​These past several months have been challenging globally as the impact of Covid19 on global health, travel, social distancing, not to mention the economic impact, has brought individuals, families, communities, nonprofits, and government entities to their knees. Throw in natural disasters, political upheaval, and continued global conflict, and one may readily see why developing new and innovative empowerment strategies to best impact local and global communities for long-term sustainability has been critical. Affecting Change International (ACI) has developed a partner organization called The Unfinished Task Network (UTN). The motto of UTN is: “Dignity Now; Hope for Eternity.” We seek to make that a reality by equipping local churches to become bases for community transformation. These churches already have connection to the community and in many cases are already providing a sense of identity, have a message of hope, and have a mandate from their faith to care for not only the widows and orphans, but the community at large.

In our particular faith context, UTN’s calling is to equip churches and church planters to initiate living, thriving, prophetic communities of faith that embody the Good News of God’s mission in words, deed, and character in their own specific contexts. For too long, the global church has appeared irrelevant to the challenges and needs in the community. Church has been seen as a place to attend on Sunday for singing and preaching, but to address real needs in the community, villagers either turn to the government or non-government organizations. While acknowledging that the church is an imperfect institution, churches are the organizations with greatest potential to reshape the lives of the communities where they are located. It is important to understand that ACI is willing to explore how our UTN project can engage other faith traditions where we can find bridges of cooperation as people of all faiths have the same basic human needs, i.e. education, housing, medical care water, sanitation, and food security. That being said, we are committed to not compromising our faith context.

We work to equip a church planter or pastor to lead the church to see its mandate to reach out with an integral mission to the whole person: body, soul and spirit, and to be prepared to act within the community as well as from the church base with a real understanding of the need to empower and develop people—offering a hand up rather than a hand out. In turn, we train the church leadership to think positively about how the church disciples, empowers, and develops people and communities, how it uses its resources, what challenges it faces, what it says “no” to (what it will not do), how and at what levels it engages with its society (who it partners with), and how it determines root problems and solutions. To this end, we utilize what is called Asset Based Development.

Asset-based development focuses on what people have rather than what they do not have. It doesn’t ask them what they need. Asset-based development recognizes that God has blessed every person and community with gifts, such as land, social networks, animals, savings, intelligence, schools, creativity, production equipment, etc. An asset-based approach puts the emphasis on what people already have and asks them to consider, “What is right with you? What do you have that you can use to improve your life and that of your community?” This approach to community development reinforces some very positive relationships:

• Relationship with God—God is seen as just and that He has provided for us.
• Relationship with Self—God has given me talents and gifts; being able to work to take care of the needs of my family and others gives me dignity.
• Relationship with Community—Shared resources, shared intelligence, etc., improves our relationships with our neighbors because we are working together.
• Relationship with environment/creation—I have resources I can use; the community is valuable and has resources.

In a follow-up blog post we will share more specifics about the application of Asset Based Development.

As ACI prepares to return this month to the 17th Infopoverty World Conference (IWC) at the United Nations in New York, we are reminded of our real purpose: 

Affecting Change International…Helping Disadvantaged Communities Learn to Help Themselves

In Entrepreneurship for Human Flourishing Chris Horst, Vice President of Development at HOPE International, and Peter Greer, President and CEO of HOPE International, make the point that although giving food, money, or things to people in disadvantaged communities can be helpful, giving people a means in which to create their own businesses, and teaching them how to own a business and invest their money wisely is perhaps more helpful. 

A few quotes from the book say it better than we ever could:

“…Charity is at its best when it complements the private sector, when it temporarily assists those who are unable to participate in productive employment and take care of themselves and their families” (pg 13). 

“…Meaningful work isn’t just a solution to the problem of financially vulnerable people.  It’s the best solution” (pg 14). 

“Jobs are the central weapon in the war on poverty.  They are the centerpiece of communities that flourish” (pg 22).

“Create–sell–invest–give:  this is the consistent cycle of any flourishing entrepreneur.  And when entrepreneurs flourish, people and places flourish” (pg 58). 
  
“If we care about reducing poverty, we have to think creatively and look at innovative solutions found outside the formal economy” (pg 60).

“Hope springs from having opportunity – a vision for the future.  When individuals can see beyond their day-to-day needs to invest in tomorrow, they take risks.  When students can recognize ideas are validated, they are free to experiment and push boundaries.  And when parents can dream, they are more apt to save for their children’s education, prompting multi-generational impact” (pg 86).
   
