Recycled Manure

by Paul Vliem (Uganda)
Today we had the blessing of visiting a man named John in a village outside of Nairobi called Gathitika. John is an accountant by trade, with an interest both in business and preserving the environment. From his hillside home, he can look over the sweeping valley and mountains in the distance and see the deforestation that happens as the years go. As a way to combat this trend, and to invest in a little business, he has built a methane biogas generator, and it is for this reason that we came to meet.For the last couple months I have been working with my coworker, Dale Christy, on plans for a bio-gas generator to implement in Lira. A bio-gas generator harnesses methane gas that comes from manure and directs it for use in daily tasks, like cooking or lighting at night. Most of the community in Uganda, as well as in Kenya, still use charcoal and wood to do their cooking, resulting in a quickly depleting forest over the whole region. Bio-gas generators are one way of combating this trend. When I heard through Partners Worldwide (an affiliate of CRWRC), that there was a man working on one in Nairobi, using a loan from a Partners Worldwide organization, I was happy to go and check it out.
John is building a generator that should be able to supply his home as well as the surrounding 20 homes with enough gas for cooking each day. In return for the gas he will charge a small fee as part of this income-generating activity. The hope is that his neighbors will see the benefit of paying for this gas over the hours they spend each day looking for and gathering firewood. I was amazed at his initiative and creativity in bringing his interests together in a way that sustains his family, his community, and his environment.

This post is an excerpt from the blog of Paul and Joy Vliem, serving with CRWRC in Uganda. To read more, follow their stories at Word and Meditations.

Getting to Work in Honduras

by Matt DeKam (Honduras)

I've had a few different jobs in my life, and getting myself to work has taken several different forms over the years: Dirt bike, napping in the sleeper part of a semi, car rides of varying distances, and in Minneapolis, biking (even in the winter). But this past week I had one of the most interesting "commutes" to work I have ever had.

The Diaconia cars were already spoken for for the day, and David and I needed to get to the community of La Avispa. There are basically two ways to get to La Avispa; one is a bumpy ride in a pickup truck around the mountains, through a pass and backtracking through the next valley to the north (1.5 to 2 hour ride). The other option is a foot trail that follows the Olancho river up a steep canyon called El Boqueron (1.5 or 2 hour hike). We decided to hike up the canyon, much to my delight!

We crossed the river a few times and then ran across a fellow traveler. He is a young man and happens to be the pastor in training for the Baptist church in La Avispa.We followed the trail together, crossing the clear waters of the Río Olancho several times. It was incredibly beautiful! There were amazing lilies, huge cliffs, beautiful rock formations, tropical birds, and caves. I am told that the Honduran government is in the process of making this area a national park.As we continued up the path we passed by the famous "cave of the tiger", where a man and his wife have set up their homestead in a cave. We bought some really flavorful bananas from them and kept on hiking up to la Avispa.The reason for our trip to La Avispa was to meet with an agriculture group, train them on how to grow and use the Moringa tree, and check up on how their Moringa nursery is doing.

Moringa leaves are packed with vitamins and protein, and are good for humans and animals. We brought some leaves with us to make into a sort of stew with sausage and potatoes. It was really good.

At the home where they prepared the moringa stew for us someone had caught an armadillo and was planning on butchering it (they say the meat is pretty good). I did see armadillo meat, but I don't think any of it ended up in the stew!The moringa nursery was doing fairly well. We have had some trouble with seed germination (I think the seeds we bought are old) but around half of them had sprouted and produced nice seedlings.

After our meeting Roldan and Arturo showed up in one of the Diaconia vehicles. We helped them with their meeting which involved all of the community. They are working with the people to create a "plan for community transformation" which is a big document that contains all sorts of statistics about the community, history, levels of well being of the residents, and helps organize the felt needs of the community. Through this process the community decides together on their major priorities and how they will work together to make those things a reality (for example, we need running water, let's organize a water board and start raising money and making plans for a water system, etc.)After the meeting we left with Arturo and Roldan. In the end I think the foot path is the best way to get to La Avispa. It is nice that I was able to get to know the way, because Jorge, the president of the Olancho CR youth board, wants me to accompany a bunch of young people on a hike up to La Avispa. The plan is to put on a big youth-oriented worship service up there and then hike back down some Saturday in May. I'm looking forward to it!

This post is taken from the blog of Matt and Katie De Kam, serving with CRWRC in Honduras. To read more, follow their stories at Matt & Katie De Kam in Honduras.

Three Years in Review in Uganda

by Paul & Joy Vliem (Uganda)

A wonderful welcome at the Adult Literacy group in Adyeda, Uganda

Whether working in education, business, or community development, one of the most important pieces of programming is monitoring and evaluation--assessing the quality, the effectiveness, and efficiency of work that is being done in the community. In March we had the blessing of taking part in the three year evaluation of the partnership between the Diocese of Lango and CRWRC. Through this evaluation we took a deep look at the planning, implementation and monitoring of the programs funded by CRWRC in the Diocese of Lango. We also reflected on how CRWRC can better support the Diocese of Lango as they implement programs in their community.

We spent three days meeting with administration and talking with community groups in surrounding villages, discussing the strengths and the weaknesses of our work over the past 3 years in the hope of charting a better way forward. Three days of this kind of work may seem tedious, but it was necessary and incredibly helpful in assessing the way in which we are working together as stewards of our time, our money, and our abilities. This type of evaluation is not a test, but an instrument through which we can sharpen ourselves as more effective instruments in the Redeemer’s hands.

