Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY210037A
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00:01 As you're well aware,
00:02 we're living in unprecedented times. 00:05 Join us now 00:06 for Today special program. 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Mending broken people 00:23 I want to spend my life 00:29 Removing pain 00:34 Lord, let my words 00:39 Heal a heart that hurts 00:44 I want to spend my life 00:50 Mending broken people 00:55 I want to spend my life 01:00 Mending broken people 01:15 Hello friends, welcome to 3ABN Today. 01:17 My name is John Lomacang, 01:18 and I have my lovely wife with me, Angela. 01:21 I'm so happy to be here. 01:22 I'm so glad that you've joined us today. 01:25 You are going to be blessed 01:26 and my outfit is kind of like a clue 01:30 for what's going to happen today. 01:31 Okay. 01:33 That's a good way to segue into that. 01:34 We have a very informative program, 01:36 very inspiring, 01:38 also very forward-looking and innovative. 01:42 For those of you that think that 01:43 everything that can be created already has been, 01:46 you need to watch this program. 01:47 There are more things that the Lord is doing. 01:50 And our guest today is going to show 01:52 and share on how God is using them, 01:55 not only to create things that are a blessing, 01:58 but how lives are being impacted 02:01 on a ministry level, 02:02 in very interesting parts of the world. 02:06 And so I'm kind of being very vague, am I not? 02:08 Yeah. A little too vague. 02:09 A little too vague. Well, let's just go ahead. 02:11 Before we go to our music, 02:12 let's go ahead and introduce our guests 02:13 and just give them like a one minute. 02:15 And Josh Draget, good to have you here, Josh. 02:18 Thank you. Good to be here. Yes. 02:19 In a nutshell, tell us where you're from 02:21 and kind of what you do right now? 02:22 We'll get all the details later. 02:24 All right. So I'm from Kansas. 02:27 But I go to school at Southern Adventist University 02:30 in Tennessee, 02:32 and I'm currently studying business over there. 02:34 And so, 02:36 I decided that I wanted to be a student missionary. 02:39 And so, 02:40 I was looking at the different options 02:41 and I realized that Zambia 02:44 had a need for someone to do a business internship 02:47 and also to be a missionary to the people over there. 02:51 Okay, great. 02:52 And you also a preacher's kid too. 02:54 That's correct. Yes. 02:56 And, yeah. 02:58 So you were probably, 03:00 well, you probably moved quite a bit as a child? 03:02 Yeah. 03:03 A couple of times, 03:05 born in Illinois and then we moved to Kansas 03:07 where my dad is currently pastoring in Wichita. 03:10 Okay. 03:11 You were also involved with GYC, correct? 03:14 Yes. 03:15 During my time at Southern, 03:17 I had involvements at GYC Southeast 03:19 or just an affiliate 03:21 of a Generation of Youth for Christ 03:23 which is a worldwide movement of young people 03:26 who we want Christ to come in our generation. 03:29 Amen. Wow. Amen. 03:31 And right across, we have Ashley Blake. 03:33 Good to have you here, Ashley. 03:35 Yeah. Good to be here. Yes. 03:36 Give us an overall of who you are 03:37 and what do you do? 03:39 Yeah. 03:40 So I am currently studying accounting, 03:42 Southern Adventist University. 03:45 I'm from Asheville, North Carolina, 03:47 and I am planning to be a student missionary 03:51 in Zambia 03:52 where Josh is at, he's seen, so. 03:55 Okay, good to have you here today. 03:56 And, Michelle, who is a veteran here. 03:58 Michelle has been here before. 04:00 Docoumes, am I saying that correctly? 04:02 Correct. 04:03 Kind of tell our viewers and listeners 04:05 a little bit about you? 04:06 Sure. 04:07 So, I teach business 04:09 at Southern Adventist University. 04:10 So that's how I know Ashley and Josh. 04:13 And so, I get to teach personal finance classes there, 04:16 project management there. 04:18 And then I get to oversee our Enactus program, 04:21 which is basically we have a local chapter 04:24 of an International Organization 04:25 for Social Entrepreneurship. 04:28 And so we are using business to try to impact lives 04:32 and communities 04:33 and also share, share our faith, 04:36 share the love of Jesus. 04:37 Okay. 04:39 We'll find out what that all means in specifics 04:40 in just a moment, 04:42 but, honey, we have some music, don't we? 04:44 Yes, we do. 04:45 We have Mary Grace, 04:47 who's going to share 04:48 a beautiful rendition of People Need the Lord. 08:24 Thank you so much, Mary. 08:25 That's a wonderful segue into the program. 08:27 Yes, people need the Lord, don't we? 08:28 That's right. 08:30 And as long as that song has been around, 08:31 it never loses its relevance 08:33 and the reality that people every day need the Lord. 08:36 And that's why this program is so relevant. 08:38 I want to begin with Josh. 08:40 Josh, you have... 08:43 The Lord has put a calling on your life. 08:47 I could summarize it that way. 08:49 And I want to go ahead and just dive into your life 08:51 and kind of ask you, 08:52 give us an overview of 08:55 how the Lord impacted your life 08:57 in the program that you're working on now? 08:59 All right. 09:00 So I came to Zambia in September of 2019 09:04 as a student missionary. 09:06 And I wasn't exactly sure 09:08 all the things that I would be doing over there. 09:11 But I knew that I would be going there 09:12 for a business internship 09:14 as well as to build one day churches. 09:17 And so, 09:18 when I got to Zambia, 09:19 I started building these one day churches 09:22 with Alan and Pauline Knowles 09:25 and a group of students from over there. 09:27 And we were traveling 09:29 to Western province, Eastern province, 09:30 all throughout Zambia 09:32 providing these structures for people 09:34 to have a shelter for the sun, from the sun and the rain. 09:38 And that was a very impactful experience. 09:42 And so there was one time 09:44 when we were going to Western province 09:46 and the people there needed a church. 09:49 So we took the building materials 09:51 and then we came to the Zambezi River 09:54 and they told us, 09:56 I just put the church on these canoes 09:57 and it'll be just a quick 10, 20 minute... 10:00 Is that a picture of it? Right there, yes. 10:03 And so they said, it'd just be a quick trip across the river. 