“All work is infused with meaning” (pg 87). 
​
We at ACI want our work and your work to be “…infused with meaning”; one way is to support the efforts of those striving to help create sustainable communities throughout our world.  Will you partner with us and our new project?
 
For updates on our Idili Sustainability and Food Security Project (ISFSP), please visit the website http://www.affectingchange.org/ or www.idilifarmsproject.org.  

Our website had for months reported the following:

“On January 4, 2012, ACI President David Neely dedicated the Billibo Community School to the Maasai community located 30 km north of the Tanzania - Kenya border town of Namanga, Kenya.  In partnership with the Kijiji Ya Sanaa Trust, ACI funded the construction of the open air school and provided school supplies for the 45 Maasai children attending the grand opening.  The local community has hired 4 teachers and will use a brick making machine to build partial walls for the school.  The school is the initial element of the Maasai Community Development Project, which includes future elements such as a library for the school, a medical clinic, a renewable energy module, a waste recycle module, a micro business element to fund future projects, a vocational training module, and a reforestation element.  The reforestation element was started the day of the school dedication when several trees were planted by the ACI team and the local community.”

 I received a report from our partner, Kijiji Ya Sanaa Trust regarding the successful development of the project by the local community through the cooperative efforts of civil, governmental, and corporate partners.  All of which has been driven by the project trust and community leadership.  The report included the fact that earli in 2013 a strategic meeting was held with new people on the Kijiji Ya Sanaa Trust board and the local committee to set up structures (official partnership guidelines for completion of the total project), which have proved to be very successful.

The Maasai community, elders, and leaders have shown their support by putting up a wonderful management team for the school. The 3 teachers of the Billibo Community School faithfully taught with dedication, the parents also continued to support the teachers up keep (salary).  The school averaged 39 pupils who showed progress and development in their studies.” 

The local Administration attended all the project’s quarterly meetings, and the Billibo Community School was able to participate in the Kajiado County 2-day workshop for local and international investors. There were a few challenges which the project recognized, primarily the fact that the number of females attending Billibo Community School had dropped. Additionally, the following needs were identified: lack of learning materials, an additional teacher's table and student benches & tables, water, and the construction of a security fence around the project property. 

Mrs. Wangui Nyoike, of the Kijiji Ya Sanaa Trust writes, “There is great development and families have advanced to higher levels in their livelihood and health.  Soon the general hospital will be officially opened to the public, and there are several secondary schools coming up.  Kijiji is under new management, working with cooperates, government, local administration, local leaders, and churches.  Our policy is to enter into a memorandum of understanding with all interest party and must fit into our plan. Our pillars are Christianity, Education, Health, Empower, Impact, Progress, Hard work and Transformation” She goes on to say, “The team work among the community is amazing, the families have put up new and decent houses for their families.  They were able to raise their own funds to facilitate the community and their livestock with water.”  Prof. Nenkai followed up on the drilling of borehole, water harvest, and water storage.

Additionally, it has been reported that there has been the following resolution to issues, as well as continued project development, again led by the local community:

· The Kenya Forestry Service will assist in planting 1,000 trees for energy & fuel during the long runs. (Reforestation element of the project)

· Ciiru Njomo, is working to develop exchange programs with other schools and implementation. (Education element of the project)

· Paul Senet, is serving as the Billibo Community School head and over the school’s management. (Education element of the project)

· Silandoi, is developing  vocational skills and empowerment programming for the community. (Education and women’s empowerment element of the project)

· Mrs. Wangui, heading up the women projects and savings initiative. (Education and women’s empowerment element of the project)

· Started the cultivation of 2 acres for open farming of vegetable and beans. (Agricultural element of the project)

· Developing a feeding program. (Relief element of the project)

· Constructing a school office, house for head teacher, and two classrooms in partnership with local organizations. (Education element of the project)

· Developing project brochures and opening up a website for project promotion and communication.

· Establishing an annual subscription Fee for Kijiji Board members and partners for sustainability of the administration elements.

