Solutions
In partnership with the Burkina Faso Mission (BFM), FARM STEW is working on training and distributing the recipe, especially through the translation of the Recipe Manual into French and Mooré audio lessons to be broadcast on the National Radio.
In Ethiopia, FS is partnering with Parousia Mission, a holistic community development ministry that focuses on health. They are based in Addis Ababa and have projects across the country. In March 2023, their 3 dedicated FARM STEW trainers, together with an additional 6 volunteers, were trained in delivering the FS Recipe. They have launched their pilot program with a focus on farming in Akaki Kality sub-city, one of the most crowded and underdeveloped suburban areas of Addis Ababa. They aim to reach 150 households by the end of the year.
Malawi Adventist University faculty, with the leadership of Vice Chancellor Sharon Pitman, Ph.D., and Wyatt and Alyssa Johnston, FARM STEW Volunteers serving in Malawi, finished their first year teaching the FARM STEW course. In addition, they trained trainers that can be deployed to groups across Malawi that want to learn the FARM STEW recipe, such as orphanages, school, and churches. Additionally, in partnership with Edunite to Serve, FS has launched a sustainable orchard project in Malawi with 1,200 nut and fruit trees planted that will, Lord willing, provide resources to support FARM STEW’s efforts in Malawi in the future.
FARM STEW was a required course for 42 first-year students at the new Adventist School of Medicine for East Central Africa (ASOME) in Kigali. In 2022 the course was adopted by Dr. Eustance Pennicook, Dean of ASOME, and was led virtually by Wyatt and Alyssa Johnston, FARM STEW Volunteers serving in Malawi, along with a local gardener for the lab work. The feedback from students was phenomenal, they are looking forward to sharing the knowledge in their home communities.
FARM STEW South Sudan operates as a National NGO. Trainers are working in 8 states across the country and are mobilized with the FARM STEW recipe, seeds, training materials, and more. There are now 50 FARM STEW Staff in South Sudan. We have 29 drilled or repaired wells for communities. a
FARM STEW trainers from three countries had the privilege of participating in the OCI sponsored training event at Kibidula Farm designed to prepare evangelists from the East Central Africa Division to serve in the Middle East and North Africa. FARM STEW was given a 3-week schedule, and a 4th week was added due to the interest of the participants. Our hope is for ongoing FARM STEW training to be made available at Kibidula. We are praying that a partnership will be formed in the coming weeks.
FARM STEW Uganda operates as a National NGO and is the birthplace of FARM STEW, when Joy first hired 5 local trainers in October 2015 after hearing from God that her volunteer work with USAID should continue. FARM STEW trainers continue to transform lives like the youth in this letter. One of FARM STEW´s favorite stories from the field was of a group of young men who were formerly unemployed drunkards who had lost their hope due to dead-end jobs in the sugar cane fields. (see link) In Uganda, FARM STEW has shared pads with 2,600 girls this year and has now drilled 45 boreholes and repaired 5 wells.
Africa Orphan Care which supports Newstart Children's Home in Harare, is FARM STEW's partner in Zimbabwe since 2018. Kahn Ellmers has been serving as a part time FARM STEW Volunteer since February 2020 along with Tonderai Mutwira and Pride Musekiwa. In addition to growing food for the orphanage, trainers are reaching out to local SDA churches and other ministries, such as Kuda Vana, an ASI member, Faith Farm, and Rock Of Ages. They have the vision to share the FARM STEW recipe all around Zimbabwe.
FARM STEW is operating through Wilderness Gate (WG), a mission-focused ministry, led by Hillary Zebron, who has been working in rural and urban locations across Zambia. This partnership has deployed trainers, and in some of the communities where FARM STEW is being shared, there have been baptisms, and more Bible studies are being conducted in areas where Jehovah’s Witnesses are predominant. FARM STEW and WG started operating together in March 2022.
FARM STEW is excited to launch a Training of Trainers (ToT) program for church leaders and the To Deke Bible workers in the summer of 2023. To Deke is based in the remote mountains of Panama and is eager to partner with FARM STEW to reach those desperate for a chance for abundant life!
FARM STEW has partnered with Fundación Orión, a ministry in Bolivia, to transform the lives of those who need it most. Over 1,000 copies of the FARM STEW manuals, translated into Spanish, are being used to train health workers nationwide. Furthermore, colporteurs are distributing manuals to churches and communities, with great success!
The La Tranquera region of Nicaragua, home to the Miskito people, is extremely isolated due to its mountain ranges and thick jungle. FARM STEW is excited to launch a Training of Trainers (ToT) program in the fall of 2023 to equip these people with the tools and knowledge to help themselves and train others!
FARM STEW is excited to grow, in partnership with Outpost Centers International (OCI), through the use of trainers and volunteers, as well as recorded virtual training sessions taught in Portuguese. These videos will enable the recipe of abundant life to be widely and easily broadcast to an even greater audience!
Donors, volunteers, and FARM STEW Crew members across the country are integrating the principles of abundant living into their lives and sharing them with their communities. From growing and sharing sweet potato slips to donating profits from flower sales at farmers' markets and reaching out to local church schools and poor neighborhoods, we believe the recipe is for everyone!
FARM STEW has been working with several ministries in the Philippines to train local staff and reach rural villages with the recipe for an abundant life. In partnership with AWR, 30 trainers have been launched, working in over 18 villages of former rebels converted to Christ! Further Training of Trainers (ToT) programs are planned in the coming year!