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Stories
The Hands Touching the Seeds and the Seeds Touching
and Changing the Lives of People . . .
I happen to have introduced seeds ministry in Kigezi village in Masindi district six years ago and we do reach many villages with the seeds and the message of hope.
Kigezi happens to be a village mostly occupied by the internally displaced people from Nothern and Northwest Uganda. In the same village I have a church that Pastor Robert Ministers to. One of the congregants in this church is by the names of Collins Onegiwu who has been a nursery teacher for the last ten years. He is a married man with four children. He didn’t study much because of wars that was going on in their area, he lost both parents in the war and was helped to escape to Masindi by his uncle. He derives his home income from farming, from which he supports his children to school.
Three years back Collins was very sick and had no money to take him to hospital for medication, not even a single friend was willing to borrow him money. Collins asked the Lay leader of the church to call me and he told me of his situation. He then asked me if I could find somebody who could buy his carrots and cabbages right from the garden, since the crops were not yet ready. I told him to give me a couple of hours as I moved around the Masindi market vendors asking for someone who needed carrots and cabbages. Thank God, there was a woman by the name of Moreen. We studied together in High school. I rode my motorcycle with her to the garden place where the wife of Collins negotiated the price with the customer. Moreen paid cash for both the carrots and cabbages. Collins was able to go to hospital and received treatment. However on a sad note he was found to be infected with HIV virus and the Doctors advised him to start medication and eat a lot of vegetables to support his life.
During my church visit he gave a testimony how Hope Seeds touched and changed his life and family. “I was helpless and couldn’t pay any medical bills but the carrots and the cabbages I planted given by Hope Seeds helped me out.” “I am strong and healthy though HIV positive, but eating vegetables at every meal with my family has greatly improved my life and the health of our children. The school Management after finding out that I’m suffering from HIV aids stopped me from teaching and now solely earn my family living from the vegetables we grow as a family from Hope Seeds, we are a family of with hope and God is our Father who continually provides to us through Hope Seeds.”
Collins is living a happy life today with his family and is very strong in the church, he support the church through bringing part of harvests from their garden every season.
Submitted by our strategic partner Rev. Raymond Kaija, managing director of NGO in Uganda.
Hope Seeds for Souls East Africa.
The Family of Zacharia and Petra of Bufuula, Uganda
They have four children all girls: Bethel the youngest, Prossy is grade one, Angella is grade four and Judith in grade five.
Petra testifies how Hope Seeds has greatly impacted their home health and income. Through the sale of tomatoes and eggplant she has been able to keep her children at school and reduced the number of times her children would fall sick. “My children are strong today because they eat green every day; I’m so happy’’. Petra and Zachariah do gardening together, and the children help. Petra says she has learned a lot from the Hope Garden site at Bufuula on how to raise seedlings, manage pest and disease and how to maintain soil fertility.
She is currently growing a tomato garden next to her house which she tends to with her children. She is expecting to start selling tomatoes in February to raise funds to cover school fees for children’s first term in 2016.
Petra admits that her children now performs better in school since she can pay school fees in time and they don’t miss any classes, and since the children started eating nutritionally rich foods such as carrots, watermelon, mustard greens, cucumber and tomatoes.
She has asked for more seeds so she can plant for the next season as her plans are to raise funds to help construct a house for her family.
Submitted by our strategic partner Rev. Raymond Kaija, managing director of NGO in Uganda.
Hope Seeds for Souls East Africa.
Two Brothers and Seed Success
In the small Uganda village of Lukanda live two orphan brothers, Deo and Robert Kaketo and they grow watermelons to take care of their grandmother. They also grow maize (corn) to help provide food for their household. Their grandmother is a widow and takes care of her two grandsons guiding them to become good men.
The seed for the watermelon was first gifted to them a couple years back when Hope Seeds worker Raymond Kaija visited the village on the request of the pastor of the small Lutheran congregation, Rev. Paul Sserwaniko, who was a classmate of Raymonds at Matongo Seminary in Sondu, Kenya. Now the boys are older, and soon will be graduating from their primary grades of six and seven toward secondary school, should the funds prove available to do so. They intend to grow even more watermelons to help make this possible.
Hope Seeds can take no credit for this “Seed Success Story” . . . God shall receive all the glory and honor for the seed which makes such things possible.
Moses and His Garden – Another Seed Success Story
In the same village as brothers, Deo and Robert, is a very avid gardener, Moses. He and his wife and their young children work together to seed, plant, preen and weed, and finally harvest many vegetables. Lettuce and Leeks, Bell Pepper and Tomato, Cabbage and Cucumbers, Eggplant and Collards, and even Zucchini and others are grown in small plots integrated into a patchwork of companion plantings. The result is a bounty of nutrition which enables the family to be well fed as well as some income production.
What makes this garden a true Seed Success Story is that Moses is saving seed of several of the species (those that will reproduce seed in the equator region) ensuring him a resource for the next season(s). Seed saving is taught and promoted by Hope Seeds, and we give Moses accolades for making this part of his own sustainable nutrition plan, and his efforts will be a shining example to his neighbors, and we hope to many communities in Uganda. Seed Success Stories like this should be celebrated – to God goes all the glory for his great creation!
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