10:06 But what turned out to be actually a three hour trip 10:09 down the river. 10:11 We're sitting there on top of those building materials 10:14 and we got to the other side, 10:15 we actually loaded the church onto some oxcarts, 10:19 which you also see there on the screen. 10:20 Oh, you loaded the church. 10:23 We loaded the church, the scaffolding, 10:25 all the equipment, 10:26 and brought it for another hour to the village 10:28 where we were able to build it. 10:30 And the people there were very grateful 10:32 and they were praising God. 10:34 And one of the songs that they were singing was 10:36 had the words Akuna Sesipala, 10:39 and these words, meaning nothing is impossible. 10:42 And we know that the Bible says with God, 10:45 nothing is impossible. 10:46 And you want to sing 10:48 some of those bars for us today, 10:49 not putting you on the spot, 10:51 but just kind of give us an idea 10:52 what it sounds like? 10:53 So it goes, Akuna Sesipala, Akuna Sesipala, 11:00 and they sing Akuna Limu Yesu, 11:02 meaning with Jesus nothing is impossible. 11:05 Akuna Sesipala. 11:07 And then Akuna Limu and Dante, with the father, 11:10 nothing is impossible, Akuna Sesipala. 11:13 So we actually have a short clip of that song, 11:17 which we'll be able to show 11:18 for the viewers to hear as well. 11:44 Okay. Beautiful. 11:46 So, after we built the church and they were singing the song, 11:50 the Bible worker from Riverside, 11:51 Elder Will Luca Miunda, who was with us. 11:54 He noticed that I liked the song 11:56 and I was singing along with these people 11:58 whenever they would sing it at the various churches. 12:01 So he said, I want to give you a new Zambian name, 12:03 which is Akuna Sesipala. 12:06 And so he, he would call me this name 12:09 and also introduced me to the villagers 12:10 as Joshua Akuna Sesipala. 12:13 Wow. 12:14 And so this was a meaningful for me 12:16 because with God, nothing is impossible. 12:20 And so this idea, this phrase stuck with me 12:24 and then over the next few months, 12:26 that's when the whole COVID crisis hit. 12:28 And so I was looking for ways in my internship of, 12:31 you know, how can I add value to some of the different things 12:34 that Riverside grows, 12:36 which it grows, you know, bananas, 12:38 soy beans, as well as wheat. 12:41 So I was looking into these different things 12:43 and then I stumbled across a natural soap production. 12:47 And so that's essentially 12:48 what this project turned out to be. 12:52 And over the course of time and advice from some others, 12:55 we were able to make this project happened 13:00 and call it Akuna Soap Industry after that phrase, 13:04 which I had learned. 13:06 Akuna Sesipala. 13:08 So we have a picture of the product line 13:10 that you have actually produced. 13:13 It's an amazing thing. 13:15 And we have some samples here. 13:16 This is just some of the... 13:18 How many, about how many different types of soap? 13:20 So currently we have 12 different types. 13:23 The eight you see there on the screen are our soap bars 13:25 for the hands, the body and the face. 13:27 And then we also have four bars 13:29 which are shampoo 13:31 and conditioner bars for the hair. 13:33 And so we started out with four products 13:35 and with plastic packaging, 13:37 and right now we've moved into boxes as well. 13:39 But each of these soaps 13:41 has some amazing health benefits for the body. 13:43 For example, things that we wouldn't normally 13:45 think about like oats, and honey, and moringa, 13:49 things that we could even potentially eat 13:52 are also good for our skin. 13:54 So if I'm ever hungry, I could have a soup bar to eat? 13:58 No, honey, no. 14:01 I'd have to extract that from, but that is interesting. 14:03 When we saw this, when we saw this soap bar, 14:06 we thought we cannot wait for it to come to America. 14:11 It's not available in America right now. 14:12 So don't blow up us email. 14:15 They're trying to order them. 14:16 But I tell you, this is amazing in your, 14:18 and your graphics design background 14:22 was instrumental in designing these. 14:24 Bring up that picture one more time of the, 14:27 it doesn't matter which set of soap bars you have, 14:30 but his graphic ability 14:32 was able to be used in putting this together. 14:36 And I need to go right away and say Michelle, 14:39 because you're teaching business, 14:41 I think to some degree 14:42 you've impacted his frame of mind 14:45 to say, okay, how could I put my business 14:48 education into production over there? 14:51 Well, one of my dreams 14:52 is to have more business student missionaries 14:55 because we have a lot of student missionaries 14:57 that teach English or do health work. 15:00 And I meet business students 15:01 who say, well, I'm not going to go 15:02 be a student missionary 15:04 because I don't know how I would use my skills. 15:07 And that's a shame to me 15:08 because I think that business can do so much. 15:11 And so, there was this opportunity 15:13 I found out from our student missions director 15:15 in Riverside Farms in Zambia, 15:18 they were looking for a student 15:19 who was entrepreneurial and a self-starter 15:21 and would actually get a business going there. 15:25 And I didn't know who at first, 15:26 I remember just kind of thinking about it, 15:28 filing it away, praying about it. 15:31 And then Josh and I were at a community service event 15:34 that GYC Southeast 15:36 and the business society students did together. 15:39 And he was talking about becoming a student missionary. 15:42 And I just felt like, 15:44 I think this might be the person. 15:47 And so I planted that seed 15:49 and other people water that seed 15:51 and then Josh ended up going. 15:53 And so, it's so exciting to me 15:55 because you know, this is business doing mission 16:00 and getting to impact people's lives. 16:03 And that was super exciting. 16:05 And then we started, 16:06 we'll hear more later about how we linked to this 16:08 with our Enactus program for social entrepreneurship, 16:12 but just to have a model 16:13 for students to be able to use business in powerful ways. 16:17 Beautiful. 16:18 And now, Ashley, what is Enactus? 16:21 So Enactus is a worldwide organization. 16:25 There are chapters and universities 16:27 in over 35 countries, I want to say. 16:30 I believe there's over 72,000 students in the world 16:33 who are part of this organization. 