March 2023

The Joy of Giving what You Have Received.

We have an idea we like to talk about here at The Hope Venture. It’s called motaj (moments of turnaround joy). It’s this idea that we are all givers and receivers. It’s sort of like when you pay for the person behind you in the Starbucks drive-thru because the person in front of you paid for your iced caramel latte. You were in need (that latte doesn’t pay for itself!), but received a gift (thanks, car in front of you!). Then you turned around and let it impact someone else too. That’s the idea. And that’s what we’re all about here. Many of us have received abundantly, and we want to encourage people to turn around and give that joy of blessing to another. motaj isn’t just for us and our donors, though. MOTAJ is woven all throughout Valentine’s story, and it all began with a need she had.

Valentine’s dad had two wives. Her stepmom had nine kids, and Valentine was the fifth out of seven kids from her own mom. To take care of her kids, Valentine’s mom earned income as a small-scale farmer. But Valentine’s dad became sick… so sick that he was bedridden. This changed the way the whole family of 19 functioned. Her mom devoted all her time to caring for her dad. All the money her mom earned plus the money her older siblings were earning went to pay the hospital bills for her dad. This went on for four years—the frenzied unknown of her dad’s condition, the time and commitment of her mom to caring for her dad, the depletion of all their finances for hospital bills—until her dad passed away. During this time, her stepmom also passed away, which left all 16 kids under the care of her mom. This in itself was an incredible task to take on by herself, and it was even more so after she had just spent the last four years caring for her husband. She developed some of her own health complications, and just couldn’t work like she used to.

This left Valentine in a tough spot… she was on the verge of dropping out of school. She couldn’t pay her school fees or any supplies. She didn’t want to drop out, so she went to seek help from Nasha, our partner organization. She let them know her situation, and Nasha worked diligently to find a way for Valentine to get a scholarship to continue going to school. We were able to partner with Nasha to provide that scholarship for her!

Valentine continued pursuing her education through the help of the scholarship and graduated last year!

But completing college and graduating wasn’t the only impact of the scholarship for Valentine. As a scholarship recipient, she had the opportunity to attend the summer camp we host with Nasha every year in Kenya. The small group discussions were impactful for her. They dove deep into conversation and her leaders helped her learn how to apply the teachings to her life, beyond just hearing them. Then, Valentine got to turn around and be a camp counselor three times over the years. She especially cherished leading a group, as it encouraged her to dig deep into the Bible on her own to develop her own understanding, so she could lead the girls in her group well. She says all of these camp experiences have really been influential in her faith and leadership skill development, and she is so thankful for the ways it has helped her learn that God is a God who she can hope and trust in.

Now, with everything she has learned and experienced at camp, and with having completed school, she hopes to give back to those in need as she possibly continues her education and gets a job, continuing to trust God in it all.

And this… this is motaj. Valentine had a need for a scholarship, and she received it. She was given the ability to go to school and to learn at camp. Now, she has gotten to turn around and help other girls at camp as a counselor, being a role model for them in the same way that she had looked up to her leaders. She found joy in the receiving AND in the giving back!

From Seed to Fruit.

A seed… something so small, yet so full of potential. But you’d never know it by just looking at it. You’d have no idea that this small, armored speck has the capacity to grow into a thriving plant producing more fruit than you could imagine. But a seed needs someone there to tend to it to reach its maximum growth. It needs someone to water it, to make sure it has the right nutrients, to keep weeds away. With this care, the seed soon transforms into an unstoppable, flourishing plant.

Winnie is a plant nursery worker that does exactly that for so many plants. She understands the growth process, and she’s good at helping plants thrive. Since 2022 when Winnie began working at Agromax as a plant nursery worker, she has led the charge of raising over 400,000 plant seedlings into full-grown plants. She has also trained 500 farmers about the best agricultural processes so they can raise flourishing plants too. She’s working, she’s leading, and she’s continually developing a deeper level of mastery in agriculture.

However, Winnie hasn’t always been a master farmer. There was a time when she, like a seed, needed to be cared for and tended to before she could do the same for others.

You see, Winnie became pregnant when she was 16. She went to Wakisa, a pregnancy center in Uganda, run by our partner Vivian. Wakisa takes in young pregnant girls, housing and caring for them throughout their pregnancies. When it comes time for a mom to have her baby, Wakisa takes her to the hospital. After delivery and recovery, the mom goes back home, where she lives life as she begins raising her child. After a few years, once the mom is done nursing and the baby has grown up a bit, Wakisa reaches back out to the mom to invite her to participate in Agromax—a six-month agriculture training program designed for teen moms to learn practical agricultural skills. The girl can choose to accept the offer, and if she does, she gets enrolled in the training course, where she is able to use the skills she learns to provide a stable income for her and her baby by working in a job using those skills.

This is exactly what happened with Winnie. She was cared for at Wakisa, had her baby boy, Solomon, and five years later, was invited to enroll in Agromax through funding from The Hope Venture, to which Winnie said yes. This was just what Winnie needed. She’s from a big Ugandan family… she’s the fifth out of 12 kids raised by a single mom. Her dad had abandoned the family, leaving her mom to care and support all the kids on her own, and now Winnie had her own child to support too.

So Winnie enrolled in Agromax, where she was trained in agri-business, majoring in horticulture and greenhouse management. Winnie excelled in the training course, and the Agromax staff took notice. They offered her a probationary contract, and after her success in that role too, they offered her a full-time greenhouse position.

Being able to attend and complete the Agromax training program changed Winnie’s life. She is so thankful to The Hope Venture and to Vivian for the opportunity. She’s also thankful for Agromax and the investment they put in her through the training program. She learned and grew in leadership and agricultural skill development, and is thankful for the innovation at Agromax through their development and retention program to allow her to stay at Agromax with a job opportunity.

Now she is provided with an income, shelter, clothing, and food. She can send Solomon to school and can help her siblings and family with their finances. One six-month training program impacted Winnie, her son, AND her siblings, and will continue to impact them for years to come. The impact happened because Vivian, Wakisa, and Agromax came alongside Winnie. They helped her in her pregnancy, in her agriculture training, and in her career development. She was tended to. She was watered and pruned. She was given the sunshine she needed, and now she’s producing fruit. She’s thriving. Her branches are stretching and spreading, bringing fruit to those around her too. It’s a pretty beautiful process to watch, just like the growth from a seed to fruit.