Small beginnings

A few weeks ago, before Coronavirus took over our thoughts here in South Sudan, I joined a meeting of women to talk about community development. Women gathered in a circle after the church service, many of them holding young children on their laps. I started the discussion by reflecting on John 10:10, where Jesus expressed his intention to give us ‘life, and life to the full.” What does that mean? That means that God cares about all aspects of our lives – our eternal souls, certainly, but also our bodies, relationships, work, and minds. If one part of our lives is unhealthy – such as a conflict with a family member, that will have an impact on the other parts of our lives. So how can we improve and promote health in all areas of life?

My colleague Elijah passed around a weaving that was in process. He asked the women to tell what they thought it was, or what they noticed. Several women suggested that it was a basket, or would become a woven bag for carrying things. Some said that they knew how to do this type of weaving. When something is at the beginning, there are many possibilities. Something looks small and insignificant at the beginning, but with slow progress can become something big, beautiful, and of great use. With that perspective we asked the women what some of their dreams are for their group. What impact could they have? Some of their top dreams included:

• Adult education (many of them had not gone very far in school, or could not read/write)
• Employment for women (perhaps through a store for selling handcrafts, or a farm)
• Strengthen them spiritually (including prayer, Bible study
• Trauma healing training
• Health awareness (e.g. about diseases, including cancer)

We then looked at each of these top goals or hopes they had for projects. What would be required in material or human resources for each? What resources did they have available? And finally we asked them to vote for which of these should be tackled first. Voting was a challenge, because all of these projects had value and felt like a priority to the women. But finally they decided that creating employment would be a task to tackle first, especially through trying to open a shop or have a cooperative that could sell some of the beautiful bead-work that the Anyuak tribe is known for.

They thought about some ways that they could save to get some capital for opening a shop. We talked about the planning and training that might be needed before they opened. The women, most of whom live in the neighborhood and do not have consistent work, are eager to collaborate. We talked about the need to continue to meet, to learn and plan together. Please pray for God’s wisdom and provision for these women in Lologo. And now that Coronavirus has made meetings risky, pray for wisdom in how we proceed!

How do adults learn?

A few weeks ago I (Kristi) attended a second training about Community Health Evangelism (CHE), along with two colleagues from South Sudan. We spent the week discussing how to effectively teach people in a way that they would connect and respond to, and also the vision for promoting spiritual growth and physical well-being in community.

One teaching was about how to introduce a lesson using a drama, story, or activity. We were each given a topic and told to come up with a ‘starter’ for the lesson that would grab people’s attention. The dramas had us buckled over in laughter. Through our healing and reconciliation workshops, I appreciate how much drama adds to a teaching by helping people to emotionally connect with the topic and visually see the principles at work. 

Peace and Tesila created a skit about family
planning that could be used to start a lesson.

A real focus for CHE is on empowering communities or groups to identify and resolve their own problems. With this goal in mind, the trainer always seeks to ‘facilitate’, to help people discover truths and solutions rather than just presenting answers. The goal is that the focus always be on the participant, not the teacher. Therefore, discussion, practical activities, or group work are always a part of any ‘lesson’ that a facilitator presents. We studied how the learning process is different between adults and children, including the importance of letting adults identify and own their own problems and be challenged to find solutions, rather than simply being told what to do. We looked together at Jesus’ interaction with the woman at the well (John 4), and how he asked her questions and prompted her curiosity, rather just telling her the spiritual truth he wanted her to believe.

Elijah and Moi doing an exercise where one person describes a pattern 

of geometric shapes to the other person, who draws it without looking. This showed 

us how differently someone might interpret what we think we are communicating!

