The Gemach Project

In January of 2011 we made ten $100 loans through the Kisoni Orphanage in Butembo, Democratic Republic of the Congo. God has chosen to bless both the recipients and Gemach in this endeavor.

All ten recipients were able to pay back 100% of these loans by May of 2011.  In June of 2011 they were given a second round of loans.  Again, 100% of these loans were paid back by November of 2011.  With the profit and savings from these loans all ten of the recipients are now able to sustain their respective businesses without help.  As a result we will be making a third round of loans with the same funds in January of 2012.

Each single $100 donation will have enabled us to make not one but three loans.  Not as a handout but a genuine interest free loan resulting in a 100% repayment rate.

May the glory be God’s and may he continue to bless us.  Thanks to everyone that has supported us.  Because of you, thousands are turning their lives around.  Enabling them to have enough to eat, to send their children to school and to get the medical attention they need.  Not for a week or a month but for the rest of their lives, God willing.

When we began planning our October Africa trip we were all convinced that we were doing as God wished us to do.  As we proceeded with preparations everything became very difficult.  Nothing was proceeding smoothly and was proving much more complicated than it needed to be.  Was it an attack by Satan or God saying that now is not the time?  This is a question I have struggled with many times.  I recently told our Outreach Pastor that the church needed to give a class so that we could learn how to tell the difference.  He just chuckled.  We decided to continue with plans and give God a chance to work and show if the trip was his will or to close the door completely.  Ultimately deadlines came and went and we had no choice but to cancel the trip.  God had decided not to provide for this venture thus answering our questions.

Once it was cancelled the next question that comes to mind is – Why?  Again one of those easy questions that has always plagued man.  In this case the answer soon became very obvious.  Two main reasons arose.  Safety and Stewardship.

Safety- Since canceling the trip several things have happened that would have had a direct impact on us.  Elections are coming in The Democratic Republic of the Congo and the situation there is becoming more unstable.  Many fear that the situation is going to deteriorate even further.  Secondly an aid worker was kidnapped from the Dadaab refugee camp and taken to Somalia.  This is where we hoped to be at on the 24th of this month.  This aid worker has not been found.  Subsequent to this and other kidnappings along the Kenyan border the Kenyan Army has invaded southern Somalia.  We have heard that there is great unrest and fear in the camp and that all non-emergency aid has been suspended.  We would have undoubtedly gotten to Nairobi and been refused access to the camps by the Kenyan Government.

Stewardship – Part of this trip was to visit several of the areas where communication has proven very difficult.  We saw no other option but to go directly to these sites and try to update records and to figure out some effective form of communications.  Although not the most economical use of funds we saw this as the best way to correct these problems.  Again once the trip was cancelled God provided a much more effective and economical way to deal with this situation.  Josue Akowanou is a pastor that we work through in Benin.  He has the best grasp of what we are trying to accomplish with The Gemach Project and how it works, of anyone in Africa.  He is about to start the third cycle on the first set of loans given out in Benin, which has a 100% repayment rate.  He was in the US when we had to cancel our trip.  We sat down with him and explained the problems that we are having with communication and understanding.  Some of these problems include not being able to make contact by phone, in some areas electricity is only on for two hours a day so the Internet is not accessible, and French being their language and English mine.  These are just a few of the issues we face.  He stepped up and told us that he would be happy to help in anyway he could.  He believes in The Gemach Project and has seen the impact it can have on the poor.  First he speaks both English and French and will translate all communications back and forth so that it is understandable not only in language but in cultural context to both parties.  Secondly he has the vision and knows how to make these loans and businesses work.  He knows how to structure these loans within the African society and to make sure they are repaid.   Thirdly he travels to all of these countries at least once a year and can take a hands on approach to help those administering the loans and to make sure that things are running properly.

Josue Akowanou is now our official administrator in French speaking Africa.  We feel that he will be a huge asset to our organization and an asset to the poor in West Africa.  We ask that you pray for Jouse that this will not overburden him and God will be his guide and aid.  We also ask that you pray for the refugees in Dadaab who now not only have to deal with famine and drought but now have a war raging around them.   This can only add to their troubles and I fear may cause many more deaths.

Discerning God’s will, I guess that sometimes we just need to continue walking and see which doors he opens and which ones he closes.

Unfortunately we have had to cancel our upcoming trip. Times are hard for everyone and we were unable to obtain the necessary funding. The funding that we have received we will use for loans and we will continue with those projects. Thanks to all of you that have reached out to help.

The Gemach Project will be going to Africa in late October for a six week trip.  A film maker and a journalist will be accompaning us on this trip.  We will be documenting the transformations that are taking place in people’s lives through loans as little as $45.   They will also get a chance to see some new projects that we are undertaking.  The trip is divided up into three sections and each has it’s separate purpose and focus area.

Section one – We will fly into Dakar, Senegal where we will spend a day visiting those who have received loans to evaluate both the effectiveness of Gemach as well as how we can improve our process.  We will go from Dakar to Cotonou, Benin where again we will spend several days visiting many of the villages where Gemach is currently working.  We will also spend time with Pastor Josue Akowanou to see how we can expand with the loans while at the same time helping with his ministry.  From Cotonou we will fly to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso where we will visit the first village that Gemach loans were ever made in.  We will see first hand the effect the loans have had on the village and discuss plans with Pastor Michel Ouedraogo who wants to expand the Gemach concept into the three seminary schools in the country.

Section two – From Ouagadougou we will fly to Nairobi and then across to Kisumu, Kenya.  In Kisumu we will visit an orphanage called Bethzatha where we currently have loans out with guardians of the orphans.  We are anxious to see how the loans are making it possible for families to take in orphans to raise, which otherwise they would not have been able to do.  From there we will go by car to Nyamusi, Kenya where the concept for Gemach was born.  We will be starting the ground work to begin loans in the village.  From Nyamusi we will take a six hour bus ride to Kampala, Uganda where we will be starting loans in a home for unwed mothers.  We will partner with the home who gives these young girls skills so that they can support themselves and their child so that they don’t have to place the child in an orphanage.  We will be giving these girls loans to start their own businesses with their new found skills.  From Kampala we will fly into Butembo, Democratic Republic of the Congo.  We will be funding the loans for 30 widows while we are there.  We will also be checking on loans and their impact in an orphanage and a seminary school.  From there we will be making a stop in Rhwanda and on into Burundi where we will be looking at an orphanage that we hope to partner with.  We will then fly back to Nairobi, Kenya.

Section three – This section is something unusual for Gemach.  We will be going to the worlds largest refugee camp in Dadaab, Kenya to see if there is a way for Gemach to work there.  Dadaab is near the Somalia border and you may have seen it on television.  It is being flooded with refugees fleeing war, famine and drought.  Thousands are at risk of starvation.  Thousands have already died.  We normally do not take things with us to give such as food and medicine; we leave that for other organizations.  This time however we hope to make an exception.  We feel that it would certainly not be right to go where others are starving and not be willing to try to help with their short term needs as well as their long term needs through Gemach.

Lastly there may be many of you that wish to help.  This trip will obviously be expensive due to travel costs, new projects and humanitarian aid.  We ask that anyone that can, please help us financially with this trip.  You can make donations on the web site and please note where you would like your money to go if you have a preference; travel, aid, loans etc.  Very little of the costs of this trip have been received and much is needed.  We ask that you pray and seek God’s guidance.  If he says give then by all means do so.  If he says no then we honor your decision.