This Saturday we will celebrate 20 years of Spirit in Action. Twenty years ago, in February of 1996, Del and Lucile Anderson, twelve Board Members, and Marsha Johnson (as administrative coordinator), met to officially form Spirit in Action in order to “carry on Del’s loving ministry.”
“Spirit in Action. For Sustainable Futures” declares the heading of the recorded minutes from that meeting. Sustainability has always been and continues to be a focus for our grant projects. We want to support programs, schools, businesses, and social movements that will last long after we send a grant.
In Malawi, this goal of long-term impact is a reality. Since 2004, Spirit in Action has supported 122 family/business groups in Manymaula Village through our Small Business Fund and most of those enterprises are still operating today!
Mulla and Mollen with their six grandchildren, in front of their renovated home.
Twelve years ago, Mulla Tembo and Mollen Mtonga started Mulla’s Livestock Production with a $150 grant. Their lives, and the lives of their six children and six grandchildren, have dramatically improved since receiving this grant and learning to run a business. They raise pigs, goats, and oxen. And they are able to use the oxen to plough their fields, a big luxury in rural Malawi.
Mulla and Mollen happily report that they are now food secure. This means they have enough maize to last through the hungry season between planting and harvest. They have built a house with tin roofing sheets, replacing the “very poor housing structure” that they had before joining the Small Business Fund program.
Mulla with two of their six cattle in a yoke for ploughing.
Mulla with their plough in the maize field.
Besides the fourteen family members that have benefitted and continue to benefit from this business, the family was one of the first groups to participate in Sharing the Gift. They offered a piglet to Winkly Mahowe. (Read the amazing story of Winkly and the gift of the pig!) Winkly and his family took this pig and used it to improve their lives and livelihoods. They also continue to raise pigs to this day. In 2014, I saw their full chicken coops. That’s another 14+ people who have been positively impacted by that initial grant.
And Winkly also Shared the Gift by giving a piglet to another family. And on and on it goes…
This Saturday, let us really celebrate that Spirit in Action is living up to our founding mission. Stories of Mulla and Mollen, Winkly and his family, and each of the 122 business groups in Manyamula are real proof that Spirit in Action is indeed helping people to realize the dream of a more sustainable (and prosperous) future.
Jane raises chickens and pigs with her husband, Winkly. They have built a new house with the business profits.
