Business as Mission Revives Schools
What do you do when financing for a vital program doesn’t work out as you’d hoped?
It’s a challenge many Bible translators face today. With the economic downturn affecting most of the world, translation programs and related ministries often have to look for creative ways to sustain their work.
Paula Akerson, who works with the Urim people in Papua New Guinea, faced this dilemma recently when funds ran out for local schools. About 10 kindergartens—all taught by Urims in their own language—were started several years ago as a self-funded community project. But support dropped off as most parents stopped paying the minimal school fees.
So Paula and the local literacy team explored ways to keep the kindergartens going. Their solution? Create small businesses to raise their own funds for the program.
Partnering with JAARS business as mission allowed them to do just that.
Meeting a Real Need
The Urim kindergartens have had a huge impact on how well children do in school later on. By learning to read and write in their own language first, they transition more easily to English—the country's official language for education and government—when they move on to government schools. Paula says they also do much better on exams, which means they can move on to higher and higher grade levels.
And beyond benefiting hundreds of children’s education, the schools provide a foundation for reading the Urim Scriptures.
But funds dried up, and supplies dwindled. Teachers weren’t getting paid.
The program started falling apart.
To raise funding and resume the kindergartens, Paula and the literacy team decided to launch their first business endeavor: selling second-hand clothes. Most people in Papua New Guinea buy used clothing, which is easy to get in cities, but difficult to find in Urim villages.
So this small business would meet a real need in their communities ... and raise funds for school supplies and teacher stipends at the same time.
Springing into Action
Our business as mission team gave Paula a small loan for clothing, shipping and supplies. The literacy team joined her for a small-business course, then sprung into action.
When the first clothing shipment arrived, they assessed each item, keeping prices low while still ensuring a good profit for the schools. They held two sales in local villages, and bought two more bales of clothing to continue selling in the Urim area.
Their business has already been a success: they’ve met the schools’ needs and begun to pay back the loan. Their payments are replenishing the JAARS revolving loan fund, which will in turn help others who want to use business to sustain Bible translation and related ministries.
Inspired by their success, the Urim literacy team is now launching other businesses that might be even more profitable for the schools. Some are drying and selling cocoa. Others are selling solar-powered lights that can also charge cell phones—a recent need, since a cell phone tower was just built nearby.
Paula says it’s wonderful to watch her coworkers truly partnering in the Urim kindergartens, knowing that literacy is a key tool in reaching their own people with the Word of God. Despite financial troubles that suspended almost all the schools, they’ve found an inventive way to move forward—through business as mission.
