Business Opportunities

After returning from the refugee camp, we continued to work with ministries in Debre Zeyit to determine what business opportunites were possible. There were many suggestions that were made and we will research possible financing for the ideas.

Sudanese Refugee Camp

Ethiopia hosts a large population of refugees from many African countries including Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea, Rwanda, Burundi, Angola, Liberia, Djibouti, Uganda, South Africa, and Yemen. However, refugees from Somalia, Sudan, and Eritrea make up the majority. Currently there are a total of nine refugee camps located in the east, west, and northern parts of the country. The refugee camp that we visited housed refugees primarily from Sudan. Most of the Sudanese refugees arrived in Ethiopia in the early 1980s. Many of the people in these camps have lived in them for so long that the camp is all they know. New arrivals continue to flow into Ethiopia because of conflicts in Sudan. The conflicts in Sudan are a result of religious, ethnic, economical, and tribal differences. The refugee population in Ethiopia reached its peak of more than 300,000 in 1991. The number has now reduced substantially, and currently stands at 90,806 (World Food Program Monthly Food Requirements March 2004).

The camp that we visited was called Fugnido refugee camp, which is 2 hours from Gambella, Ethiopia. Fugnido is the largest camp, hosting about 35 per cent of current Sudanese refugees. In 2002, ethnic clashes within the camps resulted in the death and displacement of many refugees. Clashes between two major tribes: the Anuak and Nuer tribes as well as other clashes between the northern and southern Sudanese have become common in the Fugnido, Bonga, and Sherkole camps. During our visit, we learned that today there are over 20,000 people living in the Anuak and Nuer refugee camps. Many people were displaced and sent to other locations due to clashes between tribes. Although due to the ongoing conflicts in Sudan, the number of refugees is expected to rise. In general, people become refugees for a number of reasons but the most common are:Conflict-induced, Economic, or Political. Refugee influxes in Ethiopia are primarily a result of ongoing political and civil unrest as well as recurring natural disasters in neighboring countries.

While we were at the refugee camp, we brought 525 pair of underwear to give out to the children in the camp. There were many more children than what we had to give but those who did receive the underwear were grateful. Many of the refugees that live in the camps learned to speak English and requested that the next time that we come back to bring English Bibles. There are many people who live in these camps who are not blessed with the material things that we have in the United States, but despite all of our wealth, the people in these camps don’t complain about not having the material things that we take for granted.

Helping People to Help Themselves

One of our missions in our ministry is to help people to help themselves, so they in turn can help other people. While in Ethiopia, we worked with several church pastors to accomplish this mission. Although we couldn't help everyone that we talked to, after interviewing many people who have a desire to help themselves so they can eventually help other people, we finally connected with a young lady who wanted to own her own taxi. We learned from experience that the best way to help someone is not from "handouts" but by giving them the opportunity that was not available to them previously. The opportunity that she didn't have was access to money. It can be very difficult to get a loan in many developing countries and Ethiopia is no different. We found that the best way that we could help is by lending the funds to start a business and as funds are paid back to continue the process for someone else by re-lending the same funds. In this particular case, we funded the opportunity for this young entrepreneur to start a taxi business. We will keep everyone up to date as this business venture continues to grow.

Back to Ethiopia October 2010

It's October/November 2010 and we were back in Ethiopia. October is the end of the rainy season and a time when the weather begins to get cooler.

Our Return to the U.S. was Like Night and Day

This morning we woke up, after a nice and well needed sleep, knowing that we could afford to take a day without doing any work and still have food to eat later. We unpacked our clothes while Linda put the dirty clothes in the washing machine. I walked out to start one of my three cars, while the majority of people in Ethiopia do not even own one car. As we drove to the grocery store, we felt safe on the road knowing that most people obey the signal lights and are defensive drivers. We have fresh, clean drinking water at the turn of a handle and electricity at the flip of a switch. My computers are wirelessly connected to the Internet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As I lay on my couch watching my flat screen television to get the latest news updates from CNN, BBC, and a variety of other news networks, I can not forget how difficult it was to get continuous information of world events during the past 25 days. Unfortunately, for many people living in Ethiopia, these things seem to be a distant dream. While living in Ethiopia, we “struggled” with on and off again "cold" water for bathing and with having to drink bottled water every day. We had days when electricity was powered by a generator and in many cases no generator at all, while the rest of the country had power cuts as the hydroelectric power supply was shut off for whatever reason. Although we enjoyed our short-term mission, it's a blessing to have the conveniences that we have in the United States. Many people don't realize how blessed they really are to have these conveniences until they have spent some time in a country where they are not available to the average person.