CRWRC and Diocese staff sit to discuss evaluation summary

We continue to press forward in our work as God’s instruments, and through our time of evaluation and reflection we hope to move forward in unison with our partners as we serve the community in Northern Uganda together.

This post is taken from the blog of Paul and Joy Vliem, serving with CRWRC in Uganda. To read more, follow their stories at living sacrifices.

Embrace AIDS ~ Dominican Style

by Joel Zwier (Dominican Republic)
Community transformation takes many sizes and shapes here in the Dominican Republic and around the world. One of these shapes is community level HIV and AIDS prevention. About two percent of the population of the country is HIV positive or has AIDS. 80% of those with HIV and AIDS are between 15 and 24 years old, clearly an at-risk population.

While government programs have had some impact in urban areas, most rural towns and villages have had little exposure to AIDS prevention education. This is especially true for communities where Haitian immigrants are the predominant population. Government services to this population group are few or nonexistent in most cases.

CRWRC partner Desarollo Comunitario Inc. (Community Development Inc., or DesCo) is implementing a three year program that will reach fifteen communities where Haitians live and work. It wants to create a groundswell movement in participating communities for sexual abstinence until marriage. Increased knowledge about HIV and AIDS, and consciousness-raising among youngpeople, parents and church/community leaders, will help create an environment that will allow teens and young adults to make a commitment to abstinence.

A Widow's Might

by Eli Toribio (The Zambia)

In Zambia, 68% of the population lives below the poverty line in predominantly in rural areas. More than 22% of Zambia’s 11 million people live in female headed households. These households are disproportionately poor. Widows are among the most vulnerable poor in this country. Amidst this, one day I met Amayi (woman) Agatha Makasa, a widow who is an incredible example of life transformed, sustained, and abundantly blessed by our Lord Jesus. A mother of eight children and grandmother, Amayi Agatha is in her sixties and looks younger than her age. She has been a widow for more than five years. Despite her loss, her community considers Amayi Agatha a hard working farmer, serious learner, entrepreneur, brick maker, and role model

Amayi Agatha has been an active member of the Maposa Farmers Group, Ndola Rural, Copperbelt, Zambia for three years now. This group of 100 farmers is assisted by RCZ- Diaconia Department Western Region (RCZ-DD), a CRWRC partner. RCZ-DD helps Maposa Farmers Group with food security by providing training in farming skills that focuses on conservation farming, crops diversification, inter-cropping, and agriculture marketing. The farmers are also receiving certified maize seeds for the first and second years.
Like a young pupil, Amayi Agatha absorbed all this new learning and immediately applied it. When I visited her farm three weeks ago, I saw that her newfound learning was put to good use. Healthy, bountiful crops of maize, peanuts, and beans warmly greeted us. Amayi Agatha is now able to send her school-aged children and grandchildren to school. She even bought a bicycle, the main mode of transportation in rural Zambia. To top it all, she was able to build a modest brick house from the proceeds of her crop!

Not only is Amayi Agatha’s life an amazing example, her self esteem also has been enhanced by the program. When we spoke with her, she smiled and responded to our questions with confidence. Her thankful attitude to God was so contagious, overshadowing others’ complaints of lack or of having nothing. Indeed, she has been acknowledged not only by the farmers group but by the whole village as a role model to emulate. When asked about her hope for the future, Amayi Agatha responded, “I hope that I could continue to teach other widows like me about the farming I am doing right now. Lord willing, in the future, I want to be a commercial farmer.”

Everyone Can Embrace HIV and AIDS

by Amy Thompson (Kenya)

This is from a special friend of mine. She is a bright and loving young girl who shares her love openly, even with her 3-year-old brother.

“I tried to raise money for Embrace Aids to help children who are orphans because of AIDS. I made a little store for my mom, dad and brother from boxes and blankets. I put stickers and rubber bands and coupons in it to sell. I made the coupons like ‘I will play with Gerrit’ ‘I will clear the dish rack’ ‘I will clean my room’ or ‘I’ll do whatever you want’. I let them choose what price they wanted to pay.”

I am so excited! Not only are there so many 20-30-somethings interested in the social justice issues surrounding HIV and AIDS that we created a special website for them, but here is a clear example of children (my friend is in elementary school) reaching out to serve God by helping others. Can you stand it!

Talk about humbling. I can just see my friend now and can’t wait to hear all about it when I see her in June. Thank you!

If you would like more information on how you can get involved there are several places to look, including here on my own blog (scroll down and search HIV or AIDS to see all of my entries discussing this topic). We, meaning CRWRC, do have a website to start you off that will even lead you to our special Facebook site, won’t you be my friend?

Rebuilding a Community in Bicol

by Andrew VanStee (the Philippines)


















Three years ago, Typhoon Reming destroyed a thriving community with mudslides. Thousands were displaced and almost nothing of the old community can be found.

But this tale of devastation is not the end of the story. Through the work of one of our partners here in the Philippines, the community is rebuilding. In the wake of the disaster, Operation Compassion came and began working with members of the community. They helped people placed together in a government shelter create a community. They had them make decisions together and create a vision of life together. They taught leadership and encouraged creativity.

Other organizations hurried to place people in new housing, but Operation Compassion took the time to work with the community to design housing; implementation of the program was done in collaboration with the community. This creates a powerful sense of ownership and value, as well as treating them as people rather than the objects of aid. (source)