Changed Perspectives on Poverty and People in Need

By Job Kiggundu

My name is Job Kiggundu, the lead Pastor at Hosanna Community Church located in Kyengeza Village, Wakiso district, Uganda, East Africa. I participated in the "Helping without Hurting in Africa" training at Kampala Evangelical School of Theology. After the five-day training, we were encouraged not only to implement what we had learned, but also to go out and train other people. To aid us in training others, Anthony Sytsma, one of the trainers, and the team provided a training manual (available for a fee) in addition to the participant handbook we had received at the beginning of the training.

Motivated to share what I had learned, I had the opportunity to train a group of leaders at Kampala Baptist Church. The training spanned five days, during which we covered the first nine lessons in the book. We had an average attendance of thirty people, and nearly all participants attended all five days of the training, indicating their appreciation for the content. This was further evident during the evaluation, as all participants acknowledged that the training and materials had significantly changed their perspectives on poverty and helping those in need. Among the participants were individuals already involved in social work and various humanitarian projects, who confessed that despite their extensive involvement, the "Helping without Hurting" training had broadened their understanding of poverty and assisting those in need. The training material and approach were highly effective and enlightening. All participants requested another training session to cover the remaining lessons.

As a facilitator, I found the Helping Without Hurting in Africa Facilitator's Manual to be user-friendly, clear, and detailed enough that one did not need to refer to other sources to facilitate any given lesson. Contextualizing the material (albeit minimally) and supplementing the provided stories with personal anecdotes were all that was required to drive the point home.

I am grateful to the gracious Lord for enabling me to attend the "Helping without Hurting in Africa" training, as well as to KEST and the entire "Helping without Hurting" team for introducing and training us on the material. The training has greatly influenced my approach to assisting people in my ministry, and the new task of training others is made possible by the facilitator's manual. Grace and peace to you all.