EATBETA International Foundation Evangelize Africa Through Business Empowerment and Transformation of Agriculture (EATBETA)
Cover Photo: EATBETA distributing Ugandan made push hand-plows to rural farmers in Kamuli district
Spring 2018 Newsletter
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CONTENTS
Spring 2018 Report
Beehive Campaign Helping Rural Beekeepers Install Modern Beehives (page 4)
Push Hand-Plow Fabrication Engaging Youth to Fabricate Push Hand-Plows (page 5)
Field Report And A Featured Campaign Transforming Uganda’s Infrastructure Through Welding (page 6)
Upcoming Summer 2018 Mission Soliciting Volunteers for Summer 2018 Mission in Uganda (page 7)
Second Annual Luncheon Highlights EATBETA’s 2nd Annual Luncheon Event (page 8)
Way Forward EATBETA Campaigns and How You Can Get Involved (page 10)
EATBETA Team USA Team: Julius Sonko (CEO); David Hightower (Secretary); Walter Guillaume (Board Member); Jaime Fernandes (Board Member), Aaron Newman (Board Member); Moses Akitwine (Board Member); Tim Hayes (Board Advisor); Bill Krisher (Board Advisor); and Judge Sam Griffith (Board Advisor). Uganda Team: Jasper Safari (Chairperson); Robert Kawuma (Treasurer); Brian Lubowa (Secretary); Meria Kiyaraganise (Board Member); Franco Kijambogo (Coordinator); and Emmanuel Mugaju (Coordinator). 3
Beehive Campaign Helping Rural Beekeepers Install Modern Beehives EATBETA’s mission is to transform rural livelihoods by alleviating unemployment and food shortage in sub-Saharan Africa. One way in which EATBETA is achieving this mission is by helping Uganda’s beekeepers. Most rural beekeepers use traditional beehives, which are relatively ineffective compared to modern practices. Training and enabling beekeepers in modern techniques has the potential to improve income for rural farmers, resulting in improved livelihoods. During the summer of 2017, EATBETA embarked on a major campaign to help train rural farmers in best beekeeping practices, including installing and using modern beehives. During the first week of January 2018, the team was in Gulu district helping install modern beehives for a rural beekeeper. EATBETA is now progressively training and helping rural beekeepers to use effective and modern beehives. Since most rural beekeepers in Uganda cannot afford to purchase modern beehives, EATBETA is also partnering with an experienced beekeeper to find ways of making modern beehives inexpensively, utilizing locally available resources. The modern beehives installed at the beekeeper’s farm in Gulu district, were produced locally.
A traditional beehive used by rural beekeepers
As EATBETA pursues the mission of transforming rural livelihoods, we humbly invite you to join EATBETA’s beekeeping campaign to improve beekeeping in rural Uganda. In particular, if you are a beekeeper, your skills and expertise are highly valued in this effort. Please consider joining us during EATBETA’s summer 2018 mission.
EATBETA team helping to install a modern beehive 4
Push Hand-Plow Fabrication Engaging Youth to Fabricate Push Hand-Plows In sub-Saharan Africa, where farming is primarily still done with the traditional hoe, introducing supplemental and improved farming equipment to rural farmers is strategic in fulfilling EATBETA’s mission. During the summer of 2017, EATBETA introduced and demonstrated the push hand-plow to rural farmers in Uganda. Though the push hand-plow is still a manual tool like the hoe, it enables farmers to cultivate larger areas of land, thus increase food production.
Putting final touches on a push hand-plow
Since imported hand-plows are too expensive for most rural farmers, EATBETA is engaging youth to help fabricate push hand-plows (see picture on the left) at a cost of approximately thirty US dollars each. This allows EATBETA to make push hand-plows available to local farmers in Uganda more efficiently, and also provides skills training and employment opportunity for Ugandan youth. EATBETA humbly invites you to partner financially with us in this strategic campaign of mass producing and distributing push hand-plows to rural smallholder farmers in Uganda. The Push Hand-Plow campaign is tagged to the Welding campaign mentioned in the Field Report section of this newsletter—please check out that report as well, on page 6.
Rural farmers receiving hand-plows from EATBETA 5
Field Report And A Featured Campaign Transforming Uganda’s Infrastructure Through Welding EATBETA’s vision to transform and advance Uganda's rural communities is partly by transforming Ugandan agriculture (the 'TA' at the end of EATBETA stands for "Transforming Agriculture"). A key challenge in improving rural agriculture is the overall Ugandan infrastructure; modernizing a farming industry from the basic hoe to more advanced equipment like hand-plows, and eventually to mechanized farming methods using tractors, requires a more advanced general infrastructure to produce, service and repair this more advanced farming equipment. However, during EATBETA’s summer 2017 mission in Uganda, when seeking welders to fabricate push hand-plows, the team was dismayed by the poor quality of welding services available in Uganda. They began to realize that without the ability to repair the more advanced machinery, any attempt to modernize Ugandan agriculture would be in vain; hand plows and any other machinery would eventually break down and become useless unless there is a way to repair them.
