WATOTO Church in Kampala testify of the Impact of …
Jackie Opondo who serves the livelihood support programme at Watoto Church was full of praise to the CMS-AFRICA team. “Lives have changed, knowledge has been imparted and new discipline have been adopted,” she says.
Jacky challenged the graduands to pass on the knowledge of what they have learnt to others.
We expect to reach over 200 by 2019 and depend on you to carry this message to others.
Mbekeka Margaret who works as a community worker Overwork in making the cake. Working for Watoto Church- Margaret effected a bank standing order to help her to save and that has helped her have some good savings over the last 6 months, something she had never done since she started working.
Josephine who volunteers as a community worker is using her skills to teach others.
“Teaching women on how to make mats and carpets was my desire but when I realised that God owns all, I started to offer trainings for free to the vulnerable women so that they can earn a living. I have done that in the neighbourhoods in Kampala and central in Gulu where Watoto Church has a branch,” says Josephine who says the F4 training has given her confidence to be able to train over 100 participants.
“Going through F4 helped me to desire to make make a difference in the community by using God given resources, skills and talents,” adds Josephine.
For Penny Mulaza who is in charge of the production at the women livelihood programme at Watoto Church, she got married in course of the F4 training and the programme has been a life changer for her in a big way. “One of the key things learnt is that I am a steward of God given resources. She had the messiah complex but managed to understand about how to help people without feeling like she had done something wrong.” Says Penny.
She has managed to work on her expenses and they have reduced from 170% to under 60%.
The discipline of tracking her expenses just opened her eyes and she started tracking everything that she.
The F4 training also helped her to start business by faith. The topic on investment led her to start a Facebook page that avails veils. She is also expanding it to include selling of bags.
Brenda Pego, head of the Neighbourhood programme in Gulu says her work entails discipleship, trainings on livelihoods support and taking care of the vulnerable women.
“When I reached the class on the first day, I was happy that the training was different from all the other trainings I had gone through. It gelled well with what my husband and I were going through at the time. We were initiating a group of 10 with focus on savings and investments.
Two days into the training, I stopped asking for money from my husband as I cut down my spending culture by app long the he disciplines learnt in class like recording all my income and expenditure,” testifies Brenda.
She says she had to cut off the messianic tendencies and adopted a savings culture which has given her inner peace.
“I am now thinking investments in coming days as I continue accumulating my savings that will ultimately for my capital. Infact I have become daring in investments and not afraid of not helping people as I shed off the messianic tendencies,” she concludes.
Judy Murungi who is the CMS-Africa Country Coordinator says she has learnt that with proper accountability system, people are able to do what some things that would never have happened. “I also realised that all I own is God's and in a way that really helped me to sober up the reality of stewardship on behalf of God. My passion is passing on what I have learnt to others.
I went and shared with my younger brother and that has really revolutionized how we spent cash in our house,” says Judy.
Judy is nowadays more intentional with saving and has also passed on to his brother who is college. Emergency funds has also been realised during this training.
She highly recommends that people who have not gone though F4 in Uganda and the rest of the world to be intentional about going through the programme. “It is life transforming, I can testify,” says Judith.
For Fiona, she got into the programme without knowing what it would turnout to be. But at the end of day 1, she was convinced to journey through the course. She learned various disciplines like savings and investments which she has followed through and started a business.
She has leant to control money as opposed to money controlling her.
She has improved relations within her family due to learning on relationships, budgeting, tare and ware.
She has started a lending schemes where she is helping business people who repay on a monthly basis.
Her desire is to invest in shares.
She is serving in church and she is a pastor’s wife. The disciplines on work and rest has had great impact on her ministry.
F4 has helped her to take accountability more seriously. She has learnt that she is a steward and she desire to be a responsible steward.
Miriam Obina who is the coordinator of the Neighborhood programme in Juba under Watoto Church was formerly with the Watoto Church in Kampala and Gulu serving alongside his husband Obina who is a pastor. She went through the F4 Programme and says
“Lots of vulnerable women are in Juba needing lots of support and discipline. Plans are underway to ensure that peace prevails as this happens. Livelihood support and training is needed to equip the people to cope with life. I will be drawing a lot from the CMS-Africa trainings in reaching out to the communities in South Sudan.