Ed and Miriam Noyes: Kimobo Denny -- striving for God's good gifts

Kimobo Denny, in the center, with her daughter and son-in-law.

The mud and thatch houses of Kimbata sprawl for nearly a mile along a dirt road a bit south of Djuma. A dense forest of huge trees once surrounded the village, but that was long ago. Now one is more likely to see brushland, scrubby forest regrowth that follows two years of traditional cropping. On the poorest soils only grass will grow. Farming conditions have become more difficult as each new generation adds its numbers to the village.

In 2002, crop disease was laying its imprint on top of the normal hardships of semi-subsistence farming. Cassava mosaic virus sabotages the plant’s mechanism for trapping sunlight and turning it into food energy. Cassava yields weakened. And suddenly many families who were scraping by before found themselves wondering if they would have anything to eat during the lean months before the next harvest. When our agricultural extension team organized a farmer’s forum that year, people put the cassava disease problem as their number one priority.

Have you ever recognized a problem, had God present you with a way to new life through it, but finally held back because you were afraid to risk change? After that first forum in 2002, most families in Kimbata were in that boat. What would the ancestors think if the current generation abandoned those cassava varieties that had served them well for decades or even generations? Wondering about the answer was a scary thing for most people. A few women bought disease resistant cassava cuttings from other (less hesitant) villages, but most did not. Until Kimobo Denny stepped out on faith that God had something good for them in these new varieties.

Kimobo is not a very likely looking champion of technological innovation. She is modest, with a shy smile. But she was the one who invited the ACDI extension team to Kimbata to help the church women establish a demonstration / multiplication field of new disease-resistant cassava. The women would try it together, just to see if the claims were true. No one would be demonized for breaking faith with tradition and no one would have to risk it all to try the new varieties. They would share the risk.

I’ve said it many times: these new cassava varieties are God’s provision in people’s time of need. Over seven years we have seen them produce 3 to 4 times what traditional varieties do. A few farmers have harvested 5 to 7 times what most Bandundu farmers take from their fields. Kimobo Denny and the women of the Baptist church in Kimbata found that they could trust God for His provision.

ACDI extension specialist, Philippe Kikobo, speaking to Kimbata church members and their neighbors in 2008.

In 2010, there are still some people in Kimbata who fear the wrath of traditional spirits more than they fear the food shortages created by virus-riddled cassava. But a large number of families in Kimbata have discovered that God gives good gifts, that He is our help in time of need, that He can be trusted to protect us when we walk with Him. Kimobo Denny has been sharing this good news and her manioc cuttings with people in surrounding villages. The fruit of her faith and courage is seen not only in Kimbata, but in Mukilu Lubasu, Kitaba, Mulari and Kilongo. Hundreds of families are no longer pressed against a wall by hunger because of this Christian woman who knew that God had something good for her neighbors. The ACDI Lusekele team was just able to give encouragement and guidance at the proper time.