FARM WITH A PURPOSE
We’ve successfully secured a small piece of land dedicated to educating women and local communities on sustainable farming with a purpose. Though modest in size, this space will serve as a valuable hands-on demonstration site to equip others with practical, life-changing skills. We're still working to raise the support needed to fully launch and keep the program running smoothly. Your $2000 gift can revive this life-changing program and impact lives once again.
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FARM WITH A PURPOSE
Despite Uganda’s growing industrialization in recent years, the majority of Ugandans remain subsistence farmers, working tirelessly to provide for their families and ensure they have enough to eat. In our effort to continuously improve our programs and help the families we work with become more self-reliant, Farm with a Purpose was launched in 2020. This initiative was created to support parents and guardians of vulnerable children who were struggling with extreme poverty, worsened by the COVID-19 crisis.
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Farming purposely for God
- Since Scholarship for Education Sponsorship operates in a rural area, most of our families are subsistence farmers. Farming God’s Way was introduced to address both the spiritual and physical aspects of poverty, while also equipping families with sustainable and profitable farming methods. By integrating faith with agriculture, we empower families to view farming as more than just survival but as a way to honor God and build a stable future.
- Farming Purposely for God is not just an organization, it is a resource designed to teach improved, sustainable, and conservation-based agriculture rooted in biblical principles. We have encouraged many mothers and women to save their earnings after selling their crops, fostering long-term financial stability. This initiative continues to grow as more families join, embracing both faith and sustainable farming as a means of empowerment and transformation.
Many women, especially mothers, not only faced physical hardships but also endured eviction, lack of proper sanitation, and severe food shortages. While we couldn't address all challenges at once, we began by resettling families in rural villages. For those without homes, we identified shelter near our farm project land, ensuring they had a foundation to rebuild their lives.
THE DRAWBACK
Uganda experiences two main seasons: the rainy season and the dry season. With abundant sunshine, many families have the potential to grow enough food to sustain them throughout the year. However, challenges such as poor farming practices, limited capital to prepare fields for new seasons, overwhelming responsibilities, and lack of motivation have left many farms in poor condition. As a result, numerous families continue to struggle to produce enough food to feed themselves and their extended families.
Involving women in sustainable farming programs is vital
Save Sunshine Shelter Kids involves women in sustainable farming programs because they play a vital role in food security, economic stability, and community development. By equipping women with farming skills, we empower them to provide nutritious food for their families, generate income, and contribute to local economies. Women often have valuable knowledge of their environment, and through sustainable practices, they can help conserve soil, manage water resources, and adapt to climate change. Investing in women also strengthens communities, as they pass on their skills, inspire others, and drive social and economic growth. By breaking the cycle of poverty through education, access to land, and agricultural training, we ensure long-term stability for families and foster resilience in vulnerable communities.
Our hope and Vision for Women through our programs
Our hope and dream in involving women in sustainable farming programs is to create a future where they are empowered to thrive, support their families, and build resilient communities. We envision a world where women have the knowledge, resources, and confidence to cultivate their land productively, ensuring food security and financial independence. By equipping them with sustainable farming skills, we aim to break the cycle of poverty, restore depleted land, and promote environmental stewardship. We believe that when women are given the opportunity to grow and succeed, they not only transform their own lives but also uplift their families and entire communities. Through this program, we dream of a generation where women become leaders in agriculture, inspiring lasting change for a more sustainable and self-sufficient future.
Community Groups
When families live in the same villages, we bring them together in community groups. These groups provide a support system where members can connect, share, and grow in fellowship. Within these groups, Hajara and others leads Bible studies and conducts training sessions, equipping families with valuable skills and spiritual guidance.
Home Visits
Hajara visits each family regularly to build relationships with them. She offers encouragement, listens to their ideas and concerns, prays with them, and provides support in various ways. Additionally, there are routine community fellowships where the gospel is shared, and guardians come together to worship
Farming
Since 2021, Save Sunshine Shelter Kids has been providing training to women and guardians of children through various programs. We invite qualified farmers to assist and equip them with the skills needed to better care for their families. Our goal is to help at least four to five women restore their gardens or revitalize land that may have become depleted.
Home Building
Save Sunshine Shelter’s home-building outreach constructs 2 to 3 homes when sufficient funding is available. This ministry supports women and families living in vulnerable or unstable conditions. We prioritize homes in the most urgent need, replacing muddy or makeshift cardboard structures. Our team works alongside these families to complete the building process, ensuring they have a safe and secure place to live.
Demonstrate
Our Demonstration Garden is a plot of land we own for both farming and burial purposes. It provides students and visitors with a firsthand look at the realities of agriculture in Uganda. Initially, we faced challenges such as soil erosion, decreasing yields due to exhaustion, and improper farming techniques. At the start, we were unsure how to proceed or restore the land, making it a valuable learning process for both our ministry and the women we had resettled. Today, we continue to produce maize flour and, occasionally, beans on a small scale. Due to limited production, most of what we grow is used for consumption.
Teach and Train
We frequently welcome agricultural teachers, shelter children, and university students studying agriculture to learn from our experiences. Additionally, we host Field Days six times a year on our land, serving as open-house events for our farm. We believe that, through education and training, agriculture in Uganda can improve significantly, benefiting those who need it most.
Shelter Kids
The children at the shelter actively participate in gardening, learning firsthand how to plant and cultivate crops. They not only contribute to the process but also enjoy the fresh produce during harvest.
It is inspiring to see them understand the value of hard work and experience the rewards of their efforts. At the shelter, our goal is to instill this sense of dedication, ensuring they appreciate both the process and the benefits of perseverance.
From farm to market
For subsistence farmers in Uganda, the biggest challenge is securing a fair price for their produce. Most farmers lack proper storage facilities for maize (corn), forcing them to sell at harvest when prices are at their lowest. Through Farming Purposefully with God, we help farmers increase their yields while also ensuring they receive fair compensation for their work. When production is high, we sell a portion of the harvest and have rented a moderate-sized storage space to preserve maize and beans. This allows farmers to sell at a price that truly reflects their crops' value. As a result, families benefit from improved yields, fair earnings, and the satisfaction of knowing their produce is nourishing their community.