16:36 But we have a small chapter Southern Adventist University. 16:40 And our mission is to inspire innovation 16:45 to meet the needs of our local and global communities 16:48 through Christ centered service. 16:50 So Enactus as a whole is all about, 16:53 you know, inspiring entrepreneurship 16:54 and college students. 16:56 But I really liked that at Southern. 16:58 We kind of add that extra step of the Christ centered service, 17:01 which is where I think we connect so wonderfully 17:04 with sending the student missionaries 17:06 over to Zambia 17:07 like what Josh did and that type of thing. 17:10 Wow. 17:11 So, Michelle and Ashley, 17:13 how did they get merged together 17:14 Enactus as well as the... 17:16 Well, so I switched over to Zambia 17:19 and I start seeing on Facebook 17:22 about this Akuna thing starting. 17:25 And so, we just started talking 17:27 and I remember talking on I think Facebook messenger, 17:31 whatnot to say, 17:33 how could we help you? 17:34 How can we get this out there? 17:36 And then we're posting about it, 17:39 trying to get more published about it 17:41 and talk to Ashley about it and said, hey, 17:44 Ashley had also seen this on social media. 17:47 And so we started saying, you know, 17:49 this is really what we're about as Enactus. 17:51 This is our own students who are doing this. 17:54 And so, let's see how we can work together. 17:58 And so we started putting together a team 18:00 in our Enactus program 18:02 to help do fundraising and research 18:05 and to kind of support from the US side 18:07 then what Josh was building over in Zambia. 18:10 Wow. 18:11 Now, Josh, why soap, 18:13 why did you see soap was a need? 18:16 Yeah, so as I was researching 18:19 and looking at the different markets 18:20 in Zambia, 18:22 I was looking for a project 18:23 that could both benefit the farm 18:25 and also with a low capital cost 18:27 and easily scalable. 18:29 And so I saw that there was a need 18:31 for a high quality healthy and also affordable bar of soap 18:35 in Zambia. 18:37 And so those are basically the three principles 18:39 which we founded the industry on, 18:42 which is quality, health and affordability, 18:44 'cause usually we can find, you know, two of the three, 18:47 but it's not necessarily a product 18:48 that everybody can afford. 18:50 And so, 18:53 the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:31, 18:58 I'm just going to turn there real quick. 18:59 Okay. 19:01 It says, "Therefore, 19:02 whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, 19:05 do all to the glory of God." 19:08 And so we also read from Spirit of Prophecy 19:10 where Sister White says 19:11 cleanliness is next to godliness. 19:14 And something that we train the sales agents, 19:17 which is, 19:19 you know, the number one thing as Christians 19:20 that we should strive for is godliness. 19:23 But next to that is actually cleanliness. 19:25 And it's not only important what we put into our bodies, 19:28 but also what we use to clean our bodies with 19:31 is also important. 19:33 Yeah, hygiene. 19:34 You know, show them how soap bar looks. 19:37 Now, which flavor is this? 19:38 This one is peppermint moisturizer soap, 19:41 and it smells yummy. 19:42 Yes. 19:44 And it's for the, your face, your body, hands, 19:46 it's cooling, it's moisturizing. 19:48 And it has organic Shea butter. 19:51 This is just, I think almost peppermint. 19:53 Guess what, Josh? 19:55 You're not leaving here today. And I like charcoal too. 19:57 Charcoal 19:58 and that's one that really takes out the impurities. 20:01 It clears your pimples, detoxifies. 20:02 Yes. 20:04 The charcoal soap actually the most popular soap right now 20:06 in Zambia 20:08 and because many people, many women and girls 20:10 have said that just within three days, 20:12 their pimples and their face has started to clear up. 20:14 And so, it cleanses, 20:16 but also moisturizes because of sugar, 20:18 which is a natural humectant 20:20 drawing moisture from the environment 20:21 into the skin 20:23 to replace the detoxification that the charcoal causes. 20:26 Wow. 20:27 So there's an acne benefit, now look out for proactive 20:30 and all those types of things. 20:32 That's really good. 20:33 And the Lord impressed you to do that. 20:34 And what kind of reception did you get 20:38 when these, I think you have some photos 20:41 that shows the production side of it. 20:44 Oh, sure. 20:45 So production process right now is fairly small, 20:50 but we're operating out of one room with right now, 20:53 12 workers trained for two shifts. 20:55 And so they're making approximately 1600 bars per day 20:59 and filling, they put it into the molds 21:01 and then it goes over to the curing room 21:03 for a couple of weeks 21:05 coming back where the bars are cut 21:09 and stamped and then packaged 21:12 and then made available for sale. 21:14 So this is one group of workers. 21:17 You can see their smiling faces and they're all youth. 21:19 So they're all under the age of 25 21:22 and they're making this soap on a daily basis 21:25 and they're all very excited about it. 21:27 And how many bars a day? 21:28 One thousand six hundred, 21:30 although in the near future when I go back to Zambia, 21:34 we're planning to build a larger factory, 21:36 which we'll be able to make up to 12,000 bars per day. 21:40 Yeah. The production workers. 21:41 How many of them do you have? 21:43 Twelve. You said 12. Okay. 21:45 Yeah, so you're gonna be amping that up 21:48 when you talk about the demand. 21:50 And, Ashley, I want to throw that towards you, 21:52 you know, because there's some future plans 21:54 for the Akuna soap industry. 21:56 Let's about talk that. 21:58 Yeah, so what I'm hoping to do 22:00 when I go to Zambia is to be able to work more 22:03 with the women and youth. 22:05 I really like that missional aspect of it. 22:09 The idea of being able to train them, 22:10 how to sell these soaps, 22:12 you know, to make that additional income 22:14 that they otherwise wouldn't have. 22:16 I think that's so important 22:18 because, you know, 22:19 it will give these people more access 22:21 to communication, 22:23 you know, transportation, 22:26 better education for their children 22:28 and things like that. 22:29 So we're hoping to increase 22:30 number of sales agents out there 22:33 and just keep working, 22:35 so we can reach more people. 