Transformation and Job Creation: Meet Joseph!

There's a difference between activities and impacts.  Activities are the things we do in the hopes that it will bring about impact.  Some of our activities are workshops for pastors, church leaders, and businesspersons.  Some of our activities are mentoring, training, and advocacy.  Our partners regularly report on their activities.  But we are very aware that activities do not lead to transformation.  Education without application is just information.  But information plus application leads to transformation.  So, every October, each of our partners hires an enumerator to do a randomized survey of 50 businesspersons and ten pastors who have gone through DML to assess impacts.  

Our impact survey results from 2023 closely align with the results from 2022, which makes us happy!  For every business trained, two new jobs are created (of course, we know this is an average - some create zero, some create ten, but two new jobs for each business is the average).  More than 1000 jobs were created just by our sample of 550 businesses in this past year - yet we have trained almost 18,000 businesspeople so far in 2023! [I'll let you do the math!] Business profit has increased by 20% and household income has also increased by 20% (this is down from 25% in 2022, mostly due to inflation and instability in some partner countries).  94% of churches reported increased attendance, giving, and spiritual growth in their members.  We thank God for these reports of impacts!

The story below shows the impact of one man in Ghana who attended the DML training in 2020:

Mr. Joseph Osman, owner of Joseph Farms in Sanga-Tamale metropolis, Ghana, is a young and talented entrepreneur who worships at a Baptist church in his small community. Joseph Farms, specializing in pepper and maize farming, is just two years old.

In his quest to become a successful businessman and acquire essential knowledge, Joseph eagerly attended the DML business training in 2020, despite having to travel a significant distance. The training had a profound impact on him, shifting his perception of business from a secular endeavor to a platform for spreading the message of Christ. He learned valuable skills, such as customer satisfaction, business boundary setting, and pricing.

After the training, Joseph faced the challenge of choosing a specific business venture. With guidance from DML partner Hopeline Institute, he decided to venture into farming and secured one-acre plots for maize (corn) and pepper cultivation.

Joseph also has aspirations to become a journalist and is actively saving around 60% of his crop farming proceeds to fund his education. In addition, he plans to diversify his income by raising goats and sheep, recognizing the importance of a solid business foundation and clear boundaries.

In closing, Joseph expressed his gratitude to DML Hopeline Institute for the insightful training and the loan that kickstarted his business. His ultimate goal is to use his business as a means to spread the Good News of Christ to others.

These impacts could not happen without the work of partners, prayers, and supporters around the world.  Thank you for partnering and praying for DML!  

We still have a matching challenge grant for new recurring givers until we reach $25,000.  If you would like to give a monthly gift, for $5/month and up, our donor will match your giving for the first year.  Please prayerfully consider helping us reach our goal for 2023 by going here.