Making Sense of Sudan

This is a unique and incredibly important time for our brothers and sisters in Sudan. For so long, this country was ravaged by war leading to devastation, genocide, and oppression while the rest of the world turned its head. But things are different now. Advances in technology and it's recent availability in a country that was previously closed off has allowed for immediate communication of information. Things are different now because the world knows. We've learned about the atrocities committed and hopefully, prayerfully, this time we're watching. Hopefully, this time we won't turn our head...

Heather, Seed Effect's Program Development Supervisor posted this on Facebook today. Check out the Campaign Diary of Sudan on the SSRC Blog. It's a great discussion on the upcoming elections and current political scene in Sudan.

Also, for a detailed timeline of these elections and key events in Sudan, click HERE.

In the business of orphan prevention

Back in November, I was in Sudan for the launch of Seed Effect's first microfinance site. During this trip (my 5^th in 2 years), we finally handed out loans to our first 19 clients. It was an incredible blessing to be there and to see the joy on their faces as they and their families were empowered with renewed hope for their future. On this day, we prayed that they might come to know Christ and know him fully and that our Seed Loan program would be the catalyst that empowers them to overcome poverty.

I can honestly say that I will never forget this day for as long as I live.

But when I think about this trip, there is one other day that haunts me… a day that in a way threatens to overshadow the joy that I saw on the faces of these women and a day that serves as a constant reminder of just how important our work is.

Important enough to mean the difference between life or death.

On the day before Loan Day, we arrived on our compound to find our local staff in tears and the doors to our Vocational School closed. Early that morning, one of the women that had attended our school went into labor under a tree outside her tukul. There were complications, and without the money for medical care, she died that morning under that tree.

As is typical with my Type A, driven personality, I honestly didn’t really begin to process all of this until later. I mean, I was busy getting ready for Loan Day. (Horribly callous, I know, but sadly true nonetheless.) Of course, I was sad for the women that were close to her, sad for her family and those that she had surely left behind, but it wasn’t until later that the gravity of this really hit me.

At the time, we weren’t sure what happened to the baby. We heard mixed reports- some that the baby lived, others that he died. Either way, the lack of resources available to this family left this mother dead and this child either dead or orphaned.

A couple of weeks after we returned from our trip, we received an email update from one of the volunteers working at the orphanage in town. Here is his update:

“Today, I cried for the first time on this trip. Only a couple of weeks ago, we received an infant at the orphanage. Rose Yangi gave birth to her fourth child. Because of complications with the birth, Rose passed away. She named him Geri Evans and he was brought to the orphanage… This past weekend, we noticed that Geri was becoming ill. After being admitted to the hospital, we learned that he was not urinating nor defecating. As he spent some days in the hospital his condition worsened. Yesterday, Thursday, Nov. 19, Geri stopped breathing. The hospital staff attempted to administer oxygen into his body, but they were not successful. Geri Evans Anthony passed away at approximately 5:00PM. Today, I attended the burial of Geri’s body and the brief service that followed. As I stood among almost 100 other people, I began to feel the weight of the family’s mourning. Geri’s body was buried only a few feet away from his mother’s grave. Women were wailing. And I found myself praying for this father who has lost both his wife and his son within three weeks… All the people of South Sudan have come to know death very well. And because of this, I have come to appreciate life all the more.”

As I read his words, I realized that this was the same woman that had attended our Vocational School, carried her 5^th child to term, and lost her life under the tree that morning.

If we had been a few months earlier with our Seed Loan Program, would this have happened? Would Rose be alive? Would Geri still be alive and would he and his brothers and sisters still have a mother? If, after her vocational training, she had received access to a microloan, invested it in her business, built relationships with other women that were committed to supporting her, generated a higher income, learned more about health needs and how to better access medical resources, and been able to better provide for her family, would this have had a different outcome?

The day I received this email, was the day that I truly began to understand what we were doing at such a deeper level. The stakes are high. Really high. Of course, it's all in his hands. He doesn't need us but he can use us... the more available we are, the faster we work, the more we spread the truth, the more funds are raised, the more women are reached, the more families are impacted, the less children are orphaned, and the more lives are saved.