22:37 Now you'll be going out to Zambia 22:39 as a student missionary pretty soon. 22:41 How do you feel about that? 22:44 Are you excited? I'm very excited. 22:46 A little bit nervous. 22:48 Never been to Africa 22:49 and there's definitely a lot to learn 22:52 once I get over there, 22:53 but I think God will bless 22:56 and I'm excited to see what happens. 22:58 Josh will be there, right? Yeah. 22:59 That's right. So you have a familiar face. 23:01 That's right. That's right. Yeah. 23:03 It's always nice to have a familiar face. 23:05 Would you add anything to that, Michelle? 23:07 Well, I think a neat part of this model that I loved 23:10 from when they started is that 23:13 the soap is sold by Christian youth and women. 23:18 Yeah. 23:19 And I know we'll get to some pictures 23:21 or some pictures coming of them. 23:23 And that is just so fun 23:26 because they are really learning 23:28 and growing and developing. 23:31 And that's a huge part of the mission 23:34 because, yeah, selling the soap earns income 23:37 and that income can be reinvested 23:39 to improve the ministry in the community, 23:42 but the people who are selling it 23:44 are learning valuable skills too. 23:47 And they're able to share the love of Jesus 23:48 more personally. 23:50 Because when you're going one-on-one 23:52 to, to sell and talk about health 23:55 and they also have some health books that they use, 23:57 they're able to really make connections in the community. 24:01 And so then this becomes 24:02 not just like community empowerment, 24:04 economic empowerment, 24:06 but also a witnessing tool. 24:08 That's right. 24:10 And also adding to the people 24:11 that are participating in this outreach, 24:14 some personal assets that they can use 24:18 and maybe expand their ability to even purchase some things 24:21 that prior to this product they couldn't be able to do it. 24:24 That's right. 24:26 Now... Go ahead, Josh. 24:27 Yes, so as Michelle was mentioning 24:31 we have this sales agent structure 24:34 for the soap industry 24:35 where we thought, 24:37 how can we combine this idea of healthy soap 24:39 with also empowering the youth and the women of Zambia? 24:43 Because there's a disproportionate amount 24:46 of these groups 24:47 who are unemployed and they're looking for work 24:50 and they're looking for ways to support them, 24:51 their families also to get educated. 24:54 And so over the past few months 24:58 we've been able to train some various groups 25:01 which we can see on the screen 25:03 from, for example, the Lusaka Conference 25:06 the Kafue Main church. 25:07 Oh, nice. 25:08 As well as the chicken cottage district youth, 25:10 as well as a group of women known as the Dorcas Mothers, 25:13 which is a very... 25:15 They wear blue, don't they? 25:16 That's right. Blue dresses and white hats. 25:18 And they're very extensive 25:19 and a very God-fearing organization 25:22 there in Zambia. 25:23 They go out and do good in the communities. 25:25 So we thought, why not give them this opportunity 25:29 to also earn some extra money on the side. 25:32 And so that's been a huge blessing. 25:34 And you remember those colors when we were over there, 25:36 the ladies in blue. 25:37 Oh. 25:38 They would get the water and they would dig up the dirt 25:42 and it was, you know, plant stuff. 25:44 It was so nice. 25:46 Now, how does a group of college students, 25:48 how do, where do you get the money from? 25:50 I mean, how does that work? 25:54 Any of you? 25:56 Well, a lot of it comes from people 26:00 who, you know, maybe feel called by God 26:03 to support us and help us out. 26:06 You know, fundraising is always a huge part 26:08 of these types of things 26:09 because, you know, we're non-profit, 26:11 we're missional. 26:12 And so, you know, we pray 26:15 and we just go where God leads us 26:17 and the connections that He gives us. 26:19 And I think part of it, and Josh can talk about this 26:22 is starting small with what you have. 26:26 That's right. What's in your hand? 26:28 What's in your hand, right? 26:30 And so, Josh can tell you about 26:33 the mixing bowl with a modified drill, 26:35 used to spin and mix the stuff 26:39 and tire around it, and like, 26:41 you know, simple things, just having to be creative 26:44 and use a little bit. 26:46 And then like, as that has been done, 26:50 people see what's happening 26:52 and people have started to give more. 26:54 And so we just got in 35,000 recently, 26:57 which was a huge blessing. 26:58 That's about a third of the way 27:00 towards the goal of what's needed 27:01 to build the new production facility. 27:04 So we're not there yet, 27:05 but God has done so much 27:07 that I'm sure God is going to finish it, 27:09 but Josh can tell you more about what it's like 27:12 trying to be on the ground with this 27:13 and not knowing where the money will come from. 27:15 Yeah. Exactly. 27:17 There's been so many ways along the way 27:20 that we've seen God 27:22 provide for us financially and also resource wise. 27:28 But as Michelle pointed out, 27:30 there've been many people whose generosity has allowed us 27:33 to move forward 27:34 and move forward in faith. 27:36 And we've been starting small, 27:38 just using the materials that were around us. 27:43 Just like finding a pot from the store, for example, 27:46 getting a drill bit, 27:48 cutting some pieces of an old tire. 27:49 And now we have a soap mixer. 27:50 Okay. The spinner. That's right. 27:53 And so things like that, 27:54 as well as making things out of wood. 27:57 But eventually as people saw that, 27:59 wow, this is actually something that could be scalable 28:02 and could be serious. 28:04 Some donations started to pour in, 28:05 we were able to get some better equipment, 28:08 but as she pointed out 28:09 there are still some great needs 28:11 and planning to build a bigger production facility 28:15 when I go back 28:17 in order to meet the current demand. 28:19 And so... Sorry. 28:23 So you'll hire more people too once a production, 28:25 you get more production and more equipment? 28:27 That's correct. Yeah. 28:29 You know, my mind is going crazy, 28:30 'cause I'm a MacGyver to some degree. 28:32 Yeah, he's always thinking on the mixers. 