Resourcefulness fosters flourishing in SIERRA LEONE
By Daniel Friesen
West Africa
World Renew works to equip communities with the training and tools they need to overcome poverty—not just for today, but for generations. In Sierra Leone, with the support of World Renew’s local partner, Christian Extension Services (CES), community members in Konkoya established a Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA).
In rural communities, like Konkoya, where families have limited or no access to banks and financial institutions, a VSLA gives members the opportunity to save and access
loans. Typically, VSLA members make regular contributions to a savings pool and as the pool grows, they can take out low-interest loans. When members repay the loans at year’s end, each member receives their savings with interest to do with as needed in what is called the annual “share-out.” A few years ago, Konkoya’s VSLA leadership decided to do something different.
Instead of the annual “share-out,” the 30-member VSLA divided into five smaller groups, and each group used their year-end
savings to purchase a cow, with each group of six giving responsibility to one member for the care of the group’s cow. Konkoya is traditionally a farming community, so the purchase of livestock has introduced a new way for the community to generate income.
Umu Kamara, chairperson of the VSLA, states, “Before this time, we were unable to send our children to school or do major home repairs because of lack of funds, but
now we have expanded the CES VSLA idea, which has enabled us to own cattle and raise them to sell and pay for our expenses. All this is due to the CES intervention in Konkoya community. May God continue to expand the program!”
The Konkoya story demonstrates the kind of resourcefulness that World Renew and CES strive to foster in communities struggling with poverty.
In Senegal, thanks to the generosity of people like you, 584 women benefitted from membership in a Village Savings and Loan Association in the last year.
Prayers for West Africa
by Harouna Issaka
• Please pray for rain for Sierra Leone, where a devastatingly hot dry season has caused wells and streams to dry up, robbing entire villages of their water supplies.
• Pray for good rains in Senegal throughout the rainy season, which has just started, so that farmers' crops can flourish and farming families can thrive.
• Pray for fortitude for our local partners across West Africa, so they continue to embrace the people they serve as image bearers of God as they work to extend his love and hope.
Journeying from despair to hope in MOZAMBIQUE
By Mazembe João
Southern Africa
Smallholder farmer Canhemba Lastone and his wife have seven children. Using traditional farming methods, Canhemba struggled to produce enough to meet his family’s basic needs. He felt hopeless and couldn’t envision a future free from poverty.
In 2023, Canhemba had the opportunity to join a project facilitated by World Renew’s local partner, the Reformed Church of Mozambique. Through this project focused
on improving the livelihoods of vulnerable families, Canhemba shares, “I learned new farming techniques such as soil conservation agriculture and preparation of organic compounds, [as well as] matters related to gender-based justice.” He says he now understands that with changing weather patterns, it is becoming increasingly important to protect the soil. He shares, “Soil conservation agriculture, because it
Prayers for Southern Africa
by Steve Sywulka
• With God all things are possible! Pray that, despite a dry spell, the coming harvest will be bountiful across Southern Africa.
• Pray for guidance for World Renew Mozambique’s newly-appointed program consultant, Luiz Fernando P. Sinzker, as he works to relocate from Brazil.
• Pray for clarity for World Renew Southern Africa on how to prioritize our work each day so we seize every opportunity God gives us to share his love and hope.
Thanks to gifts like yours, in the last year, 753 women in Malawi were trained in kitchen gardening and learned about the health benefits of vegetable-rich meals.
conserves moisture in the soil, protects it from erosion and creates microbes that promote renewal.”
Canhemba implemented these techniques and is eagerly awaiting a harvest he expects to be twice as productive as before. Previously struggling to feed his family, he now anticipates a surplus. “I planted two hectares of corn, and the harvest will be enough for twelve months, with surplus to sell for other necessary products,” he shares.
Where Canhemba once thought his family couldn’t overcome poverty, he now looks to
the future with hope. Smiling, he says, “My dream is to have an irrigation pump, either fuel or pedal, to increase my production.”
Thank you for your gifts that help renew hope for farmers like Canhemba.
Shaping the future through savings groups in NICARAGUA
By Ximena Medrano
Latin America
Joleny Pérez, 22, lives with her family in the Mombacho community in Nicaragua where residents have limited access to formal financial institutions. When she was 19 years old, with support from World Renew, she and other members of her community established a Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) and they began to contribute regularly to a savings pool. Once the pool had grown enough, members were able to take out lowinterest loans.
Joleny serves as the president of her VSLA. She initially felt overwhelmed to be in a leadership position at such a young age, but she took on the challenge as none of the other group members had prior leadership experience.
Joleny remained committed to the VSLA, and soon she began to thrive in her role. “I faced the difficulty of leading people older than myself, but with perseverance and dedication,
I have gained people’s respect and support,” Joleny shares. She says the VSLA has brought about change in her community, promoting a culture of saving and being organized.
Joleny also participated in a Farmer Field School program through World Renew, and learned crucial farming techniques to help improve her family’s crop yields. And by taking out loans through her VSLA she has been able to put what she learned into practice. She says, “I have been able to access loans to purchase agricultural
inputs and seeds to invest in our bean and corn crops, which help us strengthen our economy and provide us with greater financial stability.”
