I am in awe of what God has done
through True Vineyard Ministries, Inc. During the past seven years, He has
continued to amaze me by the rapid growth and reach of this widow-centered
ministry, which offers life-sustaining opportunities in Africa. Our 50 Rwandan employees, their families and the
surrounding communities have realized the results of our presence in a place
where genocide, civil war and HIV/AIDS have left many feeling hopeless. It is
far beyond what I could have ever dreamed or imagined for the organization.
Please allow me to share a few highlights from 2013.
Katie Scrafford joined our team
in Rwanda one year ago. She independently raised all of her own financial
support to work for us as a full-time volunteer. Her background is in family
therapy, but she also previously worked as shepherdess on a sheep farm in New
Hampshire. Yes, you read that correctly. God brought a counselor and former
shepherdess to our organization in Rwanda where we counsel widows and have a
flock of sheep needed for our Handspun
Hope yarn production.
Trauma counseling is greatly needed in Rwanda. With this challenge in
mind, Katie and our country director Simon Dufitumukiza developed a lay
counselor-training program. In July, the first class of 14 lay counselors
graduated. Free trauma counseling is now offered to individuals in schools, persons
with disabilities, and several churches in northern Rwanda. A counseling
network is currently being formed in the area and many who are in desperate
need of this kind of healing are being impacted by the presence of TVM.
In the spring and summer, we
worked to raise funds through a matching grant for the first phase of
construction for our new workplace, Gihunga Center, to be built on land we
already own. As the first phase of
construction is finalized, our women will begin working at the new center.
Having our own building is a huge step toward sustainable income for the 35
currently employed widows, support staff and their families with a total of 234
lives being directly impacted.
As TVM grows, opportunities are opening for the women to move to a place
of greater financial independence. Through our Handspun Hope program, yarn making will continue to be a tool,
providing for spiritual counsel and immediate expenses of food, shelter and
healthcare. However, we feel that God wants more
for the ladies and for other widows in the surrounding community. Through a
savings group initiated by the women in 2010, we have seen the opportunity for
them to save capital through microfinance initiatives. Using the property where
the new center is being built, the women have started raising rabbits, which
are sold to hotels and communities. This process moved us to begin praying
about how God could potentially use TVM as a springboard for them to develop
their own income-generating projects instead of remaining financially dependent
on the organization. Gihunga Center—gihunga
means “to cultivate” in Kinyarwanda—will serve this purpose. If the women can
use their own creativity to build capital through similar microfinance
initiatives, they can use the resources they've built through TVM to develop
financial independence. This plan will allow us to bring more women into the
TVM family!
Last summer, as a result of the
success of the ministry and our store The
Vineyard Marketplace, I was asked to go to South Sudan to consult with a
newly formed women’s group on potential product development. It was an amazing
process to watch how God used divine connections to bring me there. What is
even more amazing is how He continues to use the ministry’s storefront to bring
about lasting change to individual artisans and organizations in 11 African
nations. We are the largest customer for many of the organizations from which
we purchase fairly-traded products. This impact is far greater than we could
ever hope to calculate.
In 2013, God used True Vineyard
Ministries to bring more lives into realized change through employment, trauma
counseling and the purchasing of products at a fair price. My prayer is that He
continues to make provision for all the ways we feel Him calling us. It is a
very exciting time for True Vineyard, and I hope that you will partner with us
as we continue to grow. Please find enclosed a brochure on the opportunity for
monthly widow sponsorship, outlining the different levels of engagement with
TVM, as well as a “wish list” of our 2014 dreams for the organization. I ask
that you consider supporting us through prayer and a year-end financial gift
that will enable us to continue walking through the doors where God is calling
the ministry. Should you choose, you may use the enclosed return envelope or
give online at truevineyard.org.
Thank you for your continued support. On
behalf of the Board of Directors, staff and volunteers at True Vineyard
Ministries, I wish you a very Merry Christmas!
Diana
Wiley
Founder
and Executive Director