28:34 I'm thinking of those big bread mixers professional, 28:37 but the dole mixer is that have, 28:39 you know, the kneading, the arm goes down and spin. 28:41 I thought, well, that would do pretty well. 28:44 Sure, Josh could modify that to some degree, 28:46 but it's really amazing. 28:48 These are faith building stories 28:49 when you see God providing. 28:51 Anything in particular jumps out at you, 28:53 when you think about how God is showing you 28:55 that I'm in what you're doing. 28:56 I know. 28:58 Any of those faith stories that you might think of? 29:00 Yeah, there was something 29:02 that was very inspirational to me 29:03 is just to, to hear a couple of stories from some youth 29:06 who are sales agents selling the soap. 29:08 Oh, yeah. Let's hear it. 29:09 For example, this one girl 29:11 which you'll also see in a video 29:13 that will be showed is 29:16 couldn't afford to even buy a cell phone 29:18 and she couldn't afford to go to school, 29:20 but her friend told her about the soap project 29:22 and about how, 29:24 you know, she could sell these healthy soaps 29:25 and also make a living for herself. 29:28 And so she started doing this 29:29 and she was able to afford the cell phone 29:32 as well as help to support her tuition, 29:34 to continue her education. 29:36 And so, there's these inspirational stories like that 29:39 as well as just the feedback from the customers 29:42 has been overwhelmingly positive. 29:44 And so, 29:45 that has been a blessing and an inspiration as well. 29:48 That's wonderful. Now I have a quick question. 29:51 Sure. This is totally different. 29:53 What about COVID? 29:54 How has COVID affected Zambia and the work going on there? 29:58 That's a very good question. 29:59 Sure. Great question. 30:01 Well, the good thing is, is that we're making soap 30:05 and we all know that during times of COVID, 30:07 hand washing is the most important thing 30:09 that we could do. 30:11 That is really insightful. 30:12 And so, hand washing is super important. 30:15 So we just are showing that, 30:17 you know, the ingredients that we use, 30:18 they're not only antibacterial, antifungal, but also antiviral. 30:22 And so, of course, they're, you know, 30:26 following the other precautions that are in place. 30:28 But this is, you know, a product that's in need, 30:31 you know, regardless of what time of year it is, 30:34 whether it's COVID season or non COVID season, 30:38 washing hands is something that tends to never go away. 30:40 Exactly. 30:41 Are these bubbly soaps or are they not bubbly? 30:43 Yeah, they're very bubbly, 30:45 especially because of the coconut oil 30:47 and some different and natural ingredients 30:49 that we use. 30:50 But coconut, palm and soy oil are the main ingredients 30:54 that form the base. 30:55 And then we add other additives such as Bel Patra powder. 30:58 Keep all the ingredients. 31:00 You know, they got the secrets, 31:02 while they're writing down the secrets. 31:04 Get that out. 31:06 Now, Ashley, it's important 31:07 to empower these young women and youth, isn't it? 31:11 Yeah. I think so. Yeah. 31:13 So, sorry, what you were gonna ask? 31:15 Yeah and why? And why? 31:17 Because the unemployment rate in Zambia 31:21 is actually pretty high. 31:22 Last I checked, it was around 11.41% or so. 31:26 And so, being able to create these jobs for these youth, 31:32 you know, have something where they can learn skills, 31:34 they can learn, 31:36 you know, not only to do sales, 31:37 but things like management and leadership 31:40 and other things like that. 31:41 And then being able to take these skills and make, 31:44 you know, a passive income, 31:46 something that will help them to purchase things 31:48 that they haven't otherwise been able to buy. 31:51 You know, maybe things like cell phones, 31:52 like Josh was saying about that one girl 31:54 or better transportation to get into town, you know, 31:58 so they can buy things that they might need. 32:01 All of that's important 32:03 just to increase their quality of life. 32:04 And so that's why I think it's important to, 32:07 you know, use Akuna to empower these women and youth. 32:10 And it's not just product, 32:12 but also enterprise, 32:14 once again, the business spiritual model, 32:16 empowering women, providing needs. 32:19 It's really amazing because a lot of people, 32:21 when you're talking about 11% of unemployment, 32:23 I mean that's high. 32:24 Especially for women. 32:25 Yeah, that's high. 32:27 And then all of a sudden along comes a product 32:28 that is opening the doors. 32:31 Josh? Yes. 32:32 And the business as giving them these business 32:36 and entrepreneurial skills. 32:37 Entrepreneurial skills 32:39 is a fundamental parts of the industry. 32:40 But we also realized that we are living in the last days. 32:43 Amen. 32:44 And the gospel of the kingdom 32:46 needs to be preached to the whole world. 32:47 Yes. 32:48 So we want to combine business with ministry. 32:50 And when we're training these sales agents 32:52 give them tools 32:53 where they're not just treating the customer 32:55 as an object to get money from, 32:57 but also as a child of God. 33:00 So we tell them, 33:02 we teach them and instruct them 33:04 how to spread the three angels' messages, 33:07 also how to do Bible study and witnessing 33:10 and just being these agents not only for soap, 33:14 but also for God. 33:16 And this has been a fundamental part 33:19 of everything. 33:20 And one idea that we actually have in mind 33:22 is to make a laminated truth cards, 33:24 which will be small, affordable, 33:27 and waterproof during rainy season, 33:29 which will have all the fundamental truths 33:31 like the sanctuary, 33:33 state of the dead, second coming, salvation. 33:36 And so, this is also a project 33:38 that we're currently fundraising for, 33:40 but by God's grace, 33:41 we want this truth to go out to the people of Zambia, 33:44 like the leaves of autumn. 33:45 Wow. 33:47 I think what we want to do right now 33:48 is watch that video about the product 33:50 and how it's empowering young people 33:52 and how it's making a difference there in Zambia. 34:04 My name is Ignatius Kabwe, 34:06 and I'm the books manager here at Riverside. 34:10 I feel the Akuna soap industry 34:13 is very important here in Zambia 34:15 because it gives an opportunity to the youth 34:18 who don't have money to go to school, 34:20 to sell the soap and raise money 34:22 so that they can go to school. 