It’s Not Welfare; It’s Development
It’s Not Giveaway; It’s Investment
This report has been prepared as an update on the development work of the Student Grants Program of the Haley McCready Outreach and Development Fund and an appeal for much-needed donations to continue our development work.
Through the years, we have been fortunate to receive sufficient donations that have allowed us to continue with our Student Grants Program grants without asking for money regularly. Our newsletters have concentrated on reporting on our development project activities rather than focussed on asking for money all the time. However, we have provided a large number of grants, our expenses have increased and the balance in our fund has decreased. We need some donations now to ensure that we can continue with the valuable development work that is improving the lives of individuals and families in Burundi. Of course, we need donations to the new Canadian charity in order to get started providing Canadian development grants next year (see below).
We hope that you enjoy reading this brief report and we hope the newsletter update will demonstrate to you that our development grants and projects are successful and are having impact on the lives of our beneficiaries (mostly women); needy indigenous people in Burundi. At this time of the year; a time of thankfulness and giving, and please consider making a donation before the end of the calendar year and the tax year. We will be grateful for any large or small gift that you are able to make.
United States Donations
Credit card (Visa, MC or Discover) and check donations from the United States should be made to the Free Methodist Foundation, payable to the Free Methodist Foundation, designated to the “Haley McCready Outreach and Development Fund” and directed to the Free Methodist Foundation, 8050 Spring Arbor Road, PO Box 580, Spring Arbor, Michigan, 49283 (Tel: 800-325-8975, 517-750-2727; Fax: 517-750-2752).
Another way of making a donation to the Haley McCready Outreach and Development Fund and development in Burundi is to buy one or more copies of a book on building the indigenous church in Burundi; a self-supporting, self-propagating and self-governing organization.
- McCready, John, (Ed.), (2015). John Wesley Haley and Building the Indigenous Church: Reflections on Self Determination in Twentieth Century Burundi. Toronto: Clements Publishing.
All of the proceeds from the sale of the book are given directly to the Haley McCready Outreach and Development Fund. When you buy a book, you provide direct support and investment into the development of the indigenous people of Burundi. If you have not yet bought a copy of the book, please consider buying one. If you have bought and read the book, thank you, but please consider buying additional copies to give other people or groups.
Books are available through Amazon.com and Amazon.ca and other online sites and bookstores.
Canadian Donations
We are delighted to report previous donors that we now have a new, recently approved Canadian Registered Charity; the Haley-McCready Outreach and Development Fund (please note the Canadian hyphen in the new Canadian name). Finally, you can once again provide a donation and receive a receipt for a tax deduction in Canada. Of course, the Canadian charity will be operated separately and governed separately from the previous development work but it will employ the same type of development grants program.
Mail Option Only for Now:
For Canadian donors, please make your cheque, draft or money order payable to our new Canadian Registered Charity, the Haley-McCready Outreach and Development Fund, and please send it to the following address.
Haley-McCready Outreach and Development Fund
c/o John McCready
17 Beaufort Road
Toronto, Ontario
M4E 1M6
Background
The Haley McCready Outreach and Development Fund was developed at the suggestion of an indigenous person in Burundi; the first Rector of Hope Africa University (HAU), the late Bishop Elie Buconyori. Since 2010, the Student Grants Program has posted annual Calls for Proposals and any student or graduate of HAU is eligible to submit a proposal for a development project of their own design. In the past two years, we have had a Special Call for Proposals, directed at the graduates of the Community Development Master’s Program.
The proposals must be presented using an established outline/format or form and they are compiled, reviewed and evaluated by the Burundi Advisory Committee. The best projects are recommended for development grants. The grants are one-time, start-up grants for the equivalent of about $1,500.00 USD and the money is provided as installments after the Project Manager has signed a funding agreement.
Development Principles
Our development philosophy is based on the fundamental principles John Wesley Haley used in building the indigenous Free Methodist Church in Burundi in 1935; building a self-supporting, self-propagating and self-governing organization right from the beginning and through to today.
Our development work is designed to ensure the beneficiaries develop the capacity to understand, respect and integrate the following principles.
Self-determination, Self-determining Development Principles:
• Self-supporting
• Self-sufficient
• Self-reliant
• Self-sustaining
• Self-help
• Self-managing
• Self-governing
• Self-replicating
Number of Development Projects
The first two grants for the first two development projects were provided to three female Project Managers at the HAU graduation in 2011.
The Haley McCready Outreach and Development Fund through its Student Grants Program has provided 24 start-up grants to 24 development projects and 26 Project Managers. Eighteen (18) or 75% of the projects are active projects and most of the projects have been active for a number of years.
Adding to our development productivity and impact, three of our development projects have spawned a total of four extension projects with four additional associations of women (self-replicating); one project has spawned two extension projects and two associations and two other projects have each spawned one extension project and one new association (making a total of 22 active development projects).
Model
By far, our most common (14 of 18 active projects) and our most successful project model that has evolved has a focus on agriculture development and some other central features that have shaped our expectations for new projects.
