Food & Agriculture
From Poverty to Prosperity
Nearly 811 million people in poor countries struggle to have even one meal a day and this number continues to grow? Mercy and our partners help families and communities initiate backyard gardens, farms, and agricultural economic opportunities that provide food resources for years to come.
Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."
John 6:35
Cause Overview
Hunger and poverty hold close ties with one another. While a lack of sufficient income to purchase food contributes to food insecurity, hunger itself subscribes to poverty by lowering labor productivity, reducing resistance to disease, and depressing educational attainment. In developing countries such as Kenya, low wages have forced many women to turn to unregulated and illegal moonshine brewing. This substance is addictive and highly toxic upon consumption with its elevated methanol levels. The inability to gain economic status through viable work opportunities brings about the dis-empowerment of men, making it even harder to cultivate family stability. This presents many difficulties and trauma both inside and outside the home. Addiction is a powerful force that penetrates the safety and intimacy of relationships and destroys trust.
Through our partnership with Empowering Lives International, a Kenyan-based ministry that coaches and mentors at-risk families to live emotionally healthy lives. Through discipleship training, redemption and prosperity remain within their grasp. Healing and training workshops bring sobriety, reconciliation, restoration, and life skills to families in rural communities. These development skills produce tangible change, resulting in proficiency in conflict resolution, communication skills, addiction recovery, and spiritual growth.
Agricultural practices are some of the oldest professions known to man, but gaining these skills is not inherited or learned overnight. It takes approximately two years for one person to complete the agricultural life skills program. The first 2-4 months consist of teaching how to farm, care for livestock, and benefit from harvesting the produced goods. Next, trainees are individually coached for 5 days to implement the skills they have just learned. From there, they receive 1 full year of coaching and mentoring, receiving visitations once a month. This ensures that they can implement their knowledge and skills independently and sustainably while providing accountability for each new farmer.
Empowering Lives
Nash Adika is the Manager of Sustainable Agricultural Community Development at Empowering Lives International who focuses his skills on training local at-risk farmers to grow food sustainably. Currently, he specializes in identifying issues that place local farmers at risk of being underdeveloped and unsuccessful. Nash is passionate about fostering relationships and giving farmers the practical life skills necessary to thrive.
As a Mercy team, we are committed to funding the projects of Empowering Lives that bring hope, sustainability, and life transformation to men, women, and children in Kenya and surrounding countries. Through the mentorship and training program, we have seen the benefits of agricultural farms that activate the growth of the economy, job production, and food sustainability. Families can now supply food for their families, heal their relationships, and teach others in their communities how to farm and sustain their families as well!