34:24 The youth empowerment 34:26 is very important here in Zambia 34:27 because you know when we look at the youths, 34:30 we are looking at the future, 34:31 not only of the church, 34:33 but the future of the country as well. 34:35 You know, there are people out there who just go, 34:38 maybe to church 34:39 because their parents have been going to church 34:41 since they were born. 34:43 So they don't really know why they go to that church 34:46 and some go to church 34:48 and they don't really get to study the gospel. 34:50 By us selling soap to them and teaching them about 34:54 how they can keep their bodies healthy. 34:57 It helps us to befriend them and by so doing, 35:01 we can get to minister to them 35:02 and tell them more about Jesus Christ. 35:05 He is very interested in our health, 35:08 as might, as he's interested in our spiritual life. 35:11 So I feel Akuna is just like canvassing, 35:14 a way of reaching out to the souls 35:17 and opening the door for the gospel 35:19 to be preached to them. 35:21 I have friends who are selling Akuna soap, 35:23 but one of my friends, 35:24 she moved all the way from Kafue to Lusaka 35:27 just to sell her Akuna soap. 35:29 And in just a day she was able to sell two boxes. 35:34 That made her so happy, 35:35 she told me that she was so excited and so humbled 35:38 because of this Akuna soap industry that came. 35:41 She is able now to take care of her tuition fee 35:44 because she's at the university. 35:46 She couldn't do that because she never had money. 35:49 So she said ever since she started selling Akuna soap, 35:51 she's able to pay for her own tuition fees. 35:54 She makes sure that when she's on holidays, 35:56 she goes around, 35:57 she sells the soap and she is so excited. 36:00 So this is how Akuna soap can really help you. 36:03 Remember, you just have to be hard working 36:05 and involve God in whatever you do, 36:07 and everything will work out for you. 36:09 My name is Remmy Habanyama, 36:11 and I'm the human resource manager 36:13 for Riverside Farm Institute. 36:15 And so, I have had a privilege of seeing 36:17 Akuna soap industry grow from scratch 36:20 to where it is now. 36:22 And I will tell you to say, 36:23 I have had the privilege of also seeing 36:25 the impact that it has to the society 36:27 and the community at large, here in Zambia. 36:30 You are therefore encouraged to support this company 36:33 through whatever means 36:35 whether financially, whether in terms of knowledge, 36:38 whether in terms of manpower, 36:39 whatever you can do actually can do, 36:42 like that hymn that says, 36:44 if you cannot be the watchman 36:45 then there's something that you can do. 36:46 Surely I believe that 36:48 there's something that you can do 36:49 to ensure that this company grows. 36:53 Thank you so much, and may God bless you. 37:06 Don't forget that internet address, 37:08 akunasoap.org. 37:12 And, I don't think 37:14 it's going to be too far distant in the future 37:16 we're going to see that logo in America. 37:18 We need that here in America. 37:19 I think I'm lifting this bar to smell it. 37:21 Do you agree, we need it here? 37:24 Let's talk about some of the future goals 37:27 and future aspirations you talked about. 37:30 I think you mentioned a moment ago, 37:32 about one-third of the funds came in 37:33 and 35,000 is a lot, 37:35 but the goal that you have in mind, 37:37 I believe that there's somebody watching 37:39 or maybe a group of people watching today that might say, 37:42 hey, this is so empowering. 37:44 I want to be a part of it, but let's talk about that. 37:46 All right, so, yes, God was blessing us very much 37:50 in that 35,000 donation that came in, 37:53 but as we're moving forward 37:55 there's an increase in demand that's already happening 37:59 and also will happen in the near future. 38:01 Because we've been able to partner 38:03 with some major retail chains there in Zambia as well. 38:07 And in order to provide the funds 38:09 for empowering more youth and women over there, 38:12 we also need some more funds to pay for the equipment 38:16 and machines and raw materials that will help us to increase. 38:22 So we're looking at about 70,000 more as our goal. 38:27 And so, 38:29 if you feel that God is impressing you in any way 38:31 to help this ministry, just remember that. 38:32 Speak to that camera right there. 38:34 Even small amounts can help, 38:36 even $5 will make a tremendous difference. 38:39 And if that's what God is calling you to do, 38:42 please consider it. 38:44 And we'll have the address roll up 38:45 later on in the program 38:47 and makes sure that they get that. 38:48 But let's talk about Enactus competition. 38:52 Can you give me some insight into what that is? 38:54 Yeah. 38:56 So every year there is a national competition 38:59 for Enactus chapters that are in the United States 39:02 and every year our Southern team 39:05 has done traditionally pretty well. 39:08 So the competition structured like at a divisional level. 39:12 And then once you make it past divisions, 39:13 you go to semifinals 39:15 and then you have final four and so on, 39:16 so that type of thing. 39:18 And we've always done pretty well 39:19 in our divisional level. 39:21 We were placed second 39:22 in the past three years in a row in our division. 39:26 This year we were actually able to not only make it 39:29 past divisional level for the first time 39:31 in Enactus Southern Adventist University history, 39:35 but we placed third in the entire country, 39:38 which was just absolutely amazing, You know, 39:42 we were excited, 39:43 the students were excited about it, 39:45 and I just thought it was cool 39:47 to see Southern represented on that kind of national level 39:51 and be able to spread the word about what we're doing 39:53 and, you know, with Akuna as well, 39:55 to all those people 39:56 who were kind of looking on, so. 39:59 So, the slogan with God nothing is impossible. 40:01 Yeah. 40:02 You must be proud as a teacher. 40:04 Yeah, you know, I mean, 40:06 we don't do this for competition. 40:08 The neat thing about this competition 40:09 is you basically just present 40:11 what you've been doing for others, 40:13 but it was really, I guess, 40:15 just very rewarding to see that 40:17 others are seeing value in what's happening. 