Last winter, our readers helped us Lift Up the Hungry by providing funds for physical and educational resources to assist farmers in the third world. We wanted you to hear some of the impact that support has had in East Africa! Faith Wells Garden manager Francis Lubega spotlights the farmers who have been trained on our land, and how they've been empowered through what they've learned.
As the scripture confirms while speaking to us that you are the salt of the world, the light of the world and a city built on a hill, and saying that let your light shine so that people may see your good deeds and glorify God in heaven (Matt. 5:13-16), Faith Wells Garden, operating under Global Outreach Developments East Africa, has for a number of years since 2013 been a blessing to many farmers in Uganda, working as a training ground and a light to many farmers as an organic farming demonstration garden.
Being very much aware of the numerous negative effects of the synthetic pesticides that many farmers use to grow their food, together with herbicides that they use to control weeds in their gardens, we at Faith Wells Garden, emphasize organic weed control measures to produce healthy foodstuff which is not contaminated with chemicals that can negatively affect human life.
This is the greatest value we learn from the scriptures where we see God on a number of occasions acting as a life preserving God in all biblical history and also in John 10:10, Jesus says that he came so that people could enjoy the fullness of life. So, it is not fair if we as people of God just look on as people catch sicknesses and die which come from eating poisoned food with chemicals or even seeing our precious soil given to humanity by God to produce good food, dying due to the use of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides yet there is something we can do in order to remedy that.
Faith Wells Garden is training the youths on a daily basis to become experienced organic farmers based on biblical values. These youths also get paid at the end of each week for the work they are doing in the garden in order for them to meet their basic needs of life. So, the garden benefits the youths in ways of education and also as an employment opportunity.
Apart from the farming youths, the farmers in our neighborhood have also been able to benefit from Faith Wells Garden by learning from us. Faith Wells Garden invites farmers from the neighborhood to come and learn for themselves the organic ways of growing food. The education they receive include; Organically based land preparation for crop production, organic weed control methods, organic pest control methods and food nutrition.
Farmers do appreciate this effort because not even the government cares to create such awareness to the farmers from the perspective of life preservation.
Faith Wells Garden has been a great benefit to the community of the people around us in the way that it has been able to supply organic foodstuff/ organic products through our small outlet called the food tent and we also supply to the local supermarket.
Our annual food production range from 8 to 13 tons of harvested foodstuff. We are looking forward, also with faith in God, to increase our production this year by at least 30%.
In a recent update, Francis also shared with us that in the midst of Uganda’s countrywide shutdown to limit the spread of COVID-19, the community there has found themselves with enough safe water and food to supply their needs. In his words, “It is very easy to realize that the lockdown found us in God’s paradise.” They’re together in the garden, in communion with God and each other, just where he wanted human beings from the beginning. The kingdom of God, even (and especially!) in the midst of chaos, is among them!
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