There’s really a whole book’s worth of everyday miracle material here. The work of Gotera Church in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa is remarkable, effective and wrapped around a storyline that stays with the imagination for days.
It all starts with the city. Addis is not wealthy, but certain districts are poor – properly poor. Thousands live without water or electricity, jobs are things which belong to other people in other areas, yet the massive migration of families from rural areas to the city continues.
And then there’s this one particular church - Gotera. For years it was one of the district’s best kept secrets. Church members tried to avoid the world beyond its doors, and apart from occasional tours of duty out into the streets to preach, Gotera Church was hidden from view.
Then it happened: they got a visit from Mesfin, a development worker from their church denomination. He told them Bible stories, sparked off discussions and opened their eyes to the possibility that all these barriers between them and their community might not be such a good thing after all.
The first step, Mesfin suggested, was to get out and visit non-church people in their homes, to ask about their concerns and listen to what they had to say. Out of the 40-strong congregation just one overcame the fear and took up the challenge. Gradually others followed, returning with a sense of shock, their own poverty dwarfed by what they had seen among the widows, orphans and outcasts around them. It was time to act.
Within months the church family had visited 600 households – not preaching, but listening, learning and inviting others to join up for a community meeting. It was there that they decided to identify and work with the 200 poorest households, most of which were headed by women.
What followed next was simple, yet life changing. The church helped group these 200 households into ten self-help groups and appointed two part-time community workers to support, train and advise. The groups saved together, worked and raised funds together. And as they saw their funds increase, so too did their confidence and self-esteem.
Within six months there was enough money saved to start supporting women as they put business ideas into practice; one set up a road-side tea shop, another bought, farmed and sold a cow. One group even made a ‘loan’ to one of their members dying of HIV to buy medicines, even though the money will never be paid back.
The stories of the good that came out of this one church’s decision to open up the doors and serve its neighbours go on and on. In fact, these every day miracles are still taking place today in communities all over the world. At Tearfund we are proud to stand alongside them, to support and cheer them on. But we also want to be a part of the action, breathing life and change onto our own communities as we unite to tackle the material and spiritual poverty that plagues our world.
Will you be a part of the story too?