Growing food in Chad
The full details of our 2016 project are below - we plan to make a difference for 3000 people!
Sévérinproudly shows off his market garden
(Source: SCMR)
WHY SHOULD
YOU GET INVOLVED?
The
reason: The people served by this project live in almost constant fear
of not being able to feed their families. In Chad around 87 out of 1,000 babies
die, compared to around 4 in the UK, many due to hunger or indirectly due to
poor nutrition. It is vital that local churches play a central role in training
people to overcome the problems they face so they can be lifted out of material
and spiritual poverty.
The
results: This project will strengthen churches to take the lead in
developing and transforming their communities. Farmers will learn to use their
land more productively and sustainably to feed their families and earn a
profit. Marginalised people living with HIV/AIDS will also be encouraged and
supported to start small businesses to earn a living. Money earned will allow
parents to send their children to school and to grow their businesses. The
project aims to reach over 3,000 people, both directly and indirectly.
This
project needs your support: The project year will cost
£26,744 and runs between July 2015 and June 2016. Among other important
activities, this money will be used to teach communities to farm in keeping
with changing climate conditions, strengthen churches to take the lead in
transforming their communities and support people living with HIV/AIDS.
WHY DOES
THIS PROJECT EXIST?
Tandjilé
in south-west Chad is one of the country’s 22 regions
and is divided into two departments. These departments are split
into 13 subprefectures. For the duration of this project, the Service Chrétien
en Milieu Rural/SCMR (The Christian Service in Rural Areas) will focus on five
of the most needy subprefectures where most people rely on small-scale farming
and many struggle to support their families.
The
success of cereal crops, such as rice, millet and sorghum, is highly dependent
on favourable weather conditions and reliable rainy seasons. But rainfall in
Chad is becoming increasingly erratic. Alternating droughts and floods ravage
the land, hitting agricultural yields very hard and threatening livelihoods,
health and lives. It is a cruel injustice that world’s poorest people are those
most affected by climate change, even though they are the least responsible for
it.
A lack
of knowledge on how to farm successfully in the changing climate is leaving
many families in these Chadian communities desperately poor and hungry. A lack
of surplus produce to sell is keeping incomes low, meaning that children are
deprived of schooling, forced to marry young and robbed of their childhood.
Within
this challenging landscape, local churches are reaching out to bring God’s love
and salvation to people who desperately need Him. SCMR is working to strengthen
these churches to work in their communities, bring spiritual and material
support, and enable people to lift themselves out of poverty.
HOW WILL
THIS PROJECT MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
Sévérin
is a farmer and a father of ten. He has similar dreams and aspirations for his
children as any good father would. ‘I used to grow rice,’ he told us. ‘After
harvest, I always used to sell a large part of the yield to have enough money
for the children's school fees, clothing, medical care and other family needs.
But we couldn’t always make ends meet before the next harvest. At times, I was
forced into debt, and this took its toll on the family.
But five years ago SCMR gave us training on how to diversify
crops to increase income for our households. I learned to do market gardening
and SCMR helped me with vegetable seeds and agricultural tools for working in
the garden. Since then, a great change has taken place in my family. With
revenues from the garden, I’ve been able to build a house with two bedrooms. I
bought a pair of oxen and a cart. I can now pay for my children’s clothing and
school fees and if anyone in the family falls ill I can pay for treatment. Our
diet has much improved and we are able to store provisions that allow us to
cover the whole year without going hungry.
Our prayer is to increase our productivity, so we can live a
full life and witness more of God's blessings in my family.’
WHAT
WILL THE PROJECT DO IN THE SHORT TERM?
In this project year, SCMR will inspire and equip three local
churches to spread the good news of Jesus in word and deed to even more people.
With SCMR-trained local churches taking the lead, communities will develop
resources and skills they already have to improve their quality of life. This
process will give local people a vision for determining their own future with
their own resources.
An exciting aspect of this project is Hope Farm, a centre for
theoretical and practical training. People will come here to learn about
sustainable agriculture - how to invest in crops that are better suited to the
changing climate and how to restore their soil using organic matter. Seeds,
equipment and sacks of manure will be bought to demonstrate these sustainable
techniques. On the farmer’s own land, SCMR staff will help farmers to implement
the new techniques and monitor their progress. We pray that these farmers will
reap bountiful harvests and be inspired to share what they have been taught
with others, multiplying the impact of the training.
Ignorance and prejudice is marginalising and stigmatising people
living with HIV/AIDS. A number of people with the virus have organised an
association to join hands and tackle the challenges that they face together
with strength and dignity. SCMR is following Jesus’ example by standing with
these ostracised people and offering compassion and practical support. SCMR will
provide this precious group with livestock to give them new opportunities to
earn an income.
WHAT
IMPACT WILL THIS HAVE IN THE FUTURE?
Through providing technical training and support, domestic
vegetable production in the communities will increase. As well as improving
families’ diet and health, proceeds from the sale of surplus produce will
increase their income levels. This money will enable parents to send their
children to school, expand their agricultural activities and increase their
productivity.
Communities will take ownership of the project to make sure the
work continues to develop and is sustainable in the long-term. Initially, SCMR
will regularly monitor the use of new farming techniques so that future work
will yield good results. Once funding has ended, the communities will be
equipped to continue the work without external guidance.
Lessons learned during the outworking of the project will be
shared, and agricultural practice will be improved upon from generation to
generation. The sustainability of this project will be further strengthened
through the establishment of church-led groups with a heart to serve and love
their communities. These groups will share goods and knowledge to equip them to
be more resilient and adaptable to climate change. Most importantly, we pray
that through the work more and more people would come to know Jesus as their
loving saviour.
WHO IS CARRYING THIS OUT ON THE GROUND?
The Service Chrétien en Milieu Rural (SCMR) was formed in 1976.
SCMR supports around 500 churches in the Tandjilé and Logone Occidental
regions of Chad. SCMR was initially set up by the Eglise Evangelique au Tchad
(EET) to improve living conditions in rural areas. Their work includes
improving food security, protecting the environment and preventing and treating
HIV/AIDS.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?
GIVING
This project needs financial support to run. We’re aiming to
raise £26,744* towards the coming project year.
PRAYING
·
● Thank God for the good work SCMR have been doing in Chad for so
many years.
·
●
Please pray that the local churches will be beacons of hope
within their communities. Pray
also
that they would play a growing role in lifting the people of Chad out of
poverty.
·
●
Please pray that God would change people’s hearts so that those
living with HIV/AIDS would
no
longer be excluded, but be accepted, valued and loved.
·
●
PraythatmorepeoplelikeSévérinwillbeequippedwiththeskillsandconfidencetheyneed
to
thrive and reach their God-given potential.
