More Than A Cow: How Cow Banks Promote Financial Security

Photo by Paul Jeffrey

For most Cambodian families, cows represent much more than a farm tool or even a potential food source. Here, cows mean financial security. They can be sold whenever the family is in a financial pinch — if someone becomes ill, if the breadwinner suddenly loses a job, or if natural disaster strikes.

Cows are living, walking savings accounts. So when CHAD promotes cows through our cow bank programs, we're really promoting financial security. And since we operate under a "passing on the gift" philosophy, that security spreads throughout a community.

Here's how it works:

Community members form a cow bank group. Of the people in that group, one is selected as the initial caretaker. That caretaker is the custodian of the cow gifted to the group from CHAD. When that cow becomes pregnant and gives birth, the calf is passed on to another group member. The original caretaker is allowed to keep the second offspring. But the third time around, the calf is passed on again. At this point, the caretaker becomes the owner of the gift-cow and all subsequent offspring.

The same gifting system is applied to the offspring of the original cow, with recipients passing on the first and third calves that they bear. And as the cow's family tree grows larger and larger, so does the group of people whose lives are improved by the cow bank.

Of course, there are often flukes in the system: Cows die or become infertile, or family emergencies necessitate that a cow be sold before it can pass on offspring. Missionary Katherine Parker talks about some of the complications that arise in keeping track of a cow's genealogy in this blog entry.

Despite the complications, the program successfully provides financial security to many Cambodian families each year.

A flood relief appeal from Mission Superintendent Rev Song

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
Greetings in the name of our Lord Christ from Cambodia.

As you know, God has tied us in one to work together in Cambodia for many years to form the Methodist Church in Cambodia and expand the Kingdom of God together. Praise the Lord our God for His abundant grace and great plan for Cambodia. He had done wonderful ministry here in Cambodia through us. And also I would like to give thanks to all the partner churches for your partnership and contribution. It is very true that the mission journey has come this far only with your prayer and that kind of help. Please lift up this young church and pastors continuously to achieve His great plan and please Him very much.

Now our brothers and sisters in Cambodia have suffered by severe flood. Most of you know the dangerous situation in Bangkok through mass-media broadcasted about it from Thailand. The situation to hit the center of capital city is very severe. As for Cambodia, the situation is quite bad also. It is the worst flood in Cambodia for last 20 years that I have served here.

I'll just quote some information from newspaper:

• more than 300 people have died by flood water.
• 19 of 24 provinces had been hit by flood.
• more than 300,000 families have been evacuated.
• 390,000 hectares of rice crop had been damaged(around 15% of total rice paddy).
• more than 1,000 schools had been destroyed.
• 2,700 kilometers of roadways destroyed.
• more than 1,000 families of our Methodist families have been affected.

We are in prayer with all the victims and government leaders and our churches.

And also we need to provide some materials urgently like water filters, medicines, mosquito net, and grain to plant and rice for daily life etc. I urge you to be with us in your prayer and give some help.

Please let me know through email if you would like to know how to wire funds. Or you can help us through agency country office in Phnom Penh, Cambodia also.

I hope God be with you all forever.
In Christ
Rev, Song Jin Sup
Mission Superintendent of the Methodist Church in Cambodia

Note from Katherine: Funds sent through The Advance (designated giving of the United Methodist Church) can be channeled to Advance #3020542 with a memo/note/designation for "flood relief" will also be used for this purpose.

A malaria volunteer in Kirirom

by Katherine Parker

I just got back from a three day visit to a remote part of Kampong Speu province... actually one of the few "mountain" regions of the country. It was a lovely visit and the countryside is just gorgeous. This is the third month for us to be working with a new cluster of churches in this region. And so, on this visit I traveled out to actually meet with community members at their village - rather than just with church leaders at a central location for the cluster.

One of the joys of meeting people in their home place is finding out small ways that individuals are living out their Christian service to their community. As is true for church members in the US and around the world, people of faith in Cambodia are active in their communities and partnering with various local initiatives to improve lives. Many church members are very active in health care ministry, especially accompanying neighbors to the local clinic or farther afield to the provincial referral hospital. CHAD provides orientation to this kind of service through our Good Samaritan training program. But our training really just builds on what folks are already doing in their communities.

The first night of this trip I spent at the house of the pastor of the Kirirom church, and learned about an example of health outreach being done by the pastor's wife.  His wife is the local malaria control volunteer. This region has particularly high incidence of malaria because many people get their livlihood from going into the forest (mostly to cut wood) and this is breeding ground for mosquitoes.  Because it is cool and damp under the trees the malaria mosquitoes are also more active.