40:21 Like others can see it and say, wow, 40:23 this is really cool what's going on. 40:25 And that is, you know, worth showcasing 40:28 and, just the growth in the project. 40:32 So we have other projects in Enactus as well. 40:35 We've had one working with the blind in India. 40:38 We have one working with teenage girls in Tennessee 40:41 and other places virtually doing computer coding. 40:44 We have one helping small businesses 40:46 that were hurt by COVID to do marketing 40:49 and get out there, 40:51 one working with student entrepreneurs. 40:53 And so, it's been really fun 40:56 and Akuna is the one 40:57 I think that has the most growth right now 41:00 and just so much potential like Josh said, 41:03 the retail partnerships 41:05 have just totally blown demand up now as well. 41:09 And now we are looking at the US, 41:12 I mean and other countries in Africa 41:15 that is slowly coming, 41:17 but it's just neat to see that this has gone beyond like, 41:21 people think, you have students they do nice little projects. 41:24 No, they're doing projects that really change lives 41:29 and can change a whole community. 41:30 Are they been sold in stores in Zambia? 41:35 Yes. 41:36 There currently, 41:37 for the past year they've been sold 41:39 in one of the health stores in Zambia 41:41 called Umoyo Natural Health, 41:42 which has 10 branches just in Lusaka, 41:45 which is the capital. 41:46 And so, we have some partnerships as well 41:50 that we are going to begin buying from us 41:52 as soon as I go back in about a month 41:55 but, it's actually a two tiered emphasis 42:00 for our sales structure. 42:01 We hope to do retail 42:03 as well as empowering those youth and women. 42:05 So far there's about maybe 300 that are trained, 42:09 but our plan is by God's grace to have about 3000 trained 42:13 by the time we are done. 42:16 And it seems like a lofty goal, 42:18 but if we remember in the Book of Acts, 42:20 the Bible talks about how in just one day, 42:22 3000 came to the church. 42:24 And also as a reminder that 42:25 with God, nothing is impossible. 42:27 You know, the Bible says in Ecclesiastes, 42:30 whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. 42:33 And that's one of our verses 42:36 that is a founding principle of the industry, 42:39 but also a daily reminder to me that whatever we're doing, 42:42 if we leave it in God's hands 42:44 and we can continue to do His work, 42:46 then He will continue to grow and prosper it. 42:50 You know, it must be interesting to see the light 42:51 coming on the lives of those in Zambia. 42:54 And, also the farm there 42:56 that has been established for a number of years, 42:58 Riverside Farm, because the industry is huge. 43:01 We've had the two main people that lead out in... 43:05 Alan and Pauline. 43:07 Alan and Pauline come here before, 43:08 but then now this has added an additional dimension. 43:11 So, Josh, I got to honestly say this. 43:14 I mean, you haven't decided 43:15 where are you going to live permanently. 43:17 But it be hard to leave a vision like this behind 43:19 and say, well, I'm going to move on 43:21 to other things, 43:22 I think that, 43:23 I think you mentioned about essential oils. 43:25 You're working on that also. 43:26 Yes, that's a project 43:27 that is still in the long-term planning 43:29 'cause currently we're importing from India. 43:33 But we want to also produce those essential oils in country 43:38 and that will be a project 43:39 that Ashley will also be heading up. 43:42 But essentially to have all the ingredients come locally, 43:46 either from Zambia or from Africa as a whole. 43:49 And as far as my long-term plans, 43:51 I just want to be following God's leading. 43:53 I do have one more year of school at Southern. 43:55 So I plan to finish that. 43:58 But it's been a phenomenal experience 44:01 so far and great to see how God has led 44:04 and all the things that I've been able to learn. 44:07 So you a business student. 44:08 Correct? That's correct. 44:10 That's what, that's how it got started, 44:13 but cleanliness is next to godliness 44:16 and it's amazing that prior to the program, 44:17 I said, you know, you should say to them, 44:19 cleanliness is next to godliness. 44:20 And they said, well, that's our slogan 44:22 and amazing how that works. 44:24 But, Ashley, 44:25 you're looking forward to diving in 44:26 haven't got the Zambian dust on your feet yet. 44:29 What are you envisioning? 44:30 Yeah, I mean, like I said before, 44:32 a lot to learn, you know, first time in Africa, 44:35 but I do hope to be able to head up 44:38 that essential oils project a little bit 44:40 and something that's really exciting to me about that 44:44 is being able to empower the local farmers 44:47 to grow the ingredients needed for that. 44:49 So the idea is that we're not, 44:50 you know, buying anything from other countries, 44:53 but we are giving money 44:54 to the people who live right there around Riverside 44:57 to grow those ingredients for us 44:58 and helping them, 45:00 you know, to build a better financial future 45:02 for themselves. 45:03 And then while also furthering the mission of Akuna 45:05 at the same time. 45:06 So it's just about making it as sustainable as possible, 45:09 you know, helping the local people around us, 45:11 empowering the women and youth growing the business, 45:14 spreading the gospel, 45:15 all of it combined into one beautiful circle bubble. 45:20 I don't know what I would call it, cycle, 45:22 but, yeah, that's the goal, so. 45:25 Are we seeing new people coming in into the message 45:28 or through Bible study 45:31 or even through the soaps? 45:34 That's a great question. 45:36 So, we deal generally with the churches 45:39 and the conferences 45:40 who get the soaps from us 45:43 and then they distribute them to the young people. 45:46 So I'm sure there are plenty of stories like that. 45:48 But one story 45:49 that comes to mind in particular 45:51 is our production manager 45:53 who was dealing over all the soaps. 45:55 And he mentioned to me 45:59 a few weeks before I came to the US 46:01 that he had started reading The Great Controversy 46:03 and The Desire of Ages. 46:04 And he actually hadn't, he wasn't Adventist yet, 46:07 but he was studying to be Adventist. 46:09 And so, through his work there, 46:12 and also with the wellness center, 46:14 he was able to really see the witness 46:16 as Christians that we were portraying. 