selling beans

Owning a business is hard.

Marie can buy dried beans in big bags for about US.70cents per kilogram. She then carries those big bags to the market every day where she lays them all out on a table. At the table to her left, is a woman, selling dried beans. To her right, another table filled with dried beans. The competition makes it difficult to secure customers - and she must keep her prices low to attract buyers who will choose her table above the others. The beans she bought for US.70cents, she sells for US $1. Only a .30cent profit on each kilo, assuming she is able to sell them. And then, those small profits need to be split up into many directions - the rent for her market stall - the materials she needs to sell; bags to put people’s purchases into, a scale to measure her product on. She needs money set aside to be able to buy more beans when these are all sold - and then, if there is anything left, she can use that to take care of her family.

A loan from Turame Microfinance Bank, gave Marie the ability to start with the capital she had not been able to save up from her small profits. Capital she used to find different suppliers for her beans, suppliers who offered new varieties that would make her stand out from the competitors in the market and attract more customers. She was also able to buy in even larger quantities, which brought down her cost and instantly raised her profit margin. Now instead of making US.30cents profit on every kilo of beans she sells, she sees a profit of US.50cents - or even more on some of the fancier varieties. In her first loan cycle, she’ll have to use the extra profit to pay back her loan in every other week installments, and if she uses the rest of the profit to start a savings account, she’ll qualify for an even bigger loan in the next cycle. It will take a few cycles for her to begin seeing the rewards of her hard work - but by then, her business will have grown a lot - and she’ll find herself with a savings account full of her own capital so she no longer needs to borrow from a bank, but has the resources and new business training through Turame, to be independant and successful.

"this is my story" (2)

“You have come to visit our lending group at a good time. A few months ago, I considered myself the least of all these people here. I wouldn’t have been able to go to any of them and ask to borrow BF10,000 (about $8) because I would know I could never earn enough to pay them back. But being invited to join the Pendo Community Lending Group has given me business training so I now have ideas on how to make my efforts a success instead of continuing to stay in a low place, always doing the same things but never getting ahead. And having the people in my lending group and a bank like Turame believe in me has given me the ability to see myself as also worthy. “

*paraphrased from translation

in praise of grandparents

While we are in East Africa, our kids are in the US. We've talked about this before so I know I'm not breaking any new ground here. But every day I am aware that my family is taking care of my kids. Every day they are making sure they get up for school on time and that they don't eat french fries all day and that they get their homework done. And every day I am thankful - because I know it is hard. Being a teenager is hard. Living with teenagers .. is hard. Trying to mesh two unique families into one that can dance through the hard moments of life together... that's a lot of work. I think especially of my parents who are used to having their own space, their own rhythms. The peacefulness of it just being the two of them has now interrupted by the jarring of high school schedules and dramas and responsibilities and wondering how to navigate all of it well with a child they didn't raise - so who isn't perhaps used to the way they like to have things done. I'm really glad our families are similar in so many ways, and that my parents are such good friends of mine. We can talk about issues and co-lead even though I'm far away. And I know that they have chosen to do this because they love my daughter. But I also know, we are all glad that this is only for a season.

This last week I visited a few grannies who are also raising their children's children - but for different reasons than mine. These children's parents have died - either as a result of violence, poverty related disease, or AIDS. The loss of a child, the loss of a parent, a combined grief and the struggle to continue on day by day with limited resources, limited energy. In each family, this is a season where the grannies should be allowed to rest and let the younger generation take care of them. They have already lived a lifetime of hard work and poverty, and they have all survived a genocide when so many other's didn't. Under these circumstances they were responsible for providing for their children, their grandchildren, their neighbor's children.

These women are now choosing to continue to be mothers. Choosing to raise their grandchildren and often other people's grandchildren who have been left alone after the war claimed so many young parent's lives - and poverty and AIDS continues to steal men and women from their children. Seriously, I get mini panic attacks when I even start to daydream about what it would be like if Billy and were involved in an act of violence here in East Africa and not able to come home to our kids. This is a reality for thousands of individuals who love their kids just as deeply as we love ours.

Each of the grannies that we met with did this with a heart of gratitude for all they have been given. With their own failing health, with their own limited resources, they are thankful they are still alive to raise this next generation of children they have been given.