There’s just so little time and so much to do…

-Missy Williams, ED Seed Effect

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" Matthew 25:37-40

Photo by Trey Hill

2009: a year in review

From many firsts to some untimely deaths and a few shocking scandals, 2009 was quite a year! This year, America inaugurated the first African American president in our country’s history. Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, died unexpectedly at age 50. America and the rest of the world experienced the worst economic recession since the 30’s. Slumdog Millionaire surprised everyone and won 8 Oscars. There was a boy that supposedly got lost in a balloon and Tiger Woods definitely had the worst year of his life.

And, while all that was going on, Seed Effect began working alongside the local church and some incredibly resilient and hard-working women in a budding village in a forgotten country where life went on as normal despite all of the firsts, the scandals, and the deaths. This year, Seed Effect launched a microfinance initiative that will bring hope to a community where life as normal means fighting for your life and the lives of your children and struggling to earn enough to pay for malaria treatment, put food on the table, and provide an education for your children that might change their lives and change their definition of normal.

This year, we celebrated another first as we empowered our first group of 19 women with the tools necessary to transform their lives and provide for their families…

One of those women is Sokale Benai, a humble Sudanese store-owner, wife, and mother of 8, who joined a Seed Effect Cell Group called “Mondu Busan” meaning “Waiting for Blessing” and received a micro-loan and business training from Seed Effect. Before the loan, she sold maize flour, beans, onions, and saucepans. With the loan and the education she received from our Training Seminar, she added live lambs along with a variety of breads, sodas, eggs, and rice to her inventory in an effort to diversify the marketplace and meet the needs of her customers. This additional inventory has enabled her to generate more sales, earn a larger profit, and better provide for her family.

Now, as we celebrate 2009 and ring in 2010, we hope you’ll join us in praising God for such an incredible year! What started with a life and impacted a family now has the power to transform a community in the year to come as we turn 19 women into hundreds more. Join us? Plant a Seed. Be a Part of the Seed Effect in 2010.

a seed effect christmas party

Fellow Seed Effecters, Tara and Isaac Kohlbacher just returned 3 weeks ago from South Sudan where they joined in on an e3 Partners church planting campaign and served alongside Team Seed Effect to launch our Seed Loan Program to our first group of loan recipients. Here’s a short testimony about the trip from Tara:

“Before going to Kajo Keji, I couldn't even imagine what living on less than $2 a day looked like. When I arrived, I soon saw the reality that essentials like health, education, water, food, and shelter were often not being met.

I saw that the women, in particular, do all they can to provide for their children even though many do not have any education due to war and/or finances. Giving a woman a small loan along side business education and spiritual discipleship, can give her a chance to provide these essentials. Maybe for one woman that means saving her baby's life when he gets malaria and maybe for another, it means sending her children to school.

After this trip, I better understand the need for Seed Effect in this community!”

After having seen the need in South Sudan first-hand as well as the impact that Seed Effect is making on these women, the Kohlbachers are hosting a Seed Effect Christmas Party on Thursday, December 3^rd to help raise funds for more loans to help impact more families!

We’d love for all of you Dallas Seed Effecters to join us! For more information and to RSVP, visit the event webpage at: http://event.pingg.com/thechristmaseffect

first cell group meetings

Today was an exciting day for Team Seed Effect: SUDAN! Read Heather’s report below on the first Cell Group meetings:

“Today was yet another first for Team Seed Effect: SUDAN as we held our first Cell Group meetings for the our clients in the villages of Wudu and Mere. All of the women paid on time and many of them were eager to repay even before the first meeting! It’s clear that these hard-working women are ready to meet and work together as a group to push one another forward to improve their families and their community. They were all so excited to receive their Seed Effect T-shirts as well and put them on immediately. Obviously they are proud to represent Seed Effect!