46:18 And he said, these books are amazing. 46:20 They've already changed my life. 46:21 Amen. 46:23 And, I want to just spend a little time 46:26 reiterating what we talked about, 46:28 but like where you have the mission, vision, values, 46:30 excellence, integrity, and loyalty 46:33 are earmarks of what you do. 46:35 And we talked quite a bit about the soaps, 46:37 but the soaps are the byproduct of the mission 46:42 that God has sent him there to do 46:44 not the gigantic main focus, 46:46 because Riverside Farms has been impacting lives 46:49 on an educational level, spiritual level, 46:51 soybeans, wheat, what else? 46:53 Bananas. Bananas, Wellness center. 46:56 Wellness center. 46:57 Primary, secondary school, as well as the Bible school. 47:00 Do they have a sewing class? 47:02 Yes, they have a tailoring school as well. 47:04 Remember that. 47:05 So Riverside Farm is a broad organization, 47:08 but including Ashley and Josh and Michelle, 47:11 I'm sure you're beaming with joy. 47:14 I don't think the word pride will be the proper word, 47:16 but seeing that what you have done 47:18 has empowered these young lives to make a difference. 47:21 And a lot of times people have to wait for decades 47:24 to say, well, what's Josh doing now. 47:26 They're seeing now. Well, Ashley up to? 47:28 You seeing the fruit of your labor 47:30 Fruit of your labor. 47:31 And I want to challenge those of you 47:33 that are watching the program 47:34 because, these bars of soap, eight of them are soaps 47:38 and four of them are... 47:40 Shampoo and conditioner body. 47:41 Shampoo and conditioner. 47:42 It's making an impact. 47:44 Cleanliness is next to godliness. 47:46 But Josh mentioned a moment ago that the inspiring goal, 47:51 the Lord has set before them 47:52 is needs about 70,000 more dollars 47:55 to expand the production industry, 47:57 to start meeting the demands 47:59 that are going to be exponential 48:01 coming up pretty soon. 48:02 Talk about that briefly? 48:03 Yeah. And a lot of questions. 48:05 And one question that many people may have is, 48:07 you know, where's this money going? 48:10 You know, where are the profits going that come in? 48:12 And, Riverside is a nonprofit organization. 48:17 But everything that we've been making so far 48:21 has been reinvested into the industry. 48:23 We plan to keep growing it 48:24 so that can help further God's work. 48:26 And, we are in a position 48:28 within probably the next six months 48:30 where we'll start to become profitable. 48:33 But essentially it's, 48:36 it goes to help further the mission of Riverside Farm, 48:39 which is serving the needs of humanity. 48:41 So there's plans to reach many other people 48:46 and minister to them throughout Zambia, 48:48 as well as building a Bible college 48:51 and a university there at Riverside Farm 48:53 and just finding different ways to fulfill that mission. 48:58 Wow. That's good. 48:59 So the Akuna soap industry, 49:02 and just, if somebody just tuned in 49:04 the program is winding up, Akuna means again? 49:08 It's short for Akuna Sesipala 49:10 which means, nothing is impossible. 49:12 Wow. 49:13 And so we're seeing that nothing is impossible. 49:15 So, Michelle, how are you going to inspire 49:16 your future students, 49:18 maybe that want to dive into something 49:19 that is creative as revolutionary as it is? 49:22 Well, I think that 49:24 when students see projects like this, 49:27 it gives them an idea of, 49:29 hey, maybe I could do something. 49:31 And that's really the hope is maybe it's not soap, 49:34 maybe it's something else, 49:35 but, for some students to go to, to India 49:38 or to South America or to the islands 49:41 and different places that need this 49:43 and use business as a way to share the gospel 49:47 and improve people's lives. 49:49 And I think that 49:50 we're just seeing the beginnings. 49:52 And so, 49:53 I think this will encourage other students, 49:55 but even those of you watching, 49:57 like any way that we support and encourage them 50:01 is furthering the work as well. 50:03 I may not get to be in Zambia right now. 50:05 I would like to, but they get to be in Zambia. 50:08 And that gives me a reward as well. 50:10 But you did say to me earlier 50:12 that you were just about to fly out to Zambia, 50:17 when COVID broke out. Share with us? 50:18 Well, we were actually going to Rwanda 50:20 first to do training for high school entrepreneurs 50:24 and to do this in Rwanda. 50:26 And then that very day, 50:28 the World Health Organization declared the pandemic 50:31 and everything shut down. 50:32 We literally had to get our things off the plane 50:35 and go back, so we didn't get to go, 50:38 but, but the work is still moving forward 50:41 and Lord willing, we will go soon, so. 50:43 Wow. That's good. 50:44 The Bible says, this gospel of the kingdom 50:46 shall be preached into all the world as a witness. 50:49 And we have to be creative too. 50:51 We have to be creative. 50:52 And I like in Luke 2:49, 50:54 when they came looking for Jesus, he said, 50:56 "Why do you seek me? 50:57 Did you not know 50:59 that I must be about my Father's business?" 51:01 And these young entrepreneurs says, 51:04 well, thank you, Michelle, 51:05 and Riverside Farms makes all the difference 51:08 because it's not just about business, 51:10 but it's about our Father's business. 51:13 Industry, the integrity, division, 51:16 all the quality products, 51:18 but then the gospel, 51:19 getting the world ready for the coming of Jesus 51:21 makes all the difference. 51:22 And, we just want people to know that 51:24 what God is doing in your life 51:26 and in your life is very worthy. 51:28 And we want to give you some information, 51:31 so that if you want to be able to donate toward the project, 51:33 here is the information that you need. 51:38 If you would like to financially support 51:40 or know more about Akuna Soap Industry, 51:42 you can mail them at PO Box 53, Kafue, Zambia. 51:47 That's PO Box 53, Kafue, Zambia. 51:50 You can reach them by telephone 51:52 at (423) 236-2651, 51:57 or you could reach them on WhatsApp 51:59 at 26 097-383-1182. 52:05 You can visit their website at akunasoap.org 52:08 That's akunasoap.org 52:11 or you can email them at akunasoap@gmail.com |
Revised 2021-08-13