I want to tell you about Shining
a Light. I want to tell everyone about Shining a Light. The reason? It’s pretty
amazing! Amazing, because of the results. There are countless success stories of our students and the empowerment that is being
passed on through them, transforming lives that didn’t even go through our program. A huge ripple effect of transformation and empowerment has been created that was completely unexpected. It’s also amazing because the
person God used to get this all started was also unexpected. He didn’t use a
missionary, or a pastor or someone with a degree in community development.
No, God chose a drug addict to do
this. Pulling me out of overwhelming darkness in to His marvelous light. Proving
that He is faithful and nothing is impossible with Him.
Since 2011 Shining a Light has trained
and educated 24 women through a two-year program. A program that is unique because
of the complete and holistic education being taught. It's not just about
training them in skills to support their families, or education about clean
water, or how to manage money, or teaching them English, sharing the Gospel or
how to start a business. The empowerment isn’t just one of those areas. It’s
ALL of them! That’s what makes this program so powerful.
What started with a desire to see
the women in Tanzania earn money to support their families has developed in to
an extensive, overall transformation. We have accomplished results that are
overcoming cultural barriers and economic hurdles. Hurdles these women or those
of us who chased after this vision never believed possible.
As the Founder I believe Shining
a Light’s vision is extraordinary. So, I’ve dedicated the last six years to sharing
it with everyone I could. Passing along updates on graduates, building and
improving the curriculum and constantly seeking better ways to prove to these
women they are capable of greatness. That dedication is now moving us forward,
thinking bigger and preparing us to match their greatness by expanding and
transforming many more lives. Greatness like seeing our students upgrade their children’s education from government schools to private schools. Greatness like 242 people being trained in a job skill by our graduates, making them employable and capable of sustaining their families. Greatness like discovering that our graduates are giving seminars on clean water and money management at their churches. Greatness like being so bold to share their faith with over 800 people.
They have us feeling inspired and overwhelmingly obligated to grow, open
more Training Centers and continue to provide the resources and opportunities
for our students to empower and transform the people of Tanzania. We can’t stop
now, friends. This is just the beginning of something so unique and surprisingly
special - Tanzanians Empowering Tanzanians. Africa making huge changes not by westerners or a celebrity but by their very own neighbor, a local, someone just like
them.
In
October we decided as a Board
that we would do everything in our power to move forward, which meant
transitioning from one
woman’s vision to a team of dedicated hearts fighting to see Africa step
up to
the challenge of sustaining themselves. We added board members to fill
emtpy roles, but with the key role of growing from one Training Center
to many. We
hired a marketing firm that would help get these incredible numbers and
amazing
stories out to as many people as possible. And most exciting, a very
talented, high
profile video producer has volunteered his time to travel to Tanzania to
catch all this
awesomeness on film. The goal is to share these stories with so many
people that Tanzania turns into a country that
supports itself and teaches others to do the same.
This blog is going to share not only our journey as an organization, but more importantly, we want you to meet these amazing women. We want you to hear their stories of transformation and feel connected. This amazing work is only possible because of supporters like you, and we want to share with you all the wonderful work that God is accomplishing. Let's empower some... wait... no, TONS of women, children, families and communities in Tanzania. And it is our prayer that all of us, even you reading this blog, get inspired to continue the ripple effect of empowerment and transformation in our own lives.
In
October we decided as a Board
that we would do everything in our power to move forward, which meant
transitioning from one
woman’s vision to a team of dedicated hearts fighting to see Africa step
up to
the challenge of sustaining themselves. We added board members to fill
emtpy roles, but with the key role of growing from one Training Center
to many. We
hired a marketing firm that would help get these incredible numbers and
amazing
stories out to as many people as possible. And most exciting, a very
talented, high
profile video producer has volunteered his time to travel to Tanzania to
catch all this
awesomeness on film. The goal is to share these stories with so many
people that Tanzania turns into a country that
supports itself and teaches others to do the same. This blog is going to share not only our journey as an organization, but more importantly, we want you to meet these amazing women. We want you to hear their stories of transformation and feel connected. This amazing work is only possible because of supporters like you, and we want to share with you all the wonderful work that God is accomplishing. Let's empower some... wait... no, TONS of women, children, families and communities in Tanzania. And it is our prayer that all of us, even you reading this blog, get inspired to continue the ripple effect of empowerment and transformation in our own lives.
