In late July of 2018, we visited with and partnered once again with a Vacation Bible School (VBS) program in our hometown of Leavenworth, Washington. The focus of the VBS project was to provide much needed agricultural training, seeds, and tools to 50 of the poorest families in our immediate area here in Minembwe. The thought of doing this for even 50 families seemed a bit overwhelming, but we have great people to work with here in Minembwe. The fundraising went so well that we had enough money to run the intended program and we were hopeful we could repeat it again in the near future for many other families.
Two months later we arrived back in Minembwe, and as so happens in Africa, we found the area involved in a crisis. A rebel group attacked north of Minembwe and tens of thousands of refugees had fled into our area and the surrounding villages. There was an immediate need for food; this need was exasperated by already poor crops due to weather. Compounding this issue was that many people had sold off most of their crops to quickly make some needed money rather than storing their harvests for food to be eaten later or seeds to replant. Food prices here quickly doubled, and then tripled.
We decided to initially use the money raised during the VBS to address the immediate problem of feeding thousands of refugees. Working with the Eben Ezer University’s agriculture department, several students were trained in the planting/growing process of quick high yielding food crops, then the students assisted in planting nurseries within three local villages where the bulk of the refugees had temporarily settled.
Three of the students took on the crop management of this huge project by using their own family’s land and in exchange we gave each of them a scholarship ($220) for that year’s tuition. We also got the local pastors and tribal chiefs involved to help us find some land in their villages that could be temporarily used by the refugees to transplant the nursery seedlings so the refugees could farm and produce food to feed their own families.
Each refugee family was also educated on farming techniques by the agricultural students and given a hoe since they had fled their homes with maybe only clothes and blankets before their villages were attacked and destroyed.
Overall, three thousand people were fed and cared for over six months and were greatly encouraged by the help given in such a time of need, and the university students gained valuable experience assisting with a crisis intervention program, as well as three of them receiving a year’s tuition paid. In the end, we were still able to assist the original 50+ families with seeds, nursery seedlings, and they were also given agricultural education to improve future crop production.
It all started with kids getting excited about a VBS project that was going to feed other kids and their families half a world away; it’s pretty awesome what the Lord did through the tender hearts of those kids and adults who gave. Here on the ground in the D.R. Congo, we were able to witness the LORD at work multiplying the generosity of His servants!
Lisa