She has been trained by the government's Ministry of Health in partnership with USAID in a simple chemical-blood test for the malaria parasite and how to prescribe the correct dosage of medicine according to age, size, etc. for those who test positive.  She showed us her records over the last 2 years and the growing awareness of people in her village about malaria indicated by the increased number of people who come for testing each month.  The malaria medication is provided for free to those who test positive.  She has also had some training in women's reproductive health and provides birth control and/or iron supplements to women in the village who would like those options for about $0.25 per month.  She receives an honorarium of $17 per month for this work.

Flooding along the Mekong

Flood damage update. We've received several emails with questions and concerns about recent flood damage here in Cambodia. Thanks for your concern! There has been quite a bit of damage especially to many rice fields that were so close to being ready to harvest. Daneth Him just went up to visit Kampong Chhnang yesterday to assess the extent of damage to communities we work with there. The flood levels have not been as high as during the typhoon in 2009, but the water has been very slow to recede, which is why the crop damage has been extensive.

The Social Concerns Committee (SCC) of the Methodist Church in Cambodia (MMC) has already distributed some funds from UMCOR for immediate food aid to about 1150 families in 55 villages (in 9 provinces) who have lost their harvest, but this is still just a drop in the bucket so to say. The Water Festival has been canceled by the government this year in order to use those funds also to provide relief.

One of the difficulties is that this is the time of year when there is already seasonal hunger in Cambodia. Folks are stretching what little they have or have taken high interest rice loans to make it until the early rice is ready to harvest in November. It is often the fields that are most susceptible to flood damage that are planted early because they have more water, which is needed for those early crops. Therefore the "hungry season" will be extended this year. Additionally, many people have taken rice loans just to feed their families already and, with the reduced harvest, they may fall deeper into debt when they can't repay these loans. Many folks are already leaving their villages looking for alternative work. CHAD has been working for this past year with the Social Concerns Committee to establish "rice banks" in order to mitigate against these high interest loans, but many people will not even have rice to pay back to their low-interest community rice-banks either this year. This means that we anticipate an increase in the "hungry season" next year as well. Therefore, we hope to be able to shore up existing rice-banks and establish new ones in the effected area.

Thanks for your concern. If you would like to make a donation to be used by the Social Concerns Committee for the immediate relief effort, you can give online through The Advance and 100% will be delivered here. Please add a note/memo that this is for "flood relief" so that we will know how to channel your funds to SCC. Or, write a check to your local United Methodist Church and note in the memo "Advance #3020542 - flood relief."

CHAD will continue to fund rice banks through our ongoing development efforts. You can also give online to that effort.

by Katherine Parker 
pictures by Him Daneth

ALTERNATIVE GIVING: A Coordinator’s Guide

Christmas is a time of gift-giving. But all too often, the gifts we give and receive are trivial — books, neckties, jewelry, video games. How many of these do we need anyway? This Christmas, help your church congregation, or even just your family, focus on the gift that really matters, through the Methodist Mission in Cambodia’s Alternative Giving Campaign. Give a gift of LOVE this season, and in turn, find yourself and your church refreshed.

This brief coordinator’s guide can help you run a successful Alternative Giving campaign at your church. Download a more in-depth PDF handbook here.

1. THE CATALOG: How to use it
We encourage churches to make the catalog available to their congregations in hardcopy. this helps members feel more connected to the campaign.

We understand many churches will not have the resources to print a batch of glossy, full-color catalogs, so we’ve made the catalog available in a wide range of formats (at www.scribd.com/altgiving/collections), from the margin-less color version to a catalog designed to print on an inkjet printer on normal 8 1/2 x 11 paper. Find the one that works best for your capabilities and resources.

There is also a PDF version of the catalog available that you can send out by email to your church members or friends. The resolution is too low for printing, but it looks nice when viewed on a computer screen. This catalog version has active links that takes you directly to the online giving. The link will direct you to a webpage of The Advance for the program here in Cambodia who will be responsible for following through on each of the different kinds of gifts listed in the catalog. The Advance is the designated giving arm of the United Methodist Church. Through other donations that support administration and fees, they are able to guarantee that 100% of your gift will arrive here in Cambodia to support the ministry program that you designate.

2. LOGISTICS: When and how
We have attempted to make this campaign as flexible as possible, giving you all the tools you may need, but leaving the logistical decisions up to you. You can run your campaign over one or more weeks between now and Christmas. We do recommend you distribute gift catalogs to church members at least one week in advance of the offering collection, to give them time to look over and pray about the available options.

Your campaign can be as simple as having congregation members drop order forms and checks into the offering plate one Sunday, or it can develop into something much bigger. Aldersgate UMC in Virginia has reported great success with their Giving Bazaar, wherein church members visit a “store” with tables showcasing different catalog items available for “purchase.” At each table, members can pick up a Christmas card insert, which will inform someone on their Christmas shopping list that a gift has been purchased in their honor. (These printable card inserts are available on scribd soon.) These inserts are then taken to a “check-out” counter, and the gifts are paid for.

