Frequently asked questions.

Chronic poverty is any situation where the causes and effects of poverty have existed for several years or more. In most of these cases, the solution is long-term developmental programs that deal with and give answers to the root causes such as education, mindset, societal issues and others. Chronic poverty is not solved by material aid or economic stimulus because the conditions that create and perpetuate it are still in existance.

SALT Nigeria is designed to address chronic poverty.

Critical poverty is when a natural disaster, war, political upheaval, or medical emergency displaces and changes people’s lives rapidly. In cases such as a tsunami, people need clothing, food, shelter, and basic life necessities and they need them rapidly.

SALT Nigeria cares deeply for situations like this but our focus is on remediating chronic poverty that is prevalent in Nigeria.

It would be easier and certainly that is the most common approach in the war on poverty. Sadly, across the world it has not been and will not be as effective as developmental efforts that teach, train and empower individuals to live in Biblical truth and take responsibility for their own lives.

There is a time when relief items are necessary and vital. The difference in chronic and critical poverty as discussed in the question above shows the difference.

Our plan as the Lord wills for SALT as an organization is to operate in Nigeria for many years to come. Solutions for chronic poverty and sustainability are derived from long term teaching and discipleship programs. This will provide stability and dependability in the lives of our clients and staff. Fundamentally we are building the foundation of what is to be a solid program investing in Nigeria for a positive future. This will take each of us contributing to the best of our ability and working together in unity and trust.

1. SALT Nigeria will operate with a clear vision and quality leadership.

2. We will create a workplace environment that is orderly, efficient and professional.

3. We will cultivate a workplace atmosphere of Godliness and Truth.

4. We will use donor funding in ways that are sustainable and efficient.

Prayer is key to our success. We fervently desire that Jesus Christ would be glorified in our work. Please set aside a daily or weekly time to pray for SALT Nigeria and the dear people we serve.

Secondly you can volunteer your skills to our cause. Writers, website development, persons who can travel and give time to help people understand what we do and why among many others are needed.

Email us at bhn@saltnigeria.org to learn more about how volunteers can help.

Finally financial assistance is necessary and helpful to enable us to be a vital part of expanding the Kingdom of Jesus Christ in the world.

Visit our DONATE page to see how you can help.

That is an excellent question!! We believe that the spread of the Gospel through evangelism is the only true and sustainable change that can come into society and transform it effectively.

In saying that we also believe that humanitarian solutions are vitally important for Christ’s people to be involved with. Relieving suffering, caring for the sick, training orphans and many, many other ways of meeting critical needs of human kind open the door to the spread of the Gospel.

SALT Nigeria is devoted to wholistic ministry following the example of Jesus. He went about doing good and met both the spiritual and natural needs of men and women as He lived and walked on the earth.

We are devoted to doing His work and we meet needs in the same way. Our programs are designed to promote and evangelize for Jesus Christ through meeting real needs in our client’s lives. The financial tools we use open the door for spiritual guidance and teaching.

“True sustainable development is this, to meet the needs of the present with methods that will increase the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”

United Nations definition of Sustainable Development modified by SALT Nigeria

The function of SALT Nigeria is to provide a platform for growth that will serve Nigerians today and tomorrow. The vision to raise up a generation with determination to reduce dependence upon American input and a growing responsibility for Nigerian development is the foundation of our future success.

Sustainable change is describing a positive condition where the investment of work of many years results in SALT Nigeria growing and thriving beyond our own inputs.

No

We believe and have proven in the past 5 years that it is more successful and sustainable for a client to develop financial strength through the discipline of savings.

Often impoverished people will develop another cycle of dependency when loans are given by organizations who intend to help. One of our focus is to help our clients overcome dependency upon outside sources.

SALT clients are able to take small loans at low interest rates from the groups collective savings and that builds accountability and responsibility into their savings experience.

Our clients face many pressures in their life on top of poor economic conditions that make it difficult to save money and succeed.

One example is the devastating cultural expectation that weddings and funerals are to be costly and everyone is expected to contribute. So a person works hard and has some money put aside to pay school fees or invest in business and a wedding or funeral occurs. Their family may demand all of their available money be given to support the event and they are back to nothing.