Sometimes, all we have is each other... and sometimes, that is when we discover that "each other" is all that we need to make life full.

lending groups

Yesterday we went out to visit a repayment appointment for one of Turame's lending groups. We pulled up in our vehicles, past the mechanic's garages, past the seamstress district, past the small local outdoor factories where people sat grinding dried cassava tubers into flour. We pulled up to a modest concrete home belonging to one of the members of the group as they gathered to sing a song of welcome to our international guest, Peter Greer of Hope International. Peter has a long history with micro finance and is a co-author of the book "The Poor Will Be Glad - Joining the revolution to lift the world out of poverty" a book that really explains micro finance in understandable terms.

This particular lending group has been together for 4 years, continuing cycles of borrowing and repayment lasting for 6 months. They entire group gathers every two weeks to make their payments toward the balance of their collective loan, divided out between the individuals.

At one point, Peter asked what the best part about their Turame experience has been and one lady explained how good it has been to have the funds available for her to borrow, pay back and borrow more the next time. There is satisfaction in that and a feeling of accomplishment as each cycle is complete and they are once again trusted to borrow more money to further grow their businesses.

There were stories of fixing a home that had been crumbling, of sending children to school, of having more capital for their business making it easier to bring in a profit.

But after we left, I kept remembering the look on the woman's face as she spoke of the trust a bank had in her to borrow and repay. And how much she honored that responsibility because of the value behind it.

That statement just reemphasized that so often the issues of poverty are not steeped so deeply in material wealth as we tend to believe, but in self dignity.

Turame is working hard to not only feed into the financial needs of the vulnerable in Burundi, but also teaching spiritual, business and community values. They recognize that micro finance is a great tool, but can only take a person so far in their journey - because the root of humanity is woven together with something of such deeper value than just resources.

a gallery of faces

this weekend i leave you with a gallery of faces to gaze into.

to understand that each of these faces represents a woman, in so many ways just like yourself -

a woman with a family, with a home, with dreams for her children, with the struggles of making her household run smoothly, with a deep love for God, with questions, with heartaches and with an impeccable sense of style.

I encourage you to take some space now and pray with me for each of these women, and if you will, for the many like these, who are now running small businesses of their own with the loans they've borrowed from Turame Mircofinance bank.

She may be selling bananas at a roadside stand or sewing dresses in her home. She could be making charcoal from local trees, cut down and buried with embers under the soil to smolder. She could own a small shop and serve the best goat stew lunch plates in the area. Small business are as unique as the gifting and dreams God has given each of us.

Maybe one face in particular strikes your heart.... you can pray for her specifically - even feel free to ask me for a larger version of her photo so you can print it out and put it in your bible or on your fridge and remember to keep praying. It's a beautiful thing we get to do here - to be a part of something so much bigger than ourselves. And you are a part of it too - as we continue to journey together in Burundi.

we are gonna' talk a bit about micro finance this week

(ps- i have no idea what is going on with my font size today.. it's being stubborn as blazes. So I guess set your screen on enlarge and laugh with me, okay?)

so, you know that Billy and are spending this year at Turame MicroFinance in Bujumbura, Burundi. But we still get lots of questions as to what a micro finance bank actually is. I know is a bit of an anomaly to some of us in the United States with no real understanding of how micro finance works. It's a bank - yet it's somehow tied to an NGO -

this week let's visit again what microfiance is and how it helps the people here in Burundi coupled with photos from a lending group I was fortunate enough to visit. Today I'm recopying a description I found on MarsHill's website because I think it explains the concept very well - so forgive me if you've read this already... but I thought it well worth the reading to offer again.

In Burundi, Africa, one of the biggest hurdles in alleviating poverty is lack of capital. Yet, after a decade-long civil war, only a small percentage of people in Burundi have the collateral required to obtain it. Sitting at 166 out of 169 on the Human Development Index [which ranks countries by health, education, and income], the Burundian people are near to the world’s poorest.

Yet, there is hope. Turame Community Finance is a microcredit institution with pre-credit preparation trainings designed to increase a client’s capacity for credit policies and procedures. This training, combined with a social guarantee between members of the same group, serves in place of collateral, to open up the opportunity to obtain a microloan.

The loan application process begins by a potential Turame client submitting a business idea. Those who are approved receive a small amount of funds [typically around $60] to help build their business and generate a profit. With the profit earned, clients are not only able to pay back their loans but also provide for the needs of their families. One small loan impacts multiple lives.

