A passion for passionfruit: ending poverty in Uganda

A passion for passionfruit:

ending poverty in Uganda

When it comes to passionfruit, Siwako Muhindo knows exactly what he’s looking for. Ripe fruits are heavy and firm, with smooth purple skin. If you cut one of them open, you can see the orange flesh inside – sweet, fragrant and perfect for lifting your family out of poverty.

Siwako Muhindo and his wife Jane Biira earn 60,000 Ugandan shillings a month from selling passionfruit – more than enough to buy food for their seven children and pay for their school fees. But back in 2021, life looked very different for Siwako and Jane.

“I always looked down on myself, and the community around me could not value me because of my poor financial situation,” says Siwako.  “Most of the time my children would not attend school because I could not afford to provide them with enough materials, and I failed to pay the fees. I used to wake up early in the morning to find work in other people’s gardens to be given food to feed my family. Sometimes when I failed to find work my family would starve or have one meal a day – a bad situation that troubled me for many years.”

A group of people standing in front of a Baptist church in Kasese district with blue sky in the background.
Village savings groups that meet in churches are empowering people across Kasese District.

One day, Yofeli Muhindo, who works for a partner of BMS World Mission in Uganda, told Siwako and Jane about a local village savings group. People living in poverty often can’t afford the interest rates on loans from a bank, and banks aren’t prepared to risk lending to them. Village savings groups bring people together every week to save up small amounts of money so that villagers can take out affordable loans. The total money saved is then shared between group members at the end of the year. Siwako was so inspired by Yofeli’s message and he knew that a village savings group was the way to raise himself and his family out of poverty.

After only five months, Siwako could take out loans. Each group member also received 130,000 Ugandan shillings at the end of the year, which Siwako and Jane used to start a food stall. In 2022, the group shared 160,000 Ugandan shillings, which helped Siwako start his passionfruit business.

Now, Siwako and Jane have enough food to eat and can afford to send their children to school. Last year, the group even shared enough money for Siwako to buy a goat!

“The village savings group has really changed our life from a helpless situation where we could fail to provide food and other needs for our family,” says Siwako. “We are now respected in our community, and people have seen a big change in our lives. We are greatly encouraged to save more as we see a bright future ahead.”

A green passionfruit being held in someone's hand.
Not all passionfruit are purple – some are green!
Joshua addressing church-based trainers and village savings group leaders inside Bwera Baptist Church.
Our partners are training people to run village savings groups in churches like Bwera Baptist Church.

But Siwako knows that none of this would have been possible without God working through the local church. “We praise God for the wonders he does in our lives through his people. God bless the Kasese Association of Baptist Churches Development Committee, Justice Livelihoods Health, and BMS for the good work and support they have offered to transform my life and my entire family.”

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Your generous giving and faithful prayers have made such a difference to the lives of people like Siwako and Jane. They are so grateful for your support, and for the love shown to them by our partners. If you would like to keep giving to the work of BMS’ partners in Uganda, then why not consider becoming one of our 24:7 Partners.

Words by Chris Manktelow 

Sleeping on the pavements, studying on the streets

Sleeping on the pavements, studying on the streets:

helping children in India to thrive

Begging, selling alcohol and stealing – this is how street children in India survive and provide for their families. But thanks to BMS World Mission, a school on the street in Kolkata is providing these children with an education, teaching them life skills to help them succeed.

Tens of thousands of children live day and night on the streets of Kolkata. With no access to education or healthcare, begging or selling alcohol and drugs are often the only ways they can survive. Countless families live in absolute poverty, and it can often feel like there is no way out.

But lasting change sometimes starts with something small. Underneath a bridge in the bustling city of Kolkata, next to a traffic-filled road, 50 children who call the streets their home are getting to go to school. Because BMS worker Ben Francis and his team have brought school to them. Calling themselves Street Servants, our team teaches the children reading, writing and arithmetic – important lessons from the government kindergarten syllabus. And once they’re ready, the team help get the children into a government school to earn essential certificates. They’re also learning about Jesus. Every day, the children sing songs about God. They learn to read through parables and Bible stories, and they pray.

These children, who have only ever known life on the streets, are gaining new opportunities to learn, and new skills that will set them up for life. And it’s all because of your support for BMS.

Nawab was begging outside a horse racing track when the BMS-supported Street Servants met him. After meeting with his parents, the team invited Nawab to come to the street school, along with his two sisters. He excelled. Thanks to the school, Nawab’s life has changed dramatically. Along with seven other children who were taught by BMS-supported teachers in Kolkata, he’s now in a government school. Sat in a busy classroom of children in school uniform, after a life without much structure, the adjustment has not been easy. But now, Nawab has the opportunity of a full education. A way off the streets.

All 50 children at the street school are learning the skills they need to get into government schools. As well as learning the right curriculum, they’re also being taught wider life skills. “We’re giving them the habit of discipline,” says BMS worker Ben Francis, who helps oversee the project in Kolkata. Street school is preparing these children to sit in a classroom, to listen, and to learn to change their own futures.

And we aren’t just stopping with 50 children. We want more children like Nawab to receive a quality education, and our team is working hard to set up a second school. “We want to see more children get into government schools,” says Ben. “We want more communities changed, and more families leaving the streets.”

And it really is all about families. The Street Servants team go and meet parents, offering counselling and advice. For many, having their child in school means a loss of income, as they often beg to help support the families. “It’s about changing the mindset of the parents,” says Ben. “We tell them, ‘today you want 40 pence from your child. But if you let them study, some day they will bring back four thousand pounds.’” By getting the parents on board, the children can go to school and become more equipped to support their families in the future.

“I just want to say thank you to everyone in the UK,” says Ben. “You’re enabling underprivileged children to touch love, and helping us show Jesus’ love in the most tangible way that people will understand.”

It’s not just about supporting one child. It’s about changing generations.

Please pray for the street school, for Nawab, and his seven classmates as they continue to thrive in the government school, getting an education that any of us would want for our own children. And you can do something to help them – and people like them – right now. By clicking our donate button and giving, you will give help and hope to people who the rest of the world wants to forget. Do something small today to let them know they’re not forgotten. Click the big red button and give right now. You really can make a difference. As Ben Francis says, “it’s not just about supporting one child. It’s about changing generations.”

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Street Servants PowerPoint