What's for Dinner....Raw Meat!

The Ethiopian people are very friendly and hospitable. In fact, during our time in Ethiopia, every time that we went to a person's home, we were asked to eat--injera. In an effort to turn the tables around, we decided to take two orphaned children that we know and their social worker out to dinner. We thought the two young girls would ask for pizza, chicken, or something other than Ethiopian food, since we were paying the bill. To our surprise, they wanted something even more traditional than injera--Kitfo. What is Kitfo? Raw meat! Yes, Ethiopians are notoriously passionate about raw meat. Kitfo comes minced, like steak, with spiced butter, curd cheese and wedges of false banana. Oh, don't forget the injera; no meal is complete without injera! The two children showed their affection by feeding us some of their injera. Generally, Ethiopians of all ages show their affection for each other by gathering a handful of injera with Kitfo, in this particular case, and putting it in your mouth. This is typical for many Ethiopians to do and is a a display of friendship and being a part of the family.

Helping People Help Themselves

People in different parts of the world earn a living similarly to how you and I may earn a living in the United States. Some are salesmen, contractors, laborers, farmers, businessmen, clergy, and so on. In each of these occupations, you will find members within these organizations helping each other. As members of the body of Christ, we too must help each other.
Currently, we are in the process of helping a ministry in Ethiopia to prosper by financing the cost to purchase a Bajaj. This vehicle will help a person in Ethiopia earn an income in the taxi business. The cost to purchase a Bajaj is about $4,500. The average income that a driver would earn is about $10.00 a day. Although $10.00 a day may not seem like much to a person living in the United States, in Ethiopia, the increase is significant; especially when the average wage paid is about $2.50 a day.

Also, a person earning this income will not only be able to help increase the kingdom of God through their giving in tithes and offerings but will be in a better position to care for their family. We are asking that anyone who is interested in helping a fellow Christian, living in a different part of the world, to make their tax deductible donation to Heart of Compassion Missionary Ministries. We will continue to provide updates of the progress of this new business venture as they become available.

If you aren't called to go, are you serving as a sender?

As we prepare to go to the Middle-East and then to Ethiopia, I am reminded of one of my favorite Bible verses. In Romans 10:14-15, the Bible says, "How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?" The Bodi Tribe lives in the Omo Valley-- one of the most diverse regions in the world. Each bordering tribe speaks their own language and practices their own customs and beliefs. When a member of the Bodi tribe dies, the men perform a ceremonial death procession and will keep the body safe for three days. After this, the tribe will gather together and consume the body as a sign of respect and to ensure passing into the next world.

After reading this, you probably can understand why Christians are called to go into all the world to preach the gospel and this is also why we need to support those who do go. Please consider the Bodi tribe as you send us to tell them about Jesus. There are many more people than you think that have never heard the gospel. It's up to you to do something about it. If you aren't called to go, are you serving as a sender?

Preparing to Go to the Middle East and Africa

We are preparing for another mission trip to Ethiopia but on our way to Ethiopia, we have an opportunity to stop over in the Middle Eastern country of Dubai for five days. Dubai is located on the Arabian Gulf and is bordered by Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar. Islam is the state religion. Dubai is strategically positioned in the middle of the 10/40 Window. An area where the predominate religion is Islam. Dubai is one of the seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). What is an emirate? An emirate is a political territory that is ruled by a dynastic Muslim Monarch styled emir. Even though it's against their law to proselytize or attempt to convert anyone to another opinion and, particularly, another religion, if prompted by Holy Spirit, we will tell someone about Jesus. After our layover in Dubai, we will be on our way back to Ethiopia. Keep us in your prayers.