To help with this critical need, EATBETA has added a new objective to its mission: "Train welders to fabricate and repair the machines and equipment that form the country's backbone and infrastructure." Training welders will help with the 64% unemployment rate among the youth by providing training and job skills, while also enhancing the Ugandan infrastructure so it can support agricultural advancement.
A welder fabricating parts for the push hand-plow
Accordingly, EATBETA has opened a welding training school, and initiated a new campaign to recruit experienced volunteer welders to train Ugandan youth in welding and fabrication skills. So, if you are an experienced welder, we gladly invite you to join us for the upcoming summer 2018 mission in Uganda to help in this campaign. For use in the welding training school, there is also a need for donations of basic welding equipment such as helmets, goggles, gloves, aprons, cutting torches, acetylene gas hoses and regulators, hand-held grinding tools, soapstone markers, and any other equipment typically required in a welding shop.
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Upcoming Summer 2018 Mission Soliciting Volunteers for Summer 2018 Mission in Uganda Mission work can indeed be fulfilling and life transforming for those who personally participate. A volunteer during EATBETA’s summer 2017 mission in Uganda commented: “Traveling and training rural farmers with Raymond, Julius, Rhyne, and Robert was one of my most enjoyable and, I believe, the most productive of the overseas trips I have had. I enjoyed meeting each of you, and sharing visions of enhanced Uganda and sharing good times.” (Judge Sam Griffith, Tyler, Texas). Since EATBETA primarily relies on volunteers to provide hands-on training to rural farmers in quality crop farming, livestock farming, use of farm equipment, and in various supplementary skills such as welding, beekeeping, carpentry/ woodwork, sewing, weaving, pottery, bricklaying, etc., volunteers are now being solicited for EATBETA’s summer 2018 mission in Uganda, August 1-15. Evangelism opportunities are also available for Church-based mission groups.
The cost for the two-week mission, including airfare, meals and accommodation, is $3,500 per person. As a bonus, volunteers will be treated to a safari excursion where they will enjoy some of Uganda’s (the Pearl of Africa) unforgettable and breathtaking sights, such as the source of River Nile (world’s longest river), Lake Mburo National Park (home to zebras, giraffes, and hundreds of other species of wildlife), the famous Equator crossing line, bird-watching on Lake Victoria (second-largest freshwater lake in the world), and much more. For more details about EATBETA’s summer 2018 mission in Uganda, please visit: www.eatbeta.org/summer 2018 or call (214)226-8249/(214)884-5114.
Judge Sam Griffith training rural farmers about beekeeping 7
Second Annual Luncheon Highlights EATBETA’s 2nd Annual Luncheon Event EATBETA’s 2nd annual luncheon took place on December 09, 2017 at the Winewood Grill in Grapevine, Texas. Thirty-five guests attended the luncheon, at which volunteers who participated in EATBETA’s summer 2017 mission in Uganda shared their experiences. Mr. Rhyne Cureton, a student at North Carolina A&T University, mentioned that he was glad to have shared his knowledge and experience in sustainable agriculture during EATBETA’s summer 2017 mission; he indicated that the mission was a humbling experience for him and he is ready to do it again. Judge Sam Griffith, a retired 12th Court of Appeals Judge, also shared his volunteer experience at EATBETA’s summer 2017 mission by elaborating on the importance of creating an infrastructure that would enable rural farmers in Uganda to engage in more productive and profitable agriculture. He said, for example, introducing hand-plows to rural farmers without supporting infrastructure such as good welding to fabricate the hand-plow parts, would be a waste of time. He challenged the guests to join EATBETA’s welding campaign effort, in addition to the other campaign efforts. During the luncheon, guests were updated regarding EATBETA’s achievements during 2017, among which was the successful execution of EATBETA’s summer 2017 mission in Uganda—where 131 rural farmers from five districts benefited from EATBETA’s training programs. Guests were informed regarding the five major campaigns that EATBETA has initiated to enhance and strengthen its mission of transforming rural livelihoods by alleviating unemployment and food shortages in sub-Saharan Africa. The campaigns include: [1] the Hand-Plow Campaign, [2] the BeehiveKit Campaign, [3] the Aquaponics Campaign, [4] the Welding Campaign, and [5] the Demo-Center Campaign. More detail on these campaigns is provided in the Way Forward section of this Newsletter, on page 10. The keynote speaker for the luncheon was Mr. Robert Erger, Technology Director at McKinney Christian Academy. In his speech, he posed a notable question: “Who is my neighbor?” God has given each one of us unique gifts to help others who don’t have the same gifts as we have. He went on to ask, “Has your neighbor benefited from your unique gift? As in the bible story of the good Samaritan, God expects us to use our gifting to reach out to our neighbor.” Going to train rural farmers in Uganda is a good example of how we can utilize our God-given gifts and reach out to your neighbors. Robert reminded his audience that there is no retirement in God’s Kingdom; he gave an example of Judge Sam Griffith, who, though retired from the 12th Court of Appeals bench, has not retired from God’s work because he is now involved in mission work—a reminder that everyone, regardless of age, can do mission work anytime, anywhere by reaching out to a neighbor!