• Association; developing and maintain an association of women
• Agriculture:
o Animal Husbandry; breeding and distributing goats or pigs
o Crop Cultivation; cultivating, harvesting, sharing and selling crops
• Microfinancing; providing small loans for personal and income-generating purposes
• Self-help; providing self-help to fellow members through the association
Associations
The beneficiaries are organized into formal associations; there is a tradition of associations in Burundi. The Association members elect officers, meet regularly, do the project work, receive the project benefits and, over time, they own, manage and govern their project.
Animal Husbandry
The development projects start by buying some animals, goats or pigs, and distributing them to beneficiaries and/or to the Association. The second or third and fourth generations are owned by the beneficiaries and, when necessary, an animal can be sold for income for the family.
Crop Cultivation
The beneficiaries rent at least one field to cultivate crops. The beneficiaries prepare the soil, plant the seed, water the plants, fertilize the plants, weed the field, harvest the crop, share the harvest and sell most of the harvest so the Association can continue with crop cultivation.
Beneficiaries and Animals
For our 18 active development projects we have a total 352 beneficiaries. For our 14 active development projects (plus 4 extension projects) that have animals, we have 293 beneficiaries and 342 animals (see table in covering e-mail message).
Our Flagship Project Location, Kabezi
We provided start-up grants for two development projects at the same location in Kabezi Commune (2012 and 2013). The first project bought five female goats, distributed the goats to five individual association members and the rest of the women received goats as the offspring were distributed to other members. Both original projects spawned an extension project (a second project) and a second association of women.
The four project associations have a total of 74 members and they have organized another project location Association that is a federation of the four individual project associations.
All four Kabezi projects are involved in breeding and distributing goats (only the first five goats that were bought with grant money at this location). When we visited the Kabezi project location with Gina and Travis Sheets in May, the beneficiaries reported that they had 105 goats and they had sold 125 goats. The sale of 125 goats represents a significant amount of income for needy women and families at Kabezi.
All four Kabezi projects are involved in cultivating, harvesting, sharing and selling crops.
Development Projects and Project Managers
2019
• Supporting and Sustaining the Livelihood of Widows and Orphans at Rubirizi, Barthelemy MINANI
• Pigs Husbandry, Potatoes and Cabbage Plants in Kizunga Colline in Nyabiraba Commune, Désiré NSENGIYUMVA
• Supporting Widows and Divorced Women in Breeding Goats and Cultivating Rice at Musenyi in Mpanda Commune, Epithace NDUWAYO
• Breeding Pigs and Raising Sweet Potatoes for Widows from Nyabiraba Commune, Raro Hill, Bujumbura Province, Juvenal HAVYARIMANA
2018
• Supporting Poor and Vulnerable Women by Raising Pigs and Cultivating Crops at Kajaga in Mutimbuzi Commune, Aimé Fidèle NINGEJEJE
• Supporting Batwa Women in Breeding Goats and Cultivating Rice at Rubirizi in Mutimbuzi Commune, Guillaume GAHUNGU
• Breeding Goats and Cultivating Crops for Vulnerable Women from Mihigo Colline, Kayanza Province, Dieudonné IRAMBONA
• Farming Potatoes and Breeding Goats in Bukirasazi Commune, Prosper NIYONGERE
2017
• Women Shopkeepers in Buterere Zone, Bujumbura Mairie Province, Audace MPAWENIMANA
• Raising Pigs and Cultivating Crops in Nyamburye Zone, Isale Commune, Desire CIZA
• Supporting Poor Rural Women through Pig Farming in Mutimvuzi Commune, Bujumbura Rural Province, Elise NUWAYO
2015
• Microfinancing for Poor Women at Mirango in Kamenge Commune (formerly the Producing Eggs to Support Aged Poor Women), Ernest MANIRAKIZA
2014
• Making Bricks and Cultivating Rice in Mugaruro Quarter, Buterere Commune, Audace MPAWENIMANA
• Farming Peanuts with Landless Women in Giharo, Rutana, Barthelemy Minani
• Goats and Crops for Women at Matara in NYABIRABA District (formerly Savings and Loans: Christian Initiative for Women’s Development in Gatumba), Christine KAMIRAMEYA
• Breeding Goats and Cultivating Crops at Nyambuye Zone in Isale Commune, Desire CIZA
2013
• Development of Vegetable Culture for the Self-Financing of IAP Twubake, Anicet NYANDWI
• Improving Lives of Poor People through Farming Crops at MUSENYI in GITEGA, (formerly the Farming Rice in Gihanga Commune project), Ezechiel MANIRAKIZA
• Improving Food Security through Chickens at Karurama, Fidèle NIYOYITA
2012
• Farming Goats and Crops at Gatwe, Jean Claude NGENDAKUMANA
• Welding Workshop at Buterere, Kilongo Banyakwa
• Improved Food Security at Kabezi, Marie Nadège TWAGIRAYEZU and Anicet NYANDWI
2011
• Tailoring for Women at Kinama, Christine KAMIRAMEYA
• Micro-financing for Women in Cibitoke Commune (formerly the Pig Farming at Muyebe project), Evelyne KANYANA and Eddyne IRANKUNDA