Spring 2010
2010 has been seen by some as a year when things begun 10 years ago will come to completion. For A Call to Business 2010 marks our 10th anniversary, and surely we can give testimony to an extraordinary journey that continues to challenge and change all who embark on it. It has been an enormous privilege to walk with many who have recognised their personal "call to business", while learning many lessons and seeing great changes ourselves. As we mark this milestone we look forward with great anticipation to the adventures coming as we continue together to work towards that day when "every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord".
Here in the City of London we are so aware of the enormity of the battle, but excited at the growing ranks of people who understand exactly why they're where they are in business, education, medicine, the law, politics, media, the arts and so on. So let's "keep on keeping on", each of us like putty in God's hands to be the man or woman he's destined us to be!
This is by no means confined to the City of London! This momentum is in process all over the globe and we are continually amazed by the doors God is opening and the connections He's making. For A Call to Business our focus remains strongly on Sierra Leone, while understanding that this is a "first fruit", not only in Africa but globally.
The DVD has now almost literally circled the globe, opening many doors. With translations currently in Russian, Spanish and German there are plans to translate it into Krio (Sierra Leone), Mandarin and Hindi. The only stumbling block to moving ahead with these projects is finance, so if you have enjoyed the DVD and found it to be an encouragement and good resource please think about donating towards these new translations which would open huge doors into many other nations.
For those in North America, the NTSC version of the DVD is now available from www.visionvideo.com.
Microfinance is proving to be another door opener! Many people around the world are realising what a great channel this is to alleviate poverty, and over the past year we have been invited into a number of surprising arenas to help other nations to set up microfinance funds. In Sierra Leone we currently have over 3000 loans in issue helping people in many different small businesses, from textiles to carpentry, pharmaceuticals to vegetables, cosmetics to cooking gas and many more.
We are currently taking in funds for 2010, offering 8% interest on long-term loans (minimum US$10,000) with a one year lock-in and six months' notice to withdraw, ideally for a five year term. The currency risk is taken 50/50 between the loan provider and A Call to Business Trading Ltd.
Latest news from Sierra Leone
With the growth of the microfinance business, the team of A Call to Business in Freetown has grown rapidly. Under the leadership of Joe Abass Bangura there is now a team of over 20, including Loan Officers and Operations Team.
We have outgrown our original office, and recently moved into a new two storey building in the heart of Freetown, across the road from 9 Government Ministries and close neighbours to the Headquarters of the main political party.
Alongside the business activities we continue to move forward with the community development initiative in Rogbere, in partnership with Emmaus. The "Rogbere School of Excellence" will at last open its doors in September 2010 to the first intake of students! This will be a very exciting day for us after a long journey with many twists and turns. The building is beautiful and will be an amazing blessing to the community, who are waiting with eager anticipation for the great day to arrive.
The contract to manage the school has been awarded to EducAid, a small charity run by a small group of volunteers in the UK and 22 local staff in Sierra Leone. EducAid has been providing education to some of the poorest young people in Sierra Leone since 2000 and has built a fine reputation, its students achieving significantly better results than the national average. Following a very different path and model than most schools in Sierra Leone, EducAid seeks to make it possible for all young people to access education, providing free tuition and materials, extra lessons for exam classes and free lunch every day - none of which is the norm in the nation.
Final works are now in hand on the building, including the furnishings and equipment. Desks and benches are being hand-made on site by trainees of the Skills Training Centre, and all materials required (including computers, text books, stationery etc.) will shortly be purchased.We are delighted to know that the children of the Rogbere area will be able to attend a school that doesn't just look good, but will provide them with an excellent foundation for life.
Work will also be commencing during April on another building project in Rogbere which will provide a wonderful new home for Melrose and her family of orphans, many of them polio victims or suffering from other chronic conditions. Their current home is totally inadequate and in a difficult location and we look forward to seeing them settled into a community where they will find more security and acceptance, right alongside the new school.
Update on India
You may recall our last ezine reporting on Terry Diggines and Paul Szkiler's visit to India last summer at the invitation of the Christian Communications Centre for Business and its founder, Ebenezer. The CCCB has established nine centres and has a goal of opening 50 in total over the next few years, seeking to help Christians in business with practical services as many of them struggle in this arena.
As was mentioned in that report, their trip included a visit to Bhalswa, a slum district of New Delhi where a community of some 20,000 people live next to a rubbish dump around 150 ft high, estimated to cover an area of 20 sq. km. In the rank stench of decay 30 Christians live and work alongside this predominantly Hindu community, providing education, leadership, teaching and preaching the Gospel on a daily basis. Their hope is to establish an IT training project to help people in the community gain experience and qualifications that will help them find work, and to include an internet cafe as a hub to draw the community in and as a way to connect with the outside world, hopefully in the ambience of a building that provides a stark contrast to the outside world.
This is an ambitious programme, which aims to provide training for individuals and local businesses, with programmes tailor-made individually based on skill assessment and goals, with ongoing assessments to monitor progress and ensure success. To this end ongoing training and updating of their own staff’s technical expertise and effectiveness in training is a high priority.
Start-up costs for this project are $11,500, of which $7500 is already pledged.
Get involved!
For further information or to make donations towards any of the projects mentioned above, please contact marjie.sutton@acalltobusiness.co.uk.
Central Asia
Following a succesful exploratory trip towards the end of last year to Central Asia we have decided to hold a presentation evening at the offices of A Call to Business on Wednesday 26th May. Our friends who come from and work in that part of the world, including Mongolia and the Caucasus, will be presenting opportunities in various spheres. A further trip is also being contemplated to further develop our work there. If you would like to be involved in this area please join us on the 26th of May. Just email marjie.sutton@acalltobusiness.co.uk to confirm your interest and when plans are confirmed you will receive a formal invitation.
And finally .....
It seems mere minutes since the hype of the Millennium and yet we're already a decade further on! The days are getting darker, but there is still light in which to work and light to bring into the darkness!
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
Stay blessed!!