Thanks to support like yours, young women like Joleny are discovering they are wonderfully made and full of potential —potential that they are tapping into to help their families journey away from poverty.
Prayers for Latin America
by Corstiaan van Aalsburg
• In Honduras, a rise in dengue cases has led to a health emergency this summer; pray for health for the people of Honduras and World Renew and our partners.
• As violence persists in Haiti, please pray for safety and peace to overcome the crises there.
• Please continue to pray that God will open doors for the work of World Renew in Nicaragua. Pray for energy and encouragement for our staff and partners.
Gifts like yours helped 39 mothers in Honduras establish a kitchen garden to help provide vegetablerich meals for their families last year
Finding renewed hope through improved health in CAMBODIA
By Rosezana Run
Asia
Afloundering Cambodian job market forced Keo Sophean to spend many difficult years away from his family. He sought employment opportunities in Thailand and South Korea, and while he appreciated the chance to experience other cultures, Keo never earned enough to justify the sacrifice of living away from his loved ones.
In 2018, Keo decided to return home and settle his family in the Tropiang Pliang community of Kampot province. He was hopeful for a simple life in the countryside. But Keo and his family soon found that accessing safe water was a challenge in their rural community. The natural water sources were not suitable for household use and posed health risks for the family, including their seven-month-old baby.
In 2022, World Renew’s local partner, OREDA, launched a program focused on improving health and livelihoods in Keo’s community. Keo became a program participant in January 2023 and received training in kitchen hygiene, household water purification, financial literacy, and food processing and packaging. Keo says the trainings in family-scale water purification and kitchen hygiene were especially beneficial.
"After attending the training, my family's health has noticeably improved. Our household environment is cleaner, as we are now more aware of the importance of kitchen and household hygiene. Due to
Prayers for Asia
by Ruairidh Waddell
• Bangladesh and India continue to struggle with a stifling heat wave as well as severe storms. Please pray for relief and God’s protection for crops.
• Following national elections in India in June, pray for the country’s leadership and that the ongoing outcomes of the elections will be peaceful.
• Pray for World Renew Asia staff and partners as they work hard to ensure government compliance for their transformative programs.
the water purification practices we adopted, we have been free from diseases," shares Keo.
With these health improvements, Keo is looking to the future with hope. Through the program, he is also a member of an agriculture producer group, which offers him both opportunities to learn and to share his knowledge.
Keo thanks OREDA, World Renew, and supporters like you for the program.
In Laos, 308 women in 8 villages joined nutrition trainings last year thanks to compassionate people like you.
VSLA fuels hope in KENYA
By Jacob Opara
East Africa
In 2018, with the support and guidance of World Renew Kenya, eight male and sixteen female residents of the Emkwen Village community started a Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA). The VSLA members, aged 21 to 56 years, attend bi-weekly meetings and contribute a minimum of KES 200 ($1.49 US) monthly towards the group’s savings pool.
Before they joined the VSLA, most members did not have a clear saving process. But the group has shown significant growth over the last few years and the members are all reaping
the benefits of contributing regularly to the group savings pool, which has now grown enough that members can access low-interest loans.
Millicent Ruto, a mother of four children, runs an agrovet shop in her village. Through the VSLA, she has been able to access a loan to invest in her business and help support her family. Millicent explains, “The VSLA has helped me and my family in different ways. I have been able to access loans that have enabled me to
Prayers for East Africa
by Barbara Kayanja
• The heavy rains and flooding have ended in Kenya; praise God for responding to the cries of his people.
• Pray for God’s provision for Ugandans as the country struggles with growing economic challenges in the face of political uncertainty, local conflict, and an influx of refugees.
• Pray for health, joy, and wisdom for World Renew East Africa staff as we work to share Christ’s hope.
construct our family house, pay school fees for my three children . . . and pay casual laborers working on my farm.”
Before membership in the VSLA, members found it very difficult to access loans through formal financial institutions due to long processes and requirements of collaterals.
“VSLA models have been designed to allow members to have a place to save their money,
In Tanzania, thanks to generosity like yours, 736 people were trained in income-generating activities in the last year.
access loans, and obtain emergency insurance,” explains Evans Limo, the group chairman, who feels blessed that a VSLA loan has allowed him to cover school fees and other education expenses for his two children.
Thank you for your gifts that help families like those in the Emkwen Village community VSLA to journey to income stability.
Did you know that in many rural communities around the world, people do not have access to banks? Often in these communities, if people need to take out loans to invest in their farms or businesses, they have to travel great distances, or worse, they have to turn to predatory lenders.
At World Renew, we’ve eliminated the need for a bank or predatory lenders by supporting communities to establish Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs). This program is an integral part of World Renew’s ministry, vital to helping families find their footing on their journey to income security. When you give a gift to help start a VSLA through World Renew, local families learn to pool their money, approve small business loans at reasonable interest rates, hold each other accountable, and build hope for a better future.
