12 pigs, 4 goats
Miyambo is a church leader in Kasaba, Samfya. He joined Dignity in 2016 and said at the time that he was not that interested. However that has now changed and he says that he has seen tremendous things in his village through the work of Dignity. Here he is in 2018:
Alcohol had a strong hold over Miyambo’s family. Most of his nephews drank regularly causing distress and poverty for their wives and children. Miyambo’s sister made and sold local brew to earn a living. When Miyambo began a Life Group, he invited them and others from the community.“As I went through the materials and as I taught them bit by bit my nephews have found peace and received Jesus Christ as their personal saviour and have stopped drinking. This has brought peace to their homes according to their wives. My sister stopped brewing beer.We are encouraging one another under Dignity to do other businesses that can help us to earn our living. We are trying by all means when it is rainy season to have a farm together, working as community. We tried by all means to donate money and then we bought a pig. And then that pig, we kept it. It started to produce the offspring and we started sharing them with one another in the village.It’s not normal but because we meet together as a group we learn about spiritual things and physical things. When we came to learn about helping one another materially that’s why we encouraged each other. The pig cost us 250k (£18/$25.50). To have a pig on your own, it’s difficult in our village. But when we donate and start helping one another it’s easy.The pig will make a very big difference in my village because at the moment people are struggling, especially to pay for their children who are going to school as the cost of school fees are too high. So for them to have money it’s very difficult. But when these pigs grow and they start selling, the money that comes out of that will pay for their children to go to school and then buy other things that are needed for them. So far 4 families have received piglets. Others are waiting. We think maybe after a year or 2 at least 20 people will have benefited from the pig and received a piglet.""Where we are living we were almost poor and we were not helping each other. God has helped us a lot as we are bringing a Dignity group into the village. It has even helped me lead my church better.” - Miyambo2 years on Miyambo and his Life Group have given away 12 pigs and 4 goats! That’s 16 families who have received a gift that will help lift them out of poverty.
“Previously the people didn’t have any animals, but when we started Love Your Village we decided to come up with a plan to help others. It’s carried on, it’s just going on. Our plan is that we want to reach up to a cow! We encourage people that when the animals mature they give a baby away as well. Two people have done this now. These people sometimes need help, especially when they need a shelter for pigs, we work together with them.”
God's very best idea
In 2020 we saw Life Groups just like Miyambo's come into their own! People are believing for themselves that they really are God’s very best idea. They are understanding that they can work together to bring Jesus to their community and to fight poverty. They are helping people come to know Jesus and they are loving those around them, practically helping those with the least. They are pioneering, carrying hope and life to their communities. It is so simple and so powerful!
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