At 35 years old, Mary Mvilera is married with 4 children. Before PA programs were introduced in her community, she solely depended on his husband’s sand business, which was not sustainable, to cater to the family’s needs.
Her pastor, Namaona Seleman, who attended all Possibilities Africa training as of 2021, introduced holistic ministry teachings in his church. He introduced the essence of using locally available resources, God-given talent, and skills and working in groups to generate income for their families. These teachings intrigued Mary and she became interested to know more about the concepts so as to change her family’s fortunes.
From the frequent teachings by her Pastor, and their Shalom group dubbed Tiyanjane, Mary understood the importance of identifying skills, perfecting them, and monetizing the same to generate money.Out of the skills she had gained, she started a scones-baking business with an initial loan of MK15,000.
She had also learned the importance of saving and reinvesting in the business. At the time PA was engaging with her, she had grown her savings to MK20,000 which allowed her to borrow more from the Shalom group.
With her business, she complimented her husband’s sand business earnings. Mary had learned that it is crucial to diversify sources of income too. Using her credibility following successfully repaying the first loan, Mary borrowed another loan of MK30,000 and encouraged his husband to invest in the potato business. At the time PA was engaging with the family again, the potato business was making MK30,000 in a week.
The businesses have improved the family’s living standards as they can address the family’s needs such as buying food and paying the children’s school fees without straining.
Other than that, the family has experienced spiritual growth too. Mary has replicated the frequent prayer and bible study at the Shalom group meetings to the family. The family now regularly meet to pray and study the bible, something they struggled with or did not find time to do before engaging with PA.
The story of Mary is just one of the many impactful stories in this community. We can see that there is a ripple effect that skills are transferred from one person to another. In this case from Pastor Namaona to his church, where Mary picked up, implemented, and further encouraged her husband to embrace the same.
It is a testimony that if communities are supported, they can embrace holistic ministry and change their lives for the better.
