Scrapbook of a Restless Soul

7.28.06

Busia and FOC-REV (Friends of Christ – Revival) Ministries

I am still in Busia and am leaving to Kenya tonight. I should arrive there around 4 or 5 AM.

For the past couple of days I have been learning about an organization in Busia, Uganda, which is the located in the Eastern most part of the country bordering Kenya. Contrary to their name, the CBO does has no real religious affiliation but was founded by “a group of Christians who wanted to administer love and compassion” to marginalized communities. The name turned me off before because I would rather not work with religious affiliated groups, but this is a great organization doing great community work.

They started about 10 years ago with the goal of providing support to disenfranchised communities in Busia District mainly in the form of support to OVCs (orphans and vulnerable children), of which there is an abundance in Uganda. They have secured funding for a few hundred OVCs in the area to pay for their school fees and through the world food program, they feed many of these children in school as well.

The most impressive aspect of their work, to me, was that they have formed over 20 co-op groups in the District and in neighboring districts. Groups consist of 15-20 people and are made up of the beneficiaries of FOC-REV programs - mostly the adult caretakers of the OVCs but also some of the older OVCs as well. These groups are given capital, in the form of bean and maize seeds and goats and cattle, and group members are trained in group management, modern farming techniques, business/entrepreneurial skills and given the necessary resources, such as farming tools, to utilize what they’ve received. Each group member yields their own crops and takes care of their own animals, which supplements both their household income and increases nutrition in the household. They are required to return what they borrowed from FOC-REV once they start to yield produce and depending on what their individual group has decided as its terms, they also contribute income to a group bank account. So, after a while, each group is economically empowered to give loans to groups members or invest in more projects. It is a very interesting model.

Of course there are many challenges in the way as well. Because this system takes time to produce results, some group members get disillusioned and lose faith. According to group members from one of the more successful co-ops I talked to, a strong constitution has kept them strong and united.

Jen and I met with one of these co-op groups, most of the members of which are HIV positive. They were very open about this fact, which is a result of FOC-REV community sensitization. According to them, there are less men involved in such co-ops because some co-ops are viewed as being associated with HIV patients, and men are more likely to avoid these types of stigmas here. I am not sure why.

Although I am here searching for potential internship sites in the hopes of giving UNC students an opportunity to learn about grassroots development and volunteer their time to help others, I wish that I was a rich man because I have found that start-up CAPITAL is ALWAYS the biggest hindrance to community work. The ideas and skills and desire is present everywhere and can be mobilized, but capital…capital is always a problem. Now that I know some very positive groups, I wish I could find a way to channel money to them and I would know that it’s in the right hands.

Maybe our internship program will be able to provide some sort of support in the future. After reading an earlier blog about these issues, someone close to me asked how I thought it would be possible to convince major funders and larger NGOs where their money should go, which I of course feel is straight to grassroots groups. Its not that this never happens, it just doesn’t happen as much as it should. So much money is squandered in development and humanitarian aid…maybe an organization that exists solely to examine grassroots groups to ensure they are efficient and find funding from those with money is what is needed. I am not sure if this exists, but if it does, I am unaware about it.

…Anyone interested in starting such a project?...Anyone have money to invest?...