This Newsletter provides (1) a brief description of the Haley-McCready Outreach and Development Fund, (2) a listing of our productive project development results and (3) a summary description of another new, no-grant agriculture and livestock development project.
HALEY-MCCREADY OUTREACH AND DEVELOPMENT FUND
The Haley-McCready Outreach and Development Fund is a Registered Canadian Charity that is governed and managed exclusively by a volunteer Board of Directors; John McCready, Karen Perry, Daniel Sheffield and Paula Moriarity. The primary purpose and the interrelated, integrated ancillary purposes of the Haley-McCready Outreach and Development Fund are identified below. Our charitable purposes are well-served by providing one-time, start-up development grants for poor community people in Burundi.
Mission:
To promote and support the development of poor community people in Burundian communities.
Primary Purpose:
To relieve poverty by providing development grants for poor, uneducated and unemployed community people in Burundi.
Achieved by providing development grants designed to improve socio-economic conditions by developing associations and community-based, income-generating, self-supporting and self-sustaining community development activities for poor community people in Burundian communities.
Ancillary Purposes:
- To develop food and economic security by providing development grants for poor, uneducated and unemployed community people in Burundi.
- To advance civil society development by providing development grants for poor, uneducated and unemployed community people in Burundi.
- To advance and promote gender equality and empowerment by providing development grants for poor, uneducated and unemployed community people in Burundi (mostly women).
PRODUCTIVITY AND DEVELOPMENT RESULTS
Burundi is one of the poorest countries in the world with extreme poverty, hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity. The main business of the Haley-McCready Outreach and Development Fund is to provide one-time, start-up grants for agriculture and livestock development projects. Our development projects are required to have a self-help Project Association of 10 poor women and become involved in Cultivating Crops, Raising Animals and Microfinancing. Each project is designed, expected and required to become self-supporting, self-managing, self-governing and self-sustaining and it works! Our the projects represent an investment in development that alleviates poverty and improves the lives of the Project Beneficiaries and their family members.
Five Very Successful and Productive Years of Development
- Our first four projects received a one-time, start-up grant in 2022
- Now we have 22 agriculture and livestock development projects
- None of our 22 development projects has failed
- We have 23 Project Managers and 16 are graduates of the Agriculture and Zootechny Program
- We have 239 project beneficiaries; mostly poor and vulnerable women
- Each of our 22 development projects has a self-help Project Association
- We have had many successful harvests; grains and vegetables
- Our projects already have many more than 95 animals; goats and pigs
- Our projects have sold more than 9 animals for income-generation
- We have projects in 10 of the 18 old provinces, 17 communes and 19 collines
ANOTHER NEW, NO-GRANT DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
Project Title:
Supporting Vulnerable Women from Caratsi Area, Rukere Zone, Kayanza Commune and Butanyerera Province through Cultivating Crops and Breeding Pigs
Project Manager: Abbie RUBUMBA
Abbie RUBUMBA holds a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree from Hope Africa University. Since 2017, Abbie has worked for the University as Logistics Manager, then Chief of Service for the Hostel (dormitory) and the Students‘ Centre and now Abbie is in charge of banking operations. Rev. Abbie is a Senior Pastor with the Free Methodist Church of Burundi at Kayanza in the Ngozi Annual Conference. As a representative of the Church, Abbie attended the collaborative Agriculture Development Workshop in February 2023. By receiving a Haley-McCready Outreach and Development Fund start-up grant in July of 2023, Abbie became a Project Manager for an agriculture development project in another commune in what was then called Kayanza Province. After that he started a second agriculture development project; his first no-grant project at Musave Quarter, Kayanza Commune and Butanyerera Province. Now, Abbie has started his third project; a second no-grant project at Rukere Colline, Kayanza Commune and Butanyerera Province.
Agriculture and Zootechny Program Graduate: Christine NININAHAZWE
Christine NININAHAZWE is a Hope Africa University Agriculture and Zootechny Program (AZP) Graduate. She was selected by the Free Methodist Church of Burundi and received a two-year scholarship from Friends of Hope Africa University. She is a Connected AZP Graduate for four other agriculture development projects in Kayanza Commune in Butanyerera Province. As an AZP Graduate, Christine helps beneficiaries to learn and use more productive methods for crop cultivation and better care methods for animal husbandry.
Introduction
Butanyerera is the northern province of Burundi. The province is known for its tea and coffee production. It is one of 5 provinces with higher population density. It is subdivided into eight communes one of which is called Kayanza. Many people in Kayanza have weak financial capacity that leads them to have limited visions for their future. For these jobless people, they live without hope for tomorrow. That is why we do better to encourage them to start this project and a project association.
Developing the Association
The Free Methodist Church of Burundi has a vision to develop both the church and the community. Therefore, after realizing that the church I am leading has so many jobless young people who are unemployed after completing their secondary and university studies, I had in my heart the courage to gather them together and try to find a way to help them develop an association to help them to improve their lifestyle. Then, 26 young women and men were selected to be the project beneficiaries and members of the project association. All these young people have learned about the project and project association and signed their agreement to be active and loyal members.
The association is called KAZOZA KEZA that means “GOOD FUTURE.” The association is a democratic organization with equal members involved in the decision-making and the project work. The members elected a President, Vice-president and Secretary/treasurer. The association has already established a bank account that requires the signatures of the three elected officers. The association is registered with the colline representatives. With guidance from the Project Manager and through crop cultivation, animal husbandry and microfinancing, the project association is expected to become self-supporting, self-managing, self-governing and self-sustaining. When the association and the project are strong, the Project Manager will encourage the beneficiaries to develop an extension, replication project with its own project association. Finally, the Project Manager will be experiencing the capacity of managing one more Haley-McCready Outreach and Development Fund development project while developing his pastoral care abilities and experience.
Cultivating Crops
To initiate crop cultivation, the Project Manager and the Connected AZP Graduate will train the beneficiaries on modern more productive agriculture methods. They hope to obtain some money that will be used to rent one field for cultivating maize (corn). All the beneficiaries will work together in cultivating and harvesting the maize. The beneficiaries will share 50% of the harvest, 10% will be saved for seed and the remaining 40% will be sold and the money will be kept by the association to continue to rent land and support ongoing, self-supporting crop cultivation. For additional income from crop cultivation, the Project Manager will encourage the association members to work for other farmers and split the income between the beneficiaries who participate in the work and the association.
Breeding Pigs
Through special contributions from my first no-grant project and the project beneficiaries, the project association already owns five piglets. Among 10 vulnerable women, 5 women received the 5 piglets. It means that each woman has one of the associations piglets. These beneficiaries are in charge of feeding, caring for and protecting the piglet from thieves. With the association and the beneficiaries owning piglets, the association and the association members will share in and benefit from income generated from selling male piglets when they will be growing so that the association may buy a female pig until that one may bring birth.
Microfinancing
Following the training sessions and organizing a self-help group using a Savings and Loans (SAL) approach, the association has established an internal microfinancing program. The initial capital will come from an initial start-up investment from collecting money from the association members and the capital will be maintained by monthly contributions of 1,000 BIF from the beneficiaries.
The money will be kept securely and used for interest free, repayable loans to allow the faithful members of the self-group to pursue income-generating activities. The money will be kept in a box with two locks by one individual and the keys are kept by two other people. All withdrawals must be approved in advance in an association meeting. The additional income can be used to purchase personal items for the beneficiaries and their family members.
You too can make a difference in Burundi by donating to and investing in development for poor women and their families; visit: Donations – Haley-McCready Outreach and Development Fund.