Putting the Horse Before the Cart

Margaret had one of those AHAA! moments. If The Rock wants self-sustainable mercy homes, why not do it in that order: FIRST demonstrate self-sustainability, THEN build the home.

Perhaps we have been getting the cart before the horse by first opening the mercy homes, then trying to assist our partner ministries in Africa to make the homes for needy children self sustaining. Once open, we have found it challenging for our partners to launch income producing activities.

Deliverance Church, our faithful partner in Kenya, gladly has taken on the challenge of creating economic activity to support the ongoing operation of a future home. We are making great strides.

Pastor Peter Otieno and wife Millicent of Deliverance Church in Bouye Kenya are excited to see villagers rallying around the project. They are backed up by Bishop Paul Oselu, also of Deliverance Church in Kisumu, and his wife Perez. Bishop Paul mentored Peter from a boy and was raised in the small village where Peter now pastors.

The Oselus have had a vision of a home for children in the small village for years and jumped at the chance to speed things along by embracing the opportunity to work with The Rock to develop income-producing activities.In the process they are developing a new way of thinking as they develop skills in research, cash flow planning, project management and implementation.

Early this year we discussed starting a preschool for the community; cultivating four acres; and building a home for orphans. Perez and Peter assembled a committee of villagers and church members, including a member of The Rock’s local businessmen’s group, to steer the projects.

The leadership team developed a budget showing income and expenses for the first year of operation of a new preschool. The community donated part of the resources and The Rock donated some of the startup funding. Forty students were required to be enrolled so the preschool could support the teacher salaries from tuition by the students’ parents and fees to sustain it going forward independently. By March they have 50 students enrolled and they are carefully monitoring their budget and the school is doing very well.

Next the team wanted to develop an agriculture project for the four acres of land that was donated by church members to help support a home for orphans. After researching the different types of crops and the potential income they could produce, they decided they could be profitable in the first year if they planted maize and soybeans. Also irrigation plans were made to minimize risks. In March we are planting the first crops which will lay the foundation for providing food and support for the home which we hope to build in the near future. Kingdom Builders Development Group (Kenya businessmen who receive discipleship training and no interest loans as applicable from The Rock) has agreed to help construct the home.

“We are learning many new things and excited about the way forward and the team has taken ownership of the project,” says Pastor Peter. “We are thinking more creatively in the way we do things.“