PROJECTS
AFRICA
NCM Canada supports local church ministries of compassion worldwide. We invite you to promote and live "Compassion as a Lifestyle," by putting your, “Faith to Action,” as God leads. Churches are uniquely positioned and embedded into the fabric of the communities they belong to.
Water & Wells in Kenya
The Turkana area in northwestern Kenya experiences harsh drought-like conditions. This has led to several challenges, including a food shortage in the region. The less-than-average rainfall during the rainy season and the total absence of short autumnal rains since 2018 have aggravated the current situation, escalating the drought to a dangerous level.
Nearly 200,000 people have been in urgent need of food in Turkana, while it is estimated that about 1.1 million people in half of Kenya’s counties do not have access to enough food. Droughts have been recorded in this region since the 1960’s. The drought used to occur approximately every five years, but since the 1990’s, it is now almost a yearly phenomenon. Since the people rely on their livestock for food and income, this has severely impacted them. Starvation is a very real crisis in this area.
Following a food assistance project in 2019-2021 funded through the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, 5.5 acres of land in the Turkana area were gifted to the Nazarene church by the local area Chief. He was moved to give this land after seeing that the church responded to the needs of the people. This led a local minister to initiate a new preaching point on the 5.5 acres of land. After a series of community consultations and stakeholder engagement, regular access to usable water was deemed as essential to address the different needs of the community in the long term.
A solar water irrigation project was developed as a result. The goal of this project is to provide access to a water source that locals can use to irrigate their fields for cultivation. In this region, drilling for water means drilling deep. The desert-like climate in Turkana also provides sunshine all year round, which is ideal to generate power through solar panels to pump water through the irrigation system.
The solar water irrigation system being constructed will cover the entire 5.5 acres. Once the drilling and construction is complete, the next step of the project is to divide the land into plots that vulnerable families in the community can plant and cultivate on. These families will be trained in Conservation Agriculture, which is an improved method of farming, and they will be encouraged to produce their own food. Additionally, animal troughs will be constructed to encourage healthy livestock. Livestock provide meat, milk, income, and their manure are helpful in treating depleted soils. Through this Water & Well project, we are helping to lift people out of dire situations.
Food Security in Malawi South
Malawi continues to be impacted by weather extremes – namely, droughts and flooding depending on the region. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) system offers information to help gauge the level of food insecurity a country or region within the country is experiencing. Most communities in Malawi are categorized as IPC 3 which is the crisis stage. However, within the last year, there are communities in the South of Malawi that have officially entered IPC 4, which is considered the emergency stage. There has been a worldwide call for international support to help intervene and help prevent people from dying of starvation.
NCM Canada is working both in the north of Malawi (IPC 3) and in the south (IPC 4) to help address the hunger crisis.
Active projects being implemented include training in Conservation Agriculture (CA). CA is an improved farming method used in drought-prone areas. It focuses on using organic materials, treating depleted soil, crop rotation and intercropping. Through CA, participants learn to create their own compost and organic fertilizers using local materials.
An additional component of CA farming includes the provision of livestock. Goats, for example, provide manure. The manure goats provide is used to help treat depleted soil. Not all participants in our CA projects own livestock. As such, we have used a “pass-on” technique to incorporate livestock into our projects, which ultimately enhances CA. The “pass-on” approach consists of a pair of goats (male and female) being given to a community. As the pair produces offspring, a baby goat is given to a household practicing CA in the community. This process continues and as baby goats mature, they are passed on until all project participants have received a goat. In many cases, CA, coupled with training and a livestock component organically spreads throughout the area, and becomes self-sustaining.
CA continues to be a proven farming method that results in higher crop yields and replenishes nutrients in the soil. When implemented by and through local churches, not only are people able to meet their food needs. They are also spiritually fed, and the church grows!
Story:
Dorothy was part of the first group of participants who received training in CA. Dorthy is married and has 8 children. Like many men in Malawi, her husband has had a very difficult time finding a job. Because of this, he decided to travel to South Africa to find a job. He would send money to Dorothy on a monthly to help feed their family, but Dorothy shared with NCM Canada that it was never enough. They had many days without food. She often would starve herself so her kids could at least have something to eat.
When she heard that a local church was providing training in new farming methods, and that it could produce a bigger harvest, she decided to join and attend the training at the church. Eventually, she learned new farming skills. After applying these new skills in her field, she saw that her harvest did very well. As a result, she decided to keep using the new farming techniques. She began attending the local Nazarene church with her family and has continued attending ever since. Eight years later, she continues to practice CA. Learning about CA has helped her not only provide food for an entire year for her family but she has also been able to buy more land to plant more crops. She is able to buy many types of produce (so she’s not just eating corn) and has started a small business selling fried donuts.
Dorothy says that through the success of harvesting all these years her neighbours and friends have been very curious, often expressing interest in wanting to learn what she does. She started inviting them to the church to attend the trainings and walk alongside them so they would also be successful with CA. In eight years, she has brought 10 families to the church and they are now active members in the church.
This is one example of how one woman who simply wanted to provide food for her family is now ministering to her community. Dorothy has become a leader to those around her. She’s bringing the gospel one planting season at a time. Dorthy is a clear example that where CA goes the church goes.
Church Construction in Malawi North
Local church groups in developing countries often gather under trees, in homes, or any place they can. In a remote community of northern Malawi, the local church was congregating in one of the classrooms of the local Nazarene school, Zukuma Nazarene School. It has been a dream, and a prayer of the members of the church, along with district leaders, to have a formal church building in this area to carry out church services and further ministry and community development activities. Often, having a dedicated church building aids in establishing a stronger church presence. This makes a significant difference in communities known to have deep rooted tribal, and ancestral traditions and religions.
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The church of the Nazarene has 17 acres of land registered to its name in Zukuma, 11 of which are still available. In 2020, a church building was constructed with support from Canadian churches and families. The local community contributed bricks (made by hand) for the entire structure. Physical labour and the provision of community meals for workers for the duration of the project was also be provided. The local church congregation committed to taking care of the building and any ongoing maintenance needs. They also committed to ensuring the proper care and use of the facilities of guests, visitors, and community members at large.
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Because Zukuma is in a remote area, it often gets overlooked by the government in terms of development. Now that there is a structure in place, many stakeholders have shared that they are excited for the future. Not only that, but as a community, they have a dedicated place to worship God.
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“What NCM has done in our community is so amazing. This is bringing what we admire in the cities to our community. I am glad this is happening in my lifetime. I will never forget it in my life. But, blessed is today’s generation because of the blessings from Canada.” - Village Development Committee Chairman
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Today, the Church of the Nazarene in Zukuma is vibrant, healthy, and able to expand its ministry efforts. The church structure serves as a multipurpose building, and as a hub where holistic ministries of compassion continue to make meaningful inroads.
Pastoral & Leadership Development in Creative Access Areas
In Creative Access areas, NCM Canada is supporting an accredited Oral Theological Education program. This initiative benefits thousands of French, English, Portuguese, and Arabic speaking students, in 9 countries, with continued expansion across the region.
As the name suggests, the curriculum is offered orally. Participants are divided into groups of students, or “generations”. Over time and as courses are completed, each generation then teaches another generation of students, in their own country and in their own local language.
This project has been highly effective, and is proving to be very reproducible across the Region.
Shipping Container to Eswatini
Check back soon for project update.