Microloans provide the poor with the opportunity to work themselves out of poverty. Their small businesses are a permanent, sustainable means for independence instead of on-going reliance on external aid. As businesses grow, livelihoods improve, new opportunities are realized, and dignity is restored.

2012 - days and weeks to discover who you really are

"You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It's just a matter of paying attention to this miracle." Paul Coelho

I woke up at 4 this morning. Thin foam mattresses and itchy bites and guards patrolling past my window; I'm not sure what woke me, but I stayed awake, and once again found myself wandering through the pictures of the past few weeks I've been back in Africa. Seriously, sometimes I'm amazed that I get to live this life. Apart from the sadness of being away from our kids this season, apart from the finances and medical issues and the fact that I'm betting the farm every day that none of the 48 mosquito bites I currently have were given to me by a tiny lady also sipping out of the malaria jug..... even as we live through all that, we are constantly aware of our blessings. We get to live HERE. We get to work at a micro finance bank in Burundi and see men and women whose lives are changed with an extra $50 to supply bananas for their market stall. We get to buy those bananas for our breakfasts, or take that bicycle taxi ride, or purchase a sack of homemade charcoal on the side of the road, and experience, first hand, the circle of sustainability in a country of poverty.

Last night Billy and I were dreaming and wondering again - how in the world did we end up here? You know, those questions that are laced with amazement and thankfulness, but still filled with wonder. How did we come to live a life where the next natural step was to move to Burundi? Of course. And we are reminded, it is the same life that we chose years ago - by committing to listening intentionally and just saying "yes" to the next right thing. Each day, unique in its opportunities to do what is right, even if it isn't easy. And each new day, God has given mercies to take that small step leading us on a path that winds into the most beautiful places - beautiful mostly because He is there with us.

One day. One choice. A simple "Yes".

So, this morning, as I was going through my images again, I put together a weekly calendar for all of us to remember these moments all year long. Through the sloggy winter days in January, the daffodils peeking up in March, as we enjoy the bounty of our own farmer's markets throughout the summer months and in the autumn watching the leaves turning into brilliant hues matching the fabrics of the African women - we will remember. And we will remember that each new day is a fresh opportunity to experience God's goodness in the exact space we are in. Each day is an opportunity to listen for his voice and make a choice to say "yes"- and then turn around and be a blessing in return.

The 134 page calendars are available for purchase at blurb.com (and you can preview it in the link below) $10 of the purchase price comes back to us so we can invest it in a Kiva loan to benefit another group of Turame clients and/or help pay Samkelo's school fees during the upcoming year (he's the little guy on the back page - Hi Samkelo!). I guess it depends on how many calendars get sold, but there are plenty of places even $10 can go to make a world of change.

As always, we love it that we get to do this together. Thank you for all you do to encourage and join us. Merry Christmas. All thing are certainly new, every morning, by God's loving nature. Even here. Especially here.

2012 ... each day is another precious opportunity by Trace DiCocco - www.dicocco.com | Make Your Own Book

.

I happen to adore these kids

and they happen to be some of my favorite photographers

--------------------------------

I have some rules when I share my camera

1. you must tell me something about yourself before I'll trust you with something as valuable as a nice camera - your name, where you go to school, how old you are - anything so we can know each other now.

2. keep the strap around your neck

3.only you are allowed to touch the camera

4. you may take any 3 pictures you want, choose anyone you want to be in the pictures, but then the camera must come back to me

5. When it gets too rowdy, It's time to be finished

being trusted is a beautiful thing. Responding with respect to that trust is a mark of growth in most of these kids. and being given the ability to create something artistic and lovely is invaluable - no matter who you are.

I adore these kids. I adore these images. I figured you might too.

(You've got to be kidding me... how perfectly adorable is this one?)

(for the rest of the series... visit my flickr page )

but maybe not till tomorrow... I'm heading to bed - good night my friends

Scorched aware - Ted Loder

O God,

I look,

and find you looking back

in the eyes of lover, child, enemy, friend, stranger,

in the image in the mirror,

i can scarcely hold watch or long bear that light in eyes

that peering of the soul

your secret hidden in us like a glowing coal-

a haunting, frightening, fascinating brand of Eden,

burning bush, empty-tomb holiness

.

