Reeve, Richard & Bianca - Mozambique
Prayer Letter September 2007 (click here for Acrobat pdf version)
Richard writes:
In June 2004, Paulo Armindo, the pastor of Maputo city Reformed (IRM) fellowship, asked us to look for ways we can help city congregation members in being ‘economically active’. By May 2005, I, with four Mozambican colleagues – Adolfo, Gloria, Ito and Jacinto - was training as small business trainer.
We were keen to encourage small business, as nearly everyone in Mozambique seems to have a go at one. By some estimates, only 13 percent of Mozambicans are in formal employment and, even for those who have a regular wage, it is usually inadequate to keep a family. Consequently, wage-earners also try small business to supplement their incomes.
During the last two-and-half years, a variety of participants have come through the (church) doors to undertake small business training with us. Around half of our participants have been IRM members, the rest made up from members of other churches, those of other faiths, and those of none.
The training we offered, which included exercises such as drawing a map of each participants locality in order to identify ideal selling locations; how loans work; what motivates clients; supply and demand; objectives and planning; work on pricing, product, promotion, competition and book-keeping, also contained a significant moral element. For instance we covered integrity, perseverance, faithfulness, resourcefulness, serving others, and stewardship. All sessions used lots of bible references and we were very pleased that Christian and non-Christian participants, alike, joined in with that, enthusiastically.
Some participants wanted to begin a business for the first time. Others had tried before and failed, and some were already making a success of their business but were keen to learn more. We had older and younger participants, male and female, in similar numbers.
We are coming to a point, we believe, where me may have exhausted the scope for this training in its city centre location, i.e. catering particularly to the needs of the city centre IRM fellowship. Whether or not we offer this training beyond, perhaps in the provinces, remains to be seen. However, we thought now would be a good time to share with you how participants had valued the training, so far. Here we do that their own words…
We asked course participants: “Tell us about you and small business so far”. Some of their replies were…
“I used to help a friend organise parties and other social events. We didn’t plan very well and often over-spent the budget. I’d like to do something like that but more carefully and on my own.”
“I never had a business before but I am thinking about selling phone credit.”
“I used to sell shoes but I’m not selling anything, currently.”
“I sell second hand clothing on the market.”
“I sell meat house-to-house. I am thinking about selling cooking oil, also.”
“I sell flowers.”
“I have my own allotment. I sell produce from that, but I’d like to extend to selling chickens.”
“I sell fish.” “I used to sell eggs but I want to do something different now.”
“I sell ice lollies.” “I want to help my wife open a boutique selling clothes and perfume.”
“I just wanted to do the course because it will help me in my work for someone else.”
We asked “What did you like most about the course, and why?”.
“I learned lots about business and from the Word of God.”
“I like the course because it was based on the word of God.”
“It was all welcome. I have had a lot of problems with my business.”
“I liked the session on marketing.”
“I liked the bible stories. They helped me think about my own life and responsibilities in society.”
“I liked the session on integrity.”
“I found the lesson on finances most helpful. All sessions were well organised.”
“I made friends on the course.”
“I never had opportunity to do something like this before, and I haven’t heard of it anywhere else.”
“I like the use of drama to open up each area for discussion.”
“The teaching was very practical - ideas that we can use.”
“Everything was explained simply. Those leading sessions spoke clearly. The teaching from the bible was also very helpful to my life – a real treasure.”
“I want to share what I have learned with others – family and friends. This is the sort of thing we need in our country.”
“I want to thank you for this course.”
We asked, “Will you be able to be able to implement what you learned on the course?”
“I already began to make changes week-by-week, as we did the course.”
“My business is already up and running. It’s just a question of making changes for the better.”
“I had stopped my business altogether, but I believe I will be up and running again within 3 months.
“I need to follow up the information on loan-sources, from the loans session, making contact with the banks we discussed there.”
“I learned how to re-invest the profit I make from my business.”
“I am now ready to help my wife with her small business.”
I hope that gives you something of an idea of how some of our participants have valued the training we have been able to provide. We thank you for your prayers and support for us as we have done that. We ask that you pray with us, as we think about how we might continue to work with Mozambicans to improve their economic circumstances, and for our ongoing work in one-to-one discipleship and community bible studies.
With love from,
Richard, Bia, Myles and Anabel
Reeve main page