Seeds of Dignity

We are so pleased to bring Seeds of Dignity to you this week. Long time SBC members, Tim and Kathy Atchley, have spent countless hours serving with this ministry. From gathering clothing donations from the States to bring with them, to serving on the ground in the Philippines, God has taken them on quite a ride!

_____________________________

Seeds of Dignity is an NGO (non-governmental organization) formed in 2009 and incorporated in 2011.  Kathy and I are both members of the board of directors.  Our organizational goal is "Working with faith-based partners, to help less fortunate Filipinos break out of the long term bondage of poverty, both physical and spiritual."  We believe that people living in poverty need assistance.  Real help doesn't come from giving things to them without a purpose or strategy.  Well intentioned giving can even complicate poverty reduction efforts by creating dependence on outside resources.  Seeds of Dignity seeks to create partnerships with individuals and communities which often require some type of counterpart. An example would be our feeding programs for children in schools and in the community. Seeds of Dignity provides food and utensils and the parents and community members provide cooking, serving and clean up roles. Before the pandemic hit in early 2020, we had 9 feeding programs at various locations that provided over 200,000 meals for children in rural areas.  We sponsor free orthopedic surgeries for children through a partnership with Tebow Cure Hospital in Davao City.  These surgeries include club foot, cleft/palate, bowed legs, broken bones which heal improperly, etc.  SOD provides free meals, lodging and transportation for not only children needing these services, but also for parents who accompany.  SOD often pays for prosthetic devices for children who are missing limbs. We provide educational scholarships for needy Filipino children from high school through college for the purpose of helping them break the cycle of poverty in their families. SOD helps provide clean drinking water in rural villages through a partnership with Clean Water International. This program has significantly reduced the illness in villages previously caused by using tainted water.  SOD has received a few large donations and several grants in the last several years for Bible distribution in the Cebuano and Tagalog languages.  In spite of our status as a relatively small organization, we are one of the largest Bible distributors in the Southern Philippines. We have one of the largest livelihood programs in the Southern Philippines on the island of Leyte.  This program involves providing fishing boats and bicycle taxis to individuals and families on a contract basis. The contract requires maintaining insurance, providing maintenance and several other factors.  At the conclusion of the 4 year contract, if all elements of the contract are met, the boat or bicycle taxi becomes theirs. Funding for these boats and bicycle taxis (referred to locally as "put puts") come from donors in the US.  Donors are allowed to name the boat after a family member or loved one and provide a Bible verse, both of which are painted on the unit.  We currently have about 130 fishing boats and approx. 70 bicycle taxis in service, each one providing a living for a family. In other words, 200 families are supported by this project with more units being added every year. The ministry opportunities that all of these projects provide is huge.  Whole families are reached through the surgery outreach, which is life changing for the recipients both physically and spiritually.  Bible studies and church plants have developed as a result of the livelihood project on Leyte.  3 church plants in the last 2 years in spite of the pandemic.  Many other ministries such as VBS, regular baptism events, also occur on a regular basis.

Kathy and I have been to the Philippines 10 times. The last time was 2018.  At this point, it looks like we will be able to return in October of this year if the pandemic continues to decline and restrictions continue to be lifted.

We are blessed by the rapid decline in the number of COVID cases in our areas of ministry in the Philippines.  This is allowing for schools to reopen and feeding programs to resume, which have been on hold for over 26 months. Soon over 500 children will again have access to regular meals each morning.

It is exciting to have a grant to allow boats and put put bicycle taxis to be sponsored at half the usual cost.  Twenty families will be blessed in the coming months with sustainable livelihood based on current donations and commitments.  There is capacity to do up to 30 boats and 10 put put units from the matching grant so we are about half way there!  These livelihood blessings for the families will also lead to three new church plants.  

We have been releasing about 800 Bibles per month to rural pastors in the Cebuano language, since January.  This will continue through June, also funded by a grant project.  
This year, three of our college students are on track to graduate in August.  If all goes as planned, three additional scholars will graduate in 2023 and another five in 2024.

A record number of surgeries for children is occurring at the Tebow Cure Hospital with SOD supporting transport, housing and patient assessment and recruitment efforts.  Each month, about 120 surgeries are performed for mostly congenital conditions such as clubfoot, bowed legs, hernias and cleft lip/cleft palate conditions.  Many are coming to know Jesus through these life transforming surgeries and other field contacts.
 
We are so grateful for the support of regular sponsors, such as Sierra Bible, to help heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom of God.  We are also very grateful for the support for the collection and shipping of clothing and other items here to bless many families staying at our patient housing sites as well as providing blessings for many rural pastors.

-Tim & Kathy Atchley

If you would like to learn more and subscribe to their email, please visit the Seeds of Dignity Ministries mailing list here.

A huge thank you to Tim and Kathy for going where God sends you!