I look, and am scorched aware of how fragile

and how precious is everything I love,

everything I am, have, do, give

I look, and you look back,

and in the lurch and tumble of your fire, I glimpse again

your power to work miracles

by turning the few loaves and fishes of my gifts, and me,

into food for some other lonely ones,

.

your power to ignite to flame

my look, my stretch toward you

and so to inspire to life

other wide-eyed seekers such as I.

.

In the light of such miracles, O God,

let there be community, the welding of love and courage

in me, and as far as I can see.

.

.

Grant me nerve to dare the wonder,

willingness to hold watch, to walk in the light-

that fierce, tender, terrible beauty,

of your looking, your beckoning-

that ever being burned to death, and life, by your gaze,

I may be saved, and sent again, and spent

in the sacred seek toward those I can never be with wholly,

nor yet be whole without.

.

-ted loder

wrestling the light

Kingsway School

" Imagine... a South Africa where our vast potential of human capital is optimally developed- where every one of our children will enjoy the benifit of the best education and opportunities we can provide.

... but too many of our children are crammed into poorly lit containers with 60 peers, no desks to sit at and no proper reading or math skills taught to them.

I also have dreams of becoming a pilot, a doctor, and engineer, a teacher one day. But I don't see how this is going to happen where I live.

Now Imagine - a top school like Kingsway Christian School in Randpark that has provided top education opportunities for the past 20 years, willing to relcoate into my community.

Imagine a school like this within walking distance from my shack.

Imagine a safe, caring environment where role models will journey with me from grade R to grade 12.

Imagine a sports field where I can play and learn about being part of a team and develop my skills.

Imagine a community taking hands and building a school where I can fufill my dreams. "

"Kingsway has taught me that it does not matter what kind of background you come from, you have a right to learn." -Gundo

"Kingsway School means everything to me because our teachers teach us how to learn,to respect other people and how to study" -Luthando

"This school makes me be a person" -Veronica

"The school teaches us to praise God and follow the right choices in life." -Anna

We can build a school for the Class of 2022

IF you can READ this you are

luckier than 70 % of the children in the informal settlement.

Show you are thankful by donating just R5

SMS "school" to (+27) 36012

or following this link to http://www.2022.co.za/

to see opportunities for you to get involved

all text taken from http://www.2022.co.za - photos by trace for Kingsway School

I can share what I have

Sick again. Raise your hand if you think I get sick entirely too much in Africa. Ridiculous.
Last week I got to spend a morning at Kingsway school. You remember Kingsway, we've talked about it a few times and I pointed you to the fundraising video a couple weeks ago - to build the new school inside Zandspruit. The kids here are so precious. Teacher was telling them a bible story this particular morning. A story about Jesus healing a blind man.
"Have you ever seen someone who is blind? Where would you see them?"
-(little voices) " sometimes on the street corners "
"Uh-huh." teacher says "How come they stand there?"
- (little voices) " because they need some money but they can't work"
"the exact same thing was happening in the bible. Just the same. And then Jesus walked by...."

She wove the story into a space where not only the children were captivated by the miracle of the bible... but delighted with recognition that they are living in a story similar.

"Now, maybe we can't heal the person like Jesus did - but what can we do to help someone who can't do something for themselves?"
(little voices) "We can take them shopping for clothes" "We can give them some food" "We can buy them some shoes"
"Absolutely! But what if you don't have extra money to buy them something they need? What else could you do for them? "

and the ideas poured out - washing clothes - reading a story - cleaning dishes - holding their hand so they could walk to a friends' house -

real life things that real life people can do every single day

I don't know if the teacher realizes the amazing gift she is giving these children. Being able to recognize that you have something valuable to give is an important key to not sinking into a poverty mentality. You are rich when you realize your ability to give. It's what the deepest spaces in our hearts were wired for - to take care of each other. To serve. To love God with all our hearts, our souls, our minds - and in that, because of that, through that, to love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. It's what draws us together into the core of humanity and gives us the wealth of being able to actively participate in something bigger than ourselves and the here and now we find ourselves in. And these children, knowing and believing that is true, will carry their generation on the shoulders of something better than what has been.

still thinking about school

for more Aurora images... flip to my flickr page...