3. PARTICIPATE: Promote awareness
The Alternative Giving campaign is about much more than fundraising. It’s about growing awareness of our programs here in Cambodia. We don’t just want your money this Christmas season. We want your thoughts, prayers and conversations.

We encourage you to find unique ways for different people groups in your congregation to participate in and own the project. One easy way is through the handouts (available on Scribd) aimed at specific groups within your congregation, including women, youth and sunday school children.

Mt. Tamalpais UMC in Mill Valley, Calif., gets its children involved in their campaign by asking Sunday School classes to create the Christmas cards that the “a gift in your honor” inserts can be glued to during the bazaar, so church members walk away with a very personalized card to give a loved one.

4. PUBLICITY: Get Attention
When you run an Alternative Giving campaign, you will have access to dozens of pre-fabricated and customizable publicity materials, including posters, bulletin inserts, PowerPoint slides, Sunday school and small group handouts, and short videos. Print materials, PowerPoint images, and logos for the alternative Giving campaign can be downloaded at www.Scribd.com/altgiving. All posters and handouts leave space for you to include the contact information of your local campaign coordinator or, if you prefer, just your church office.

Short videos can be viewed and downloaded from the Methodist Mission in Cambodia’s YouTube page, www.youtube.com/mmcambodia. (See full instruction manual for guidelines on downloading.) most videos are 3 to 5 minutes could easily be projected during a worship service or shown in a sunday school class or small group.

5. UPDATES: Campaign Support Online
Please notify us when you decide to participate in the Alternative Giving campaign by emailing us at altgiving.mmc@gmail.com. This way we can keep you up-to-date on campaign developments, answer frequently-asked questions and notify you when new resources become available. Also, periodically check our website (chad-cambodia.blogspot.com) for updates and tips on Alternative Giving.

6. DONATIONS: Online and Mail Options
There are two tactics for campaign coordinators or church administrators tasked with handling donations for an entire church. One is to fill out a summary order form (available on scribd soon) representing the entire church’s orders and mail it, along with a check, to your conference treasurer or directly to the General Board of Global Ministries, at Advance GCFA, P.O. Box 9068, GPO, New York, NY 10087-9068.

Individuals and entire churches can also donate online. To determine which advance number catalog items go, you must use the “Catalog Prefix to Advance Number Key” located in a grey box on the Order Forms and also on the Online Giving instruction sheet. This will show you how to match a catalog item’s 3-letter prefix with its corresponding Advance number. Or, follow the links provided in the email version of the catalog to go directly to the correct online giving page for each gift.

Stuck in the mud

by Katherine Parker
I was really humbled about 2 weeks ago when I went to visit with a new cluster of churches in the hills near Kirirom (Kampong Speu province).

I got the truck stuck in the mud and it was the one where the 4 wheel drive is busted, so I couldn't get it out on my own. This was only my second time to meet with these folks so they didn't really know me yet nor I them, but they got straight to work pulling out hoes to try and dig out the stuck wheel and machete to cut branches to try and get some traction, all to no avail.

Finally someone went off by moto and came back with a winch which they tied to a small papaya tree and took turns cranking until they had pulled the truck out. I was humbled by the entire experience but not least because one of the most active men out there digging out the tires was an amputee who had lost his leg in the war.

This man is now the leader of the men's group at his nearby church and quite a charismatic guy. While I am still just getting to know him, I heard in his sharing during the workshop that he has faced a lot of difficulty and discrimination and depression. I spent more time chatting with his wife who is a new Christian believer. I can see that she has joined the church in large part because she is inspired by the transformation it has made for her husband. She told me about her job collecting lotus plants and bringing them to market (they live on an island), and how most of the burden of supporting the family falls to her because her husband can't work as hard as other men (which is likely true although he is by no means lazy and was very active with the truck rescue).

Being there and part of the two day workshop and fellowship was very inspiring to the wife. She asked for prayers to strengthen her new faith, which I took also to be about prayers for how she could continue to help her husband in his transformation towards the inspiration for life he has found through his faith and with his leadership roll in the church.

The main focus for the first day of the workshop was studying the story of the Good Samaritan and talking about the question of "who is my neighbor" and "how do we work together." Yet as the facilitator, I was humbled that the group members acted out the story as they rescued my truck even before we started the lesson.

The dialogue was rich. We told the story of the Good Samaritan many times in several ways. Participants talked about the challenges of supporting friends and neighbors with drug and alcohol problems and encouraged each other to continue in this work. One participant commented that as members of a minority religious group, Christians in Cambodia are also outsiders like the Samaritans were. Others were interested when in a modern re-enactment I asked the narrator to substitute Khmer for Jew and Vietnamese for Samaritan. One participant commented that they now knew that anyone, even a Vietnamese, can show compassion and help someone in need. And even I, with my fancy truck, was in need of help.