· Actively inviting additional partners to come on board to work with Kijiji Ya Sanaa Masai Development Project

Initially, when we found out that the community no longer needed our LifeBox Education module, it was a bit disappointing from the perspective that were not able to actually build out this first container in country; however, from a development perspective it is something that we can celebrate. It is been a long time coming since the initial visit with the community back in 2010. Lessons have been learned through this past four years. Namely, I learned that I was hypersensitive to being perceived as driving or pushing the community to do something that they were not ready for that this project did not move very fast. The idea for any project is for ACI to make the physical and emotional investment in the community, and basically empowering them, or helping the community leadership recognize that, as a local community, they have the capacity, both physical and financial, to follow through on the overall project without overseas aid if given the right leadership and training. From that perspective, I am celebrating the fact that they have chosen to move forward under new leadership of the trust, and complete the project as designed by ACI and Dale Duncan from McLennan Design, LLC, to a large extent. I would have loved to build the container out for them, but the overall goal for ACI is not to place LifeBox containers in communities, but to help communities established development projects that are self-sustaining and driven by the community itself.

ACI has already been contacted about using the LifeBox Education Module in Zambia and Uganda. Thank you for your continued support of ACI as we develop the LifeBox solution, but more than that as we help communities become empowered to establish community driven, self-sustainable projects.

Warmest regards,

David L. Neely, ACI President

February 12, 2014, written by Alison Hofmeyer, Communications Consultant

It is a prevalent topic all over social media these days.  The UN is beginning their season of round table discussions and conferences, along with DESA, UNDP, and many non profits.  Anyone perusing Twitter or their Facebook feed will be bombarded with philanthropic projects, emotional pictures, and statistics about the world's poorest people and communities.  And we do the same thing!  Our posts are genuine and real, but intended to captivate an audience, to engage people in our mission to empower communities, and to ignite passion in the hearts of people all over the world.

But what does it really mean to serve humanity?  What does it look like the empower the most depraved people in our world?  These are the questions that everyone is now throwing around.  What policies can we put in place to protect people from oppression?  What aid can we give to get communities fed and back on their feet?  It is a worthy topic and questions we hope to be able to answer some day.  However, our solution for right now is instead to stop talking and start doing.  These are desperate times.  People don't have time to wait for our 10 point plans and well thought out agendas.  At the rate children are dying of malnutrition and women dying from childbearing, there is no time to wait.  Our LifeBox Containers are designed to be an emergency response.  However, they are a long term solution, allowing a community to use it to grow and thrive and build.  

I wonder, what is your solution?  In what capacity would you want to serve?  How do you fit into the fight for humanity?
We would love to have you on our team.

(February 10, 2014) Today's post comes to us from a faithful supporter of ACI and a friend of President David Neely's, Alan Foster.

My name is Alan Foster.  I am a small business owner specializing in facility maintenance.  I was asked a couple of years ago by David Neely, President of ACI, to partner with his organization.  They needed an outside perspective on what specifics are involved with maintaining a building used for education.  As this dialog progressed, i soon realized his organization was building a class room made from a shipping crate and that it was going to be shipped to Africa.  I was amazed about this idea and further amazed that he had the foresight to get others involved so that no detail was missed.  I was so moved by the idea that i partnered with ACI. I not only worked with his team of architects, engineers and eventually a school for the prototype but my company donated other resources to help get this project underway.
 
It was refreshing to find an organization that truely focused on the end result.  I watched ACI gather the different trades and experts needed for this project.  They way that David gathered these individual pieces and networked them into a common goal was impressive. Their idea of finding the right people and resources to complete projects for those less fortunate is a great one.  Its too bad they are so terribly underfunded.  They have a great vision and many more opportunities to help those in third-world countries.  I challenge all who take time to read this that they can make a difference.  With each individual effort comes a great movement for change and care for our fellow man.

(February 4, 2014) This second Talking Tuesday post is written by Robert Bye, newest member of the ACI team.  Robert brings years of legal and technological experience as well as a passion for people.


Disruptive Technology for Disadvantaged Communities

 I first heard about Affecting Change International a little over two years ago. I was talking with David Neely, President and CEO, about his upcoming trip to New York to speak at the Infopoverty World Conference at the UN.  As a technology leader for the past decade, I was intrigued by the thought of using technology to address the problem of poverty in disadvantaged communities. I knew that David Neely had spent 11 years living in Kenya and was familiar with the needs of disadvantaged communities in that region. However, I was skeptical and needed to hear more.

