When Helping Hurts Training in Atutur

Last week I did my training based on the book "When Helping Hurts" in Atutur.  It is all about how to care for the poor in wise ways.  I did this on my own time, separate from my World Renew duties, because I had those days free.  I did this training in partnership with KAMM, a development organization in Atutur that was started and is led by our friend Charles Oluka, who was a student at Pentecostal Bible College five years ago when we were there.  Here is a photo of him.  He is very intelligent, passionate, and a gifted but humble leader.



We had 33 people total in our group.  Because of my limited time, we did it in English, so the group was significantly smaller than it could have been.  The plan is that these people go back and teach to others in Ateso what they have learned.  It was a very diverse group, of about equal parts Roman Catholic, Anglican (Church of Uganda), and Pentecostal.  It was wonderful to see such a diverse group working together and worshiping together.  One Christian man there has multiple wives, as he had them before he became a Christian.  And we had three local government leaders in our group and they were great contributors.  I hope they share their new knowledge using their influential positions.

This was a very satisfying and interesting training for me.  The training focuses on how we can help the poor in wise ways, but it makes for a unique time when most of the people being trained are materially poor themselves.  In fact one man had no food just last month.  His stored food ran out.  So he lived entirely on mangoes (which culturally are free to eat on anyone's tree).   He asked neighbors for help and nobody helped him.  At one point he tried to steal cassava from a neighbor but they chased him off before he got a chance.  Now he is doing okay as someone helped him out recently.  But knowing that there were many like him in my group certainly gave me a different perspective.

The people left with a completely new mindset from this training.  I never once told them that they are not poor.  In fact, in my eyes they are poor, especially compared to me.  But when they left I heard many testimonies of people saying, "we have learned that we are not poor."  This is because we focused on the importance of recognizing the assets and skills of the poor and beginning with local resources.  Part of poverty is feeling ashamed, helpless, and inferior.  They admitted to feeling inferior to me when I asked them.  By the end of the training, they felt equal to me, felt new hope, and no longer felt ashamed.  We had made a list of all the resources and skills that they have, and encouraged each other to build on what we have.  We talked about trusting God to bless our work and multiply our gifts when we steward well what he has given and thank him for his gifts.  They left feeling like they had much and that they were not poor at all!  Seeing this change of attitude was amazing to me.

They also learned about broken systems that contribute to poverty, and my hope is that their community groups will get together and try to make some systemic changes in Atutur as there are many broken systems and rampant corruption.  I heard a story of a child dying in the local hospital because the parent did not have money to pay a bribe for a blood transfusion.  How do you respond to such a story?  It breaks my heart, and I pray that God will use these people to make changes in their city.

Excerpts from their (whole page long each) written testimonies:

-"This training changed my life to leave evil and turn to God as before I was not burdened about God."

-"I have also changed my life not to be ashamed as if I am poor and yet I have assets to use to gain development."

-"I have learned that someone to give you knowledge is much better than to give you money."

-"I have not been assisting poor people, but I have seen that it is good to."

-"In this training it has helped me to achieve the knowledge and how to develop my family in order for them to earn a good living in this earth." 

-"Because of this training I will go to do development in my community, not depending on relief." 

-"And in this training I have seen that I am no longer poor because I have everything which God has given me."

-"In this training it has helped me how to use our resources which God has given to us instead of us saying that we are poor."

-"It has shaped my mind from doing evil to good things like respecting God who is the owner of everything in this earth."

-"In the church I am come from one Sunday the evangelism leader spoke to the congregation, saying,  'if you have come here for help please go back.'  But now this training has opened my mind.  The Church must needs to get back into helping the poor again."

-"I have to go teach my community so that they can also know how to use the little resources they have rather than depending on the donors only."

-"This training has given me knowledge, hope, strength, courage, and peace."

-"It gave light to how we should diagnose one's problems before I give him/her any assistance."

-"It has given us a view that it's better to get knowledge rather than giving one a product."

-"We have learned that we are all equal regardless of race in the whole world."

-"Before this training I have been helping the poor and focused only on material poverty, and yet from this training I learned that other types of poverty still affect a poor person."

-"For some I have been hurting the poor and myself when I was supporting them without knowing which kind of support that poor person needs."

-"Jesus came to the world not only to save mankind but also to bring the kingdom of God and healing."

-"I have learned that when you want to develop you should not be requesting everything but you should also work with your hands and use it properly."

This training was really important for KAMM (Keep Alive Missionary Ministries), that my friend Charles started.  The people there were KAMM members and chairpersons from the community groups that KAMM is trying to help.  They learned much about the right ways to help the poor and the foolish mistakes other organizations have made in the past.  They were able to see that what KAMM is doing is actually the best thing to do.  KAMM right now is only doing trainings and giving people knowledge; they do not give handouts of money or things.  Because some other organizations nearby unthinkingly give so many handouts, the local people have firmly learned dependency.  It is so strong that people do not want to go to KAMM's trainings unless KAMM gives them money to attend.  Other Christian organizations say that KAMM is a joke of a development organization because they do not give people money.  Through this training people's eyes were opened about the true nature of poverty; that it is more than just lacking things.  I hope that they will begin to support KAMM more and realize that KAMM is doing really good work.

KAMM right now has zero funding from anywhere.  It is fully being funded by Charles and the board members', and staff members' personal contributions.  They have a very small budget and are learning to trust God to help them manage and use well the little that they have.  I've been praying that some Ugandan churches would see the good work KAMM is doing and partner with them.  Please pray for KAMM as they are a young organization and the workers are sacrificing greatly to continue this work in God's Kingdom.

Some people left early and missed this group photo, but this was most of our group.