What a humbling and exciting day for our staff! It is such an honor to see that our first clients are so proud to be Seed Effect members, and such a blessing to catch a glimpse of the future, as women will be empowered to change and improve their lives and the lives of their families through access to small loans and education.” - Heather Sumner, Program Development Supervisor

In the photo above, the "Mondu Busan" (meaning "Waiting for Blessing") Cell Group Chairperson and Treasurer work with Alia, our SE Loan Officer to collect and count the loan repayments during the first meeting.

carol discussing Seed Effect's loan applicants

Watch Carol Ziegler, Business Consultant and Seed Effect Volunteer talk about the Sudanese women attending Seed Effect's business training.

seed effect loan orientation seminar

Hello Seed Effecters! As you know, this week Team Seed Effect is in Kajo Keji, South Sudan hosting our first Loan Orientation Seminar for a group of 20 women. After months of research, training, and laying the foundation for our Seed Loan Program, we are less than a week away from issuing our first loans and could not be more excited to introduce you to this amazing group of women in just a few days! For now, here are some details about the women, their families, and their businesses...

Out of the 20 women in attendance, only five can read and write and two have actually received no formal education whatsoever.

There are 6 types of businesses represented in this group including:

• “Food stuff” Vendor (onions, beans, vegetables)
• Hotel/restaurant
• Fish Vendor
• Tailoring shop
• Bakery
• Import food and clothing store

Collectively, these women have over 60 children that they are supporting with their small businesses and are eager to earn a larger income to better provide for their families!

That’s all of the details I’ll share for now, but continue to check back for more updates as we near Loan Day!

Thanks again for your prayers and support. For more up-to-date posts on our progress, check us out on Facebook or follow us on Twitter!

heather discussing Team Seed Effect: SUDAN

Watch Heather Sumner, Program Development Supervisor, talk about Team Seed Effect: SUDAN and the preparation for our Seed Loan Program launch...

leaving on a jet plane

(In this photo: Poni, a Sudanese wife and mother, runs a restaurant near Wudu market in Kajo Keji. Although she works hard, Poni does not currently make enough profit to put all of her children in school. In an effort to better provide for her family, she will be attending Seed Effect's upcoming Loan Orientation Seminar and applying for a loan to invest in her business.)

In less than 48 hours, Team Seed Effect (Stateside) will be on a plane to Sudan… After months of hard work laying the foundation for our Seed Loan Program, we are ready to launch to a group of eager entrepreneurs!

Before we give the details of our trip, however, we’d first like to thank all you Seed Effecters out there who have partnered with us to make this a reality for the women and men of Kajo Keji County, South Sudan. God has used your generous support, faithful prayers, and willingness to invest in the lives of the poor in a mighty way as we now embark on an incredible journey to plant the seeds that overcome spiritual and physical poverty in the lives of these individuals!

We ask now that you would please join us in praying for this community- that God will reveal himself to them through Seed Effect’s loan program and that we will be willing and able to serve as the hands and feet of Christ by empowering them with the tools to generate an income to provide essentials like food, clean water, adequate healthcare and school fees for their families.

Now for the trip… During our stay, we will be working with the Sudan team to host our first Seed Effect Loan Orientation Seminar for a group of 15 potential clients that have qualified for our program based upon poverty status and other criteria. The goal of this seminar is to train them in microfinance and sound business practices and also help them to develop a viable growth strategy and plan for their business. Upon completion of the seminar, these entrepreneurs will be eligible to work with our Loan Officers to apply for a loan. Our goal is to soft launch the program to this initial group with a follow-up launch to the community within the next 6 weeks.

In addition to the seminar, Trey Hill will be shooting footage for an upcoming Seed Effect video, the entire Seed Effect team will spend a couple of days in the field with the e3 Partners church planting team, and we will be working hard to implement the educational component of our Seed Loan Program.

With so much to accomplish in the next few weeks, we would love it if you would join us in praying for this trip, Team Seed Effect, our future clients, and the implementation of our Seed Loan Program!