Thought I'd share a few of my favorite images from last week's shoot at Aurora school... kids doing what they do best when they are in a safe, nurturing place. They play, they explore, they have the confidence to be brave and to be proud of themselves. They connect the dots in their brains and learn to read & appreciate numbers and understand how things work together. I love it when that all comes out in an explosion as their hand shoots up in class with this uncontainable, butt wiggling- energy & excitement

***** i. know. the. answer! *****

We are just finishing our third full week of the new school year here in South Africa. My kids continue to struggle a little bit. Avery is learning about friendships and how to write research papers and wondering what "her thing" is. Madi has been invited into AP Maths after school. Between those after school classes, plus the ones with her new tutor... she has hours and hours and hours of maths and physical science (chemistry,physics) every week. Her brain is full, but we are excited for her opportunity to excel in what she has set before her. Harrison is just moments away from everything "clicking" and being totally fabulous... but until that happens, there are frustrations. Organizational skills to be learned, processes to be figured out, confidences to rebuild. He works his stress out on the piano at home - or inviting me on a run... which is lovely. I'm constantly proud of him. I'm constantly proud of all three of them. This is big stuff.

In just an hour, it will be the weekend in our house. Beautiful words. They mean rest and games. Sunshine and sleeping in. Togetherness, time to chat, time to just snuggle on the couch and read calvin and hobbes cartoons. We have been intentional about making time for a Sabbath for a few years now, but I don't' think I have ever appreciated our Sabbath like I do these days. We are thankful for school. We are thankful for good schools. But we are also thankful for family and home.

Our car is broken (again) this time it looks bad enough that we needed to get it towed and it seems it will be awhile before we'll see it again. Ever notice how these things happen when you are completely short on money in the first place? We've been offered a loaner by some sweet friends who are sacrificing their car for us... a beautiful gift indeed... and for Wed, yesterday and today, before we get it, we've had such dear friends step in and offer us rides and quick uses of their cars and even had some willing to pick the kids up from school themselves on our behalf. Just saying out loud how thankful we are for the community we are blessed with here.

Visual Peacemakers

So, I was going to tell you more about the big news strike going on in South Africa right now. BBC Africa has some great articles about how the military has stepped in - caring for those in the hospitals, and keeping the striking workers from hurting the patients and doctors who are continuing to work. With text messages throughout the day, Madyline's school reopened and anticipates continuing throughout the week despite nation-wide threats against government educators who do not close and join the strike.

But then, I read today's blog posting from the new fellowship I have recently joined International Guild of Visual Peacemakers and decided I need more good in my day - and you probably do too.

You might have noticed the badge off to the left and at the bottom of the page here. Clicking will bring you to the most visually engaging community I have been introduced to. A gallery of photographers who are using their voices to tell the stories of communities all across the world. Communities often misunderstood or marginalized - communities stereo-typed and oppressed by their sheer uniqueness to the mainstream western world. I am honored to be a part of this fellowship - and thrilled to be swept away by the talent and heart of photographers bringing me in to places that are beyond my own experience, but through their storytelling, invite me to live it as well.

Do yourself a favor - click on the badge IGVP to the left and enter a world of beauty and intrigue - and expect to be a little bit bigger than you were before you came inside and soaked up these spaces. Sign the charter for visual peace. Spend a moment reading one story - or an afternoon on a trip around the world.

Today's blog, written by Dr Howard Zehr, stated so beautifully:

"In my experience, documentary photography can help bridge the chasms that separate people. If done respectfully and collaboratively, it can also provide a way for people to share themselves. My vision, like that of the IGVP, is to use photography as a way to work on the healing edge. "

"The goal in much of my photography and in restorative justice is to find a way to reduce social distance. This is also IGVPs goal and that is why I am encouraged by their commitment."

He goes on to talk about social distance and how it has eroded our society on both sides of the chasm. His work in criminal justice (or as he prefers "restorative justice") and his love of photography has given him vision into the many facets of social distance and opportunities we have to bridge all that separates us.

I'm encouraging you to hop over and spend, even a few minutes at IGVP. Bookmark it for later. Send yourself an email reminding you that you wanted to head over there on your coffee break or while you sit down with your midnight snack. It's important - and I'm guessing that if you are here in the first place, it matters to you. People matter to you. The journey of life matters to you. Me too.