A functioning savings group helps a person moderate their financial life. When they save for a purpose the money is committed to the group until the savings cycle ends (usually 1 year) and cannot be retrieved. This provides the member a logical and effective reason for not contributing all of their resources. A member may be planning to marry in the future and may save toward that goal. This method safeguards their money toward a higher purpose.

There are many other reasons that make overcoming poverty difficult if not impossible, but God has provided this simple and effective means to build discipline, planning, accountability and hope into a SALT clients life. Savings groups are equally effective because they provide an excellent platform for solid Gospel teaching. We offer answers to a felt need and then provide more through education, training and discipleship.

This proves effective and creates lasting change as a person makes the necessary changes in their life over time that are necessary for sustainable change. The client also develops confidence in God and their own abilities as they see progress in their life.

Many groups have savings meeting weekly. In Nigeria the most common meeting time is every other week or twice a month.

Frequent meetings are important as saving small amounts regularly and over time is critical to success. For success in our teaching program it is important for the client to have a focused hour of teaching and sharing often.

Each savings group collects a social fund that is used for community service or for if there are medical or other critical needs in the group during the savings cycle. At each meeting every member brings a small, set amount of money that is held in a common pot or fund.

For example: if you were part of a group who saves in shares of $5.00 the social fund collection might be 50 cents a meeting per person. When 30 people invest 50 cents it becomes $15.00 and when that is collected over 24 meetings for example the social fund becomes $360.

That is a sum of money that can do something important for the community.

Each savings group develops a constitution that governs the groups activity. SALT Nigeria staff use a template and assist helping the group make the necessary decisions.

For example:

Group officials are selected, the rate of interest for loans taken from the group is set, meeting times are chosen, what qualifies a member to take a loan is decided, how much the social fund contribution will be and many other vital parts that ensure a groups success are voted on and decided by the group.

The group and the SALT facilitator reviews the constitution every savings cycle and makes changes as necessary. The constitution lays down the framework for all decisions that govern the savings group.

SALT Nigeria Group Facilitators attend and assist every meeting. The meeting begins with prayer followed by SALT staff member teaching and moderating discussion on a lesson from our manuals for 30-45 minutes.

The Chairman calls the meeting to order. Role call is taken and as each name is called that member gives his/her savings and social funds to the money counter. The details are carefully recorded in the members passbook and the treasurers record. This is repeated until every member has made their savings and contribution.

The loan portion of the meeting is next. Payments for current loans are made and then applications for new loans are submitted. When approved the loan money is counted to the requesting member and all is carefully recorded.

The Chairman speaks and any general business is conducted and the meeting is closed with prayer.

It is intended that meetings including teaching are finished in 2 hours or less.

Watch our video explaining savings group function HERE

No, our students are required to be an orphan or qualify as disadvanted and they are unable to pay tuition. We rely on the generous support of donors for school operation.

If you would like to help a student visit our DONATE page.

We teach 4 primary classes at our LHVS locations:

1. Carpentry Class - in this class the students learn to make furniture, doors and other wood items that people need.

2. Tailoring Class - students learn to be an effective tailor for both men, women’s and children’s clothing, they also learn to sew curtains, uniforms, bedsheets and other necessary items.

3. Bagmaking Class - in this class students learn to sew handbags, specialty bags for personal use and for events.

4. Shoemaking and Repair - students learn the critical trade of shoemaking and repair. Sandals, dress shoes and boots are all part of our training.

In developing societies these are all important trades as shoes, clothing, furniture and handbags are primarily made by local craftsmen. There is not a developed system of manufacturing and department stores for the general populace.

We anticipate adding more classes in the future.

Our daily vision is to equip our students to integrate into society and become an asset in their community by serving God in their business and following Jesus in everyday life.

We currently operate in 2 orphanages but plan to develop our schools further and open a central location where we can serve a broader student base.

Our students are all orphaned youth or seriously disadvanted. This means that they do not have family to help them or their family is dysfunctional or unable to care for them properly.

Because of this our students are very vulnerable to a life of crime or prostitution and we take it seriously to change their future to one that is productive and helpful to society. Students graduate our school roughly at the same time they finish their secondary or high school education. At this point they are sent out of the orphanage or care facility to fend for themselves.

We are actively working to create a postgraduate program to ensure job placement and continued support. During their time with us we help them to save money from their handwork to use as seed money to help them begin life when they graduate.