Last year, David invited me into his office to explain more about what ACI was doing. He told me about all the work that had gone into developing the LifeBox Container for classroom instruction.   He described how the LifeBox would be solar powered and could be used to charge cell phones in remote areas. It could also potentially connect with cellular networks to create a Wi-Fi hotspot.  My mind went straight to the possibilities for technology, and I knew I had to get involved.

In the two years since I first heard about ACI, the world of technology has changed dramatically. My field of cloud computing has revolutionized how computer networks are built and technology is consumed. Instead of having to purchase servers and put them in an expensive data center, it is now possible to access technology on an as-needed basis as a service.  Costs are coming down rapidly, and in many cases are free as companies like Google are looking for more users for their advertising platforms. At the same time, hardware costs are coming down rapidly because of the Android platform and emerging vendors in China. Over the next several years, these disruptive technologies have the potential to dramatically improve opportunities for disadvantaged communities.

I believe that LifeBox is the missing element that will bring together all the necessary technology pieces. It could act as a hub of activity in these disadvantaged communities for both education and commerce.   I am excited about the potential for ACI to have a real, measurable impact on communities. To succeed, these communities will need to embrace the technology and take ownership. That is why I think the ACI tagline is so appropriate: Helping Disadvantaged Communities Learn to Help Themselves.

 

Written by Alison Hofmeyer, Communications Consultant


I have been asked a lot lately about what I do.  When you are involved in work that ignites your passion, this is a very exciting question to be asked.  This opens up the lines of communication to share about the exciting updates in my day, the community in Kenya we are working with, the funds we so desperately need in order to move forward, and the concept that I think has the power to change the world.  However, sometimes I can't help but notice the look of confusion or disbelief on the face of some people.  As I explain the technology behind the LifeBox Containers, the different modules available, the Critical Needs Assessment that takes place beforehand, and the methods with which we get involved in a community in the first place, I know that sometimes I lose people.  Intentions are always pure, I know this.  But fact of the matter is, sometimes people ask what I do or how my job is going out of obligation or social appropriateness.  That's okay.  We've all been there.  As I mentioned, though, when the work I'm doing everyday has the potential to save lives and impact global development, I can't help but take every opportunity to over share about how it's going.

I won't use this post as another vessel to talk about ACI or even the LifeBox Container.  All of the information is on our website, and odds are if you're reading the blog, you've checked it out.  What I will say though, from one individual to another, as a person who has volunteered for this organization long before I had to privilege to work for it full time, I believe in ACI.  I have seen the success and the impact our President has had in developing communities.  I know the amount of strategy and research and collaboration that has poured into the LifeBox Container model.  And I've read messages from our partners in Kenya who are desperate for their opportunity to grow.  This is life changing work.  It's exciting and it's real.  We are daily seeking support from individuals willing to share our information on social media, to talk about the LifeBox Container to your network, maybe to donate or become a partner.

I think it's important to have a thorough understanding behind the work that you do.  To develop a foundation of knowledge and logic to support your work.  This I have.  However, outside of all of that, my heart is 100% invested because I believe in the LifeBox Container.  And that, I believe, can not be argued.

Jeff joined the ACI team in the summer of 2013.  Along with his passion, Jeff brings years of experience in non profit management and leadership.  The post below was written by Jeff as reflection of why he does what he does.


Can we really make a difference?

Very deep within me, deep within most of us, resides the desire to make a
difference in the world about us, to feed the hungry, champion the
oppressed, support the disadvantaged.  Trouble for me, trouble for most of
us, is that life and living tends to grab our complete attention.  We can
attend our kids' games and events, engage in our careers and take beach
vacations, all without realizing, even giving it a distant thought, that 40
percent of the world's inhabitants struggle just to eat every day.  We are
the richest people to walk the face of the earth and yet it is so easy to
live as if there is nothing terribly wrong our world.  And while I believe
we do not need to feel guilty of our wealth, I do believe we need to remind
ourselves, to get up every morning with a deep sense that something is terribly wrong with our world and then yearn and strive to do at least something about it. 

While self-centeredness and complacency can seem to plague us I think we just need to remember, to know, that we can make a difference, even if only in some small way.  I believe it all starts with taking inventory of our blessings, our human, spiritual, financial and organizational resources.  And then by cultivating a commitment, by adjusting our methods, and by repenting daily we will realize that we can play a role, maybe a small yet still an effective role, some role to minister to a hurting world.  How can
you respond?  We can make a difference, let's make a difference.