Nancy and Shelvis

“Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil,” she answered.

Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few… Pour oil into all the jars… sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.” (2 Kings 4: 3-7).

In the last month of my work with CWSEA, I helped evaluate Improved Livelihoods (IL) programs in Kenya and Uganda. The stories the participants shared about their experience in the program reminded me of the miracle of the widow and her oil (2 Kings 4:1-7). After her husband’s death, the widow was left with her two sons and her husband’s debt. When the prophet Elisha asked her what resources she had to pay the debt, she responded, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” The woman did not realize that the little that she had (the oil), plus her own abilities, and the involvement of “the man of God,” was enough to meet her needs.

In order to pay her debt, the woman’s own skills were required; she made and sold a product. Her community was also involved; they shared their support through giving empty jars. God blessed their efforts, and the oil multiplied to fill all of the jars.

Elizabeth Wamucea, the leader of a women’s group in Nakuru town, started a business selling bananas. Becuase of her hard work and the help of a seed loan, she is now better equiped to pay school fees and provide housing, food and clothes for her family.

In a similar way, the people involved in the Improved Livelihoods (IL) program use their own skills, the support of their neighbors, and a small gift from the Church community in the US, to transform their situations. In the IL program, community members form groups within their neighborhoods for support and accountability. The participants then take inventory of their own skills and are trained in starting a small business. Next, a small loan, perhaps only $25-$60, is given as seed money to start a business. Once the initial loan is repaid, a larger loan can be taken (often $100-$125). And the businesses grow, slow and steady, and self-esteem grows, in leaps and bounds. As the small amount of money multiplies, the individual, their household, and the community feel the impact.

When visiting Improved Livelihoods groups, I marveled at the stories of financial, emotional, individual and communal growth. One of the groups, called the Kamuthi Marathon group (pictured above), started an Improved Livelihoods savings and loans program in 2005. CWSEA provided the funds and OAIC (the Organization of African Instituted Churches) trained the group and walked with them through the process of selecting, starting and managing their own businesses. The group included men and women, and they worked together to create a great sense of unity and love within their group.

Joyce is a group member as well as a teacher at the school the Kamuthi Group supports.

During our visit, the members explained, “We do not know how we would have survived the effects of the post-election violence in Kenya, if it were not for the support of our group.”

As the group members began making a profit with their entrepreneurial projects, they started a small school for orphans in their community who are unable to pay school fees. The group pays for uniforms and food for the children, and one of the group members serves as a volunteer teacher.

One of the women from the group (pictured below right) is skilled in hair dressing. Before receiving a small loan from the program, she worked casually doing hair when she could find a client. After receiving the loan, she was able to rent a room in the market for a salon. She now employs two hairdressers in her salon, and she is training three other girls in hairdressing. The members of the Kamuthi group are incredibly motivated to use what they have received and worked hard to grow, for the benefit of their community.

The miracle captured in 2 Kings 4 depicts God multiplying something small, which, when added with an individual and a community effort, provided sufficiently for a family. The miracle I witnessed with the Kamuthi group shares a similar storyline, yet it has a more communal impact.  It was a miracle of a small gift, multiplied by hard work, for the benefit of many.  The members’ care for each other and for their surrounding community was beautiful and inspiring. 

Mary Obiero manages the Improved Livelihoods Program for CWSEA and does a wonderful job!

Miracles continue to take place in our modern context, in many different forms. The lesson I learned from the Kamuthi group, is that our impact can be great if we: 1. use and develop our individual skills 2. combine them with the skills and resources of others 3. share our lives, skills, and the overflow of our work with our community – locally and globally.

And as lives are transformed, as families are able to provide for their own needs and as they reach out to uplift their neighbors, God is glorified. Amen

Posted on June 30th, 2009 by Nancy
Filed under: Uncategorized