What have we learned in 15 years?
If you build a chicken coup, hire someone who knows how to raise chickens. We’ve learned a few hard lessons in the last 15 years. At one point, RUHU built a chicken coup (which is no longer there). It was a pretty major investment at the time, and I remember walking through it looking at all the little baby chicks. The math added up…over time, it would pay for itself. It wasn’t a bad idea. But it was a bit naive to assume we had all the human resources in place to operate a chicken coup well. Unfortunately, a sickness wiped out a good number of the chicks, and this “sustainability” project was not so sustainable.
Go to Uganda! When we left Uganda in 2010, we had no idea that we would be back so many times. I don’t know how many times I’ve had the pleasure of visiting now, but it is always a highlight. Getting there is harder than ever for us. With three young kids, traveling from Australia to Uganda is a near impossibility. But when we are there, it feels like being with family. Truly, there is nothing quite like being there in person. The beauty of the people, the country, and the work of RUHU leaves us fired up about what God is doing each and every time.
Always confirm the travel requirements. Our most embarrassing airport moment happened when we tried to fly to Uganda after the pandemic. Having traveled to Uganda 10 times, I did not bother checking to see if there were any new requirements. After a very confusing conversation with the check-in counter, where I was told that I would NOT be traveling…I had to break the news to 3-year-old Maya that we would be taking all our luggage back home. Humbled, we waddled back home, filled out the new visa form online, and rebooked our trip for a few days later.
Learn what works and then be willing to adapt and pivot when needed. When we started supporting RUHU, we outsourced education. Today, we fund the RUHU Primary School and the RUHU Secondary School. What happened? Two things. Firstly, we learned that kids in the village around RUHU were not attending school because they couldn’t afford to. Even with the RUHU kids off at other schools, the compound was still full of local kids who needed and wanted an education. Secondly, after years of paying ever-increasing tuition fees, we realized that if we invested those funds into our own schools, we could provide employment, educate the kids from the village, and ensure the RUHU kids were well looked after.
God is more faithful than we are. The biggest lesson we’ve learned over 15 years is how faithful God is. Sonja and I ran into our own limitations very quickly. We’ve been in over our heads since day one with this work. There aren’t many parts of our lives where we have felt entirely out of our depth (although my kids make me feel that way daily!). But Beautiful Response has felt like God’s work from the beginning. And I’m so thankful that it has. He has shown up when we haven’t. He has provided when we’ve run out of ideas. He has brought people along for the journey when we didn’t know where else to turn. There are stories of His faithfulness sprinkled throughout the history of Beautiful Response, and I know there are stories of his faithfulness yet to be told.
Thanks for being on this journey with us.
Peace, Caleb