Cross-Section of Pictures Taken at EATBETA’s 2nd Annual Luncheon Event
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Cross-Section of Pictures Taken at EATBETA’s 2nd Annual Luncheon Event
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Way Forward: EATBETA Campaigns And How You Can Get Involved EATBETA has embarked on five major campaigns to enhance and strengthen its mission of transforming rural livelihoods by alleviating unemployment and food shortage in sub-Saharan Africa. The campaigns include: [1] the Hand-Plow Campaign, [2] the Beehive-Kit Campaign, [3] the Aquaponics Campaign, [4] the Welding Campaign, and [5] the Demo-Center Campaign. More detail about these campaigns is provided at www.eatbeta.org/campaigns.
Hand-Plow Campaign Although EATBETA is pleased to have introduced and demonstrated the hand-plow to rural farmers in Uganda, a majority of those farmers cannot financially afford imported and expensive hand-plows, which retail for around $100. To help offset this cost and make hand-plows more affordable, EATBETA has engaged the youth in Uganda to help fabricate hand-plows at a subsidized price of around $30. However, EATBETA must still shoulder much of the cost of fabricating and distributing handplows to the rural farmers, so EATBETA humbly invites you to partner with us financially as we invest in mass production and distribution of push hand-plows to rural smallholder farmers in Uganda.
Beehive-Kit Campaign Since modernizing Uganda’s beekeeping industry increases the income potential of rural farmers, EATBETA has embarked on training and helping rural beekeepers to use effective and modern beehives at an affordable cost. As modern beehives are beyond the financial reach for most rural beekeepers in Uganda, EATBETA is partnering with an experienced beekeeper to find ways of making inexpensive modern beehives utilizing locally available resources. We humbly invite you to join EATBETA’s campaign to improve beekeeping in rural Uganda. If you are a beekeeper, your skills and expertise are needed to help train Ugandan beekeepers.
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Aquaponics Campaign EATBETA is moving to improve the livelihoods of the people of Kisima Island village by introducing aquaponics farming as an alternative to fishing, which has become economically unprofitable for its inhabitants. Working in partnership with aquaponics experts, EATBETA is committed to improving the Islanders’ economy by investing resources in the aquaponics project. We are challenging the families that will benefit from the campaign program to participate in breeding fish fingerings, then EATBETA will mobilize to acquire the water tanks needed for aquaponics farming. Our target is to have the aquaponics project fully operational by summer 2018. If successful, we believe that Kisima Island would become a model for replicating aquaponics farming elsewhere in the country.
Welding Campaign EATBETA is working to establish a welding school in Uganda to teach youth how to weld safely and protect their eyesight, providing all students with a pair of welding goggles. Experienced welders are needed to go teach welding during the summer 2018 mission. EATBETA also needs donated welding equipment such as helmets, goggles, gloves, aprons, cutting torches, acetylene gas hoses and gas regulators, hand-held grinding tools, soapstone markers, and any other equipment typically found in a welding shop. The equipment will be gathered in the Dallas area and shipped to Uganda to equip the welding and fabrication training school. If adequate funding and equipment are donated soon, EATBETA is hoping to launch the welding training school by the summer of 2018.
Demo-Center Campaign A training demo-center is planned to be constructed on a 25 acre land leased at Kashongi village in Kiruhura district. During EATBETA’s summer 2017 mission in Uganda, training sessions were scattered across the country and this meant a lot of traveling time for the trainers, who on average spent 4-5 hours per trip just traveling. This resulted in exhaustion and the inability to reach more rural farmers—who would have benefited from the training programs. We have figured that it is more effective to have the training programs carried out at a central location and setting—similar to that in the illustration below. The demo-center is expected to sustain itself through income generated from selling crops and animals raised at demonstration farmland. The demo-center is planned to be constructed in phases; the first phase, which will include a tool storage building, an animal pen, a vegetable garden, and a pilot beekeeping demo farm, is budgeted to cost $20,000.
EATBETA training Demo-Center model
Get Involved We humbly invite you to invest, financially or in-kind, in the above mentioned campaigns; please visit our donate website page at www.eatbeta.org/donate. And for more information about EATBETA’s efforts and programs, please contact us via any of the following avenues: P.O. Box 1190, Euless, Texas 76039 (214)226-8249/(214)884-5114 Facebook.com/eatbeta info@eatbeta.org www.eatbeta.org EATBETA International Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization
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Did you miss EATBETA’s Summer/Fall 2017 report? You can find a copy at www.eatbeta.org/about/newsletters/
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