and Canada for three months this autumn and Sara will be taking over a few of his duties while he is gone. So there have been lots of meetings and planning sessions to prepare for his physical (but not internet) absence.
Along with these more administrative activities, Sara also has been able to go with KIDO field staff to communities when they do trainings on various agricultural topics. They have prepared nursery beds for starting vegetable seedlings. And then after the plants got big enough, they transplanted the seedlings into a garden shared by the farmer group. When the tomatoes and cabbages get big, they will be able to sell them to help support their families.
For the vegetables and also for crops like beans and maize, they are practicing planting in rows and using proper spacing in order to use less seeds and have healthier, more productive plants. In her free time, Sara takes care of her garden and her growing herd of goats, which has gone from three to five with the birth of two baby female goats. This gives her a lot of joy.
Prayer Requests
Praise God:
- We have received our work permits to stay in Uganda!
- For a wonderful time of reunion with family during Anthony's sister's wedding
- That there has been enoughrain for most farmers to produce crops this season
Please Pray:
- For Sara as she fills in for Edward in some areas while he is in the US for 3 months
- For World Renew and the Ugandan partner organizations to have wisdom as they plan future projects
- Guidance as we consider future plans for after our two years in Uganda
- That Anthony would have energy for his intense, week-long training
Blessings!
Anthony & Sarah Sytsma
Agriculture and Leadership Development Volunteers
World Renew Uganda