My colleague Elijah recently visited the town of Aweil, in the north-western part of South Sudan. While there, he visited a small rural congregation that started about two years ago. As is common in this culture, the congregation took the opportunity of having a visitor from the capital city to present their list of ‘needs’. They needed a building, and in the mean-time a large plastic sheet to worship under, they needed help getting land, chairs to sit on, instruments for worship, etc. As Elijah told me the story, he said “I decided to use CHE principles!” He listened to their request, and then challenged them to consider what resources they had and what problems could be resolved without appealing to the denominational leadership in Juba. “There are some things that you need help with, but you can not expect the denomination to meet every need,” he told them. The congregation realized that they could get the plastic sheet for a temporary building in their area, and that they could make bricks for a building. The local government also affirmed the positive impact that the church has had in the community and allocated a piece of land for them – they only required about $300 for finalizing the legal registration of the land. Elijah, encouraged by the significant work that the local pastor has done in evangelizing and helping the community, was able to give a personal contribution from his family towards the land registration, further motivating the congregation in carrying on the work. And, to top off the story, the congregation never realized that Elijah is from a tribe that has experienced a lot of conflict with their tribe.  I was excited to hear that Elijah didn’t wait for a ‘project’ or a designated training to share what he had learned.

Elijah visiting the church in Aweil

It is always helpful to be challenged to try doing things in a different way.  As we seek to promote God’s shalom, well-being, and salvation in our churches and communities in South Sudan, we know that it will not be easy. We are grateful for the principles of CHE, which always focus on community and its members as the owner and driver of any change that happens. We trust that God will guide and use us in the difficult but sacred process of learning and walking together with community leaders as we pray for God’s transformation in South Sudan.

Participants and facilitators at our recent CHE training in Nairobi

A Vision for CHE

“Sure, I can help you cross the river.” Omot said to Albino, and encouraged Albino to climb on his back. Pretending to navigate the ‘river’ by stepping on boulders, Omot reached an island in the middle of the river. He realized that Albino was too heavy to continue to carry across the river, so he slid him off his back and left him there on the island. A woman, Peace, came to the same river, but was stuck because she did not know how to cross. Elijah came and offered to show her how to cross. One step at a time, he pointed out the places to step, held her hand, and encouraged her as they crossed over together.

 

(Left) Omot drops Albino at the island in the middle of the river.
(Right) Elijah helps peace learn how to cross the river

Our large circle of forty people then discussed the contrast between the ways that Omot and Elijah offered help to the people who needed it. Everyone recognized that ‘showing’ the way and walking with the person had a better result than trying to ‘do it for them’ (by carrying them) but then leaving them stranded in the middle of the river. This is an example of how the Community Health Evangelism (CHE) strategy works. The focus from the beginning is on empowering local leadership and volunteers to own their approach to improving holistic well-being in their communities. They might get training or technical assistance in some aspects, but they have to do the work themselves and invest their own resources. That way, when they begin to see transformation, they know they have done it themselves, and are empowered and motivated to tackle more challenges.

There was good participation in group discussions

Our Vision Seminar last week focused on introducing the strategy of CHE to church leaders in Juba. Three people who have been using CHE for several years came from Gambella, Ethiopia, to present the principles and vision for CHE. Grasping the roles of community committees, trainers, and volunteers can be rather challenging, so I was happy to host people who could explain it from their own experience. I rejoiced to hear them share about the transformation they have seen in the villages around Gambella – a context with similar challenges to South Sudan. About seven of SSPEC’s congregations in Juba were represented at our Vision Seminar, along with a couple other denominations. During group discussions, it was evident that many people recognized the value of this strategy, and were interested in further training.

(Left to right) Ariet, Rachel, and Matthew came from
Gambella to facilitate our seminar

As our colleague Rachel (one of the facilitators) shared afterwards, organizing this Vision Seminar was one of the easiest parts of starting to use CHE. Now we get down to the nitty-gritty of equipping people, mobilizing communities, and promoting holistic health. We are still learning how to cross the river! One challenge is discerning the next steps and figuring out how this strategy designed for rural settings can work in the city of Juba. Please pray with us for the right people to be chosen for further training, and for God to guide this process and provide the right people alongside to walk with us and point the way.