Again, thank you so much for your ongoing support and partnership! Oh, and be sure to become a fan of Seed Effect on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date as we're on the field.

a report from the field

As I blogged a few weeks back, after months of hard work and coordinating with our ISP and installers, the Internet was finally connected at the Seed Effect compound in South Sudan! One of the drawbacks, however, of high-speed Internet in an area with little to no infrastructure is the monthly cost. In order to offset this cost, Seed Effect has launched the only Internet Café in Kajo Keji county, providing access for close to 200,000 people this week!

Below is a report from the field written by our Program Development Supervisor, Heather Sumner:

This week marked a huge milestone for Team Seed Effect: SUDAN. As you know, the Internet was finally connected a few weeks ago. Since then we have still had some problems configuring our Internet Café software. This week, however, we resolved these issues and were finally able to open to the public! Upon our launch, we advertised in the community by hanging up flyers, making announcements over the loud speaker in the main market and on the local radio station, Grace FM.

Here was our announcement:

SEED EFFECT INTERNET CAFÉ IS NOW OFFICIALLY OPEN!!! COME AND USE THE FASTEST INTERNET CONNECTION IN KAJO KEJI! SEED EFFECT INTERNET CAFÉ IS LOCATED ON THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF WUDU COMPOUND. CHECK YOUR EMAIL AND EXPLORE THE WEB IN THE QUICKEST TIME FOR ONLY 130 SHILLINGS PER MINUTE! COME AND BE CONNECTED TO THE WORLD!

This is an exciting time for the team because of the impact that this Café could have on the community of Kajo Keji. Who knew that a small, isolate village in South Sudan would have access to high speed Internet?

- Heather Sumner, Program Development Supervisor

team seed effect SUDAN: rose dima

Meet Rose...

Rose serves as the Spiritual Integration Supervisor (SIS) for Seed Effect SUDAN.  Essentially, this means that she acts as the liaison between Seed Effect and the local church- working alongside the Loan Officers to share the gospel in the Cell Group Meetings and invite group members to the local discipleship groups in their area.  

About Rose: 

Married: 4 years to Edward Dima

Children: Joel Radlar Dima; Age: 2 1/2 

Home Town: Kajo Keji, South Sudan

Favorite Color: Green

Hobbies: Singing

Favorite Food: Beans and Posho

Favorite sport/team: Football

Other interesting details: Heather says,”Rose is an awesome servant for the Lord! She works very hard to pour into the women of and is mentor to many ladies in Kajo Keji.” 

If you could tell the world anything else about yourself, what would it be?

“I have good friends from the States with whom we share the love of Christ to the lost.  Through serving the Lord, I have been exposed to many challenges that face different people, ranging from women, widows, orphans, and the elderly.  This has enabled me to support them in prayers and prepared me for my position at Seed Effect.”

microfinance and school fees

To piggy-back on the ‘why sudan?’ post, here’s an informational article, titled ‘Sudan: One Teacher to 100 Pupils’ that details the current status of government-funded education in South Sudan. http://bit.ly/83EoL In most developing/war-torn nations, the need for education, healthcare, etc. far outweighs the government’s ability to provide these services and the people’s ability to pay for them.  South Sudan, of course, is no exception.  

Currently, in South Sudan, government schools boast a ratio of 100 students to 1 teacher, with highly under-qualified yet also underpaid teachers, and a lack of adequate materials and curriculum. In fact, one of our Sudanese friends referred to government education in her area as, “little more than baby-sitting”.  And, although school fees to attend government-funded schools are relatively low (compared to private schools), students are also left responsible for paying for their own uniforms, materials, school supplies, and lunches.  These costs can be a financial strain on their families and in some cases prevent the children and young people from attending school altogether.  

So, what does this have to do with microfinance?  Well, beyond the basic statement that these statistics definitely qualify South Sudan as very poor, this sub-par access to viable education actually has everything to do with microfinance...  

