The following is an update received from Brother Mubiru Julius, President of the board of the Moravian Church in Uganda. The BWM helped facilitate funding of this project thanks to generous congregational donors.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors and membership of the Moravian Church in Uganda, I have the pleasure to share with you the report on the activities of the Piggery project implemented by
the Moravian Church in Uganda with support from Ephraim Moravian Church through the Board of World Mission. This report provides a brief profile of the Moravian Church in Uganda (MCU) and an account of the progress of the piggery project. The report also documents the successes, challenges encountered and recommendations. These provide the impetus and strategic guidance for future undertakings by the Moravian Church in Uganda. My hope is that this report will be a source of valuable information for all stakeholders to get an insight into the piggery project undertaken by the Moravian Church in Uganda and God willing, develop effective responses to identified challenges.
The Moravian Church in Uganda was supported by members of Ephraim Moravian Church, Wisconsin through the Board of World Mission (North America) to initiate a piggery project to
address some of the economic challenges of the congregates and the Church in Uganda. Proposed as an income generating activity of the Roho Moravian Church congregation at Bulutwe village.The piggery project has continued to stand out as a credible venture which has resulted into some of the most profound achievements for the Church. During the period in review, a total of Twenty-three (23) pigs and Eighteen (18) piglets were involved in the piggery project.
Achievements of the project:
1. Out of the proceeds from the sale of pigs,we bought a piece of land in the Buikwe district on which we proposed to construct a permanent church building and administration block. This is the first ever piece of Land owned by the Moravian Church in Uganda
2. We were able to improve the church structure of Roho Moravian Church by procuring new iron sheets for better roofing. We are no longer worried about the rains disrupting church services and activities
3. We have scaled the project to another Moravian Congregation in the Kayunga district.
4. The manure from the pig rearing has enabled the beneficiaries to improve food yields and therefore address food insecurity.
5. Church members have been able to acquire skills, share experiences and resolve challenges pertaining to piggery rearing during piggery project review meetings at church.
6. Congregates involved in pig rearing at household level have had their incomes improved.
7. There is noted improvement in the local breeds as a result of crossbreeding with MCU Piggery project better breeds.
8. Using proceeds from the project, Roho Moravian Church worked with ICEAID to bring clean water closer to the project.
This field is part of the land that MCU purchased for construction of a permanent church and administration offices. We are using it to cultivate corn for pigs as we seek resources for construction.
Manure collection area
The piggery project has improved the soil
Before: the grass thatched roof on the church in the background
After: the new roofing
Two young men use the skills they learned through the piggery project to care for the animals
Challenges:
- There is a spike in the cost of feed.
- Given the benefits of the project to the beneficiaries, the demand for scaling up the project toother beneficiaries grows.
- The pigs contracted infections which the local vets failed to diagnose, leading to the death of some of them.
- Whereas the project has been scaled up to other congregations, the need to constructpermanent pigsties such as the one at Roho Moravian Church has been noted.
Actions and Suggestions:
- We have advised members of the congregations to use the manure from the project to grow their own feeds to save money and respond to the price hikes.
- We have encouraged congregants to be patient and pray for more successes of the project so as to enable a scale up.
- We have contacted the national vets for diagnosis and subsequent solutions to infections. They have promised to come to our rescue.4.
- Whereas we are aware of the benefits of permanent pigsties to the beneficiary congregations, we do not have the resources to actualize this challenge. We do request for support in this area.
Conclusion:
Besides the above mentioned challenges, the piggery project is on track. It is enabling the Moravian Church in Uganda to transform in a better way and is empowering members of the Church to respond to challenges to community development. Most of the beneficiaries of this project are households and congregants.
We pray that the Lord continue to bless our partners and our ministry to enable the construction of a permanent church building and administration block on the purchased land.
OUR LAMB HAS CONQUERED, LET US FOLLOW HIM!”