Across the South, non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) and other religious organizations are popping up with a mission to provide more access to better education for young Sudanese. (In fact, e3 Partners Sudan has started a privately run primary school in Kajo Keji, where Seed Effect is launching.  For more information about the school, visit www.sudanfootrace.com) Although they offer a much better curriculum and opportunity for the students, education, whether it is government funded or private, is never free and can run up to $300 a year per child depending on the access and quality of the school.  (Remember, as of 2006, statistically, 90% of southern Sudanese live on less than $1 a day- $300 per year per child is unrealistic for the majority of the South.)  With access to microloans and business training, however, parents can invest in their business, generate a higher income, and provide financially for their families.  Microfinance, in effect, has a generational impact.  So, at Seed Effect, we plant the seeds that overcome poverty- both now and in the future of the next generation.  

(Photo of e3 Primary School children at lunchtime.  For many of these kids, this is the only meal they'll receive that day.)

impact poverty with seed effect: SUDAN

Seed Effect: SUDAN is having a fundraiser, Thursday, August 27th in Austin, TX!  For more information on the event or to RSVP, click here http://event.pingg.com/impactpoverty . We hope you can join us!  

why sudan?

sudan's civil war, between the north and the south, was one of the longest of the 20th century, lasting over 50 years. before the north/south comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) was signed in 2005, 2.2 million southern sudanese had been killed and millions more displaced living as refugees in neighboring countries.  for those who remained, the impact of this widespread injustice on the south struck in the form of extreme poverty, illness, and an overall breakdown of infrastructure. (for an engaging narrative on this conflict, check out “what is the what” by dave eggers)

in 2006, the UN development programme reported the following on the post-war status of sudan: “poverty is widespread in sudan. UNDP’s 2006 human development report ranked the country 141st among 177 countries.  according to a recent  joint world bank- UNDP mission, about 60-75% of the population in the north, and 90% of the population in the south is estimated to be living below the poverty line of less than $1 a day.”

since 2005, humanitarian efforts have been valiant to reach the poor and disenfranchised in south sudan, but unfortunately, these efforts have merely skimmed the surface.  with such widespread poverty and lack of governmental support, the demand or need for aid and development dramatically outweighs the supply.  to quantify, per my research, there are less than a dozen documented mfi’s operating in south sudan compared to the hundreds issuing loans in places like india and mexico. (mix market, microfinance gateway, kiva)  these statistics give evidence to the world bank’s estimate that only 4% of the worldwide demand for microloans is currently being met.  

and these are just a few of the poverty statistics... 

sudan also lies in the 10/40 window, an area of the world that contains the largest population of non-christians globally, as it is estimated that 95% of the people in this region have never heard the gospel.  not surprisingly, this region is also home to about 80% of the world’s poorest.  

seed effect exists to serve the poor, the lost, the marginalized communities around the world.  i guess that answers that question... 

how it all began

the seed, if you will, for seed effect was planted during a trip to sudan in december 2007. the goal of the trip was simple and purely spiritual. partner with the local church, share the gospel, and plant new churches.  and, well, we did just that and it was amazing. along the way, though, we couldn’t help but notice the poverty. physical poverty i mean. children with tattered clothing, bloated bellies, open wounds... you get the picture. it got us thinking. should we do something? can we do something? 

enter jesus. did you know that there are over 2000 verses in the bible that reference the injustice of poverty? and did you know that not one of them says to walk by without doing anything? a quick venture into scripture and we answered our first question. but the second question, can we do something? it took some more thought. i mean, we knew it wasn’t as simple as handing out money. we’ve all seen the effects of that. so we looked for something more, something that addressed the problem without creating more problems. that’s when we read about microfinance. small loans to the poor, big impact on poverty. it’s been tried and proven to be true. (mr. yunus can show you his peace prize to prove it.) i guess that’s when we found the answer to our second question. maybe we can be a part of addressing this whole poverty thing. 

but then there’s more. enter jesus, again. can we really address just the physical poverty? i mean, if we don’t introduce them to our maker, the one who truly gives life, have we really impacted poverty at all? then it hit us. through e3 partners, we have a direct partnership with the local church. we can meet the physical needs with a loan program, plant the seed of spiritual growth during the process, and send them to the church to grow. seed effect. planting seeds that overcome poverty- both kinds- the physical and the spiritual. 

join us? plant a seed. be a part of the seed effect.