Why Kenya?
Kenya’s lush landscape makes it a leading exporter of tea, coffee, and tropical flowers. However, amid the natural resources the people experience vast discrepancies in wealth, power and opportunities which contribute to many social problems.
Kenya is a-cash based society. High school costs $300/year for each child, which is equal to the average annual income of a farmer. Shoes and clothes must be bought and basic medical care is costly. Electricity runs through the entire country, but most cannot afford the $250 fee that will connect it to their homes.
Why Farming?
70% of Kenya’s population is in the agriculture business, the majority of those individuals are small-scall farmers who are land rich (owning 1-5 acres), but are cash poor (average income: $350 annually).
After decades of over-use the land will support 10 months of a family’s food consumption. But, subsistence farmers who live hand to mouth, cannot supplement the loss of food during drought, political unrest, or plant diseases and pests.
Planting Faith changes that. We provide a farming group framework to mitigate losses, increase buying power, and demonstrate inexpensive but efficacious techniques. These tools demonstrate the provision of Jesus Christ and provide a platform to share the Gospel.
The Tiptons
Horace and Anne Tipton moved from Memphis, Tennessee to Kenya in 2005 with their two children, Horace Jr. and Mary Shea. Horace farmed and worked in agribusiness his entire working career. Using decades of knowledge, Horace is able to address the issues that confront Kenyan farmers. Early in the ministry, discipleship became a key component to the Planting Faith strategy fulfilling the call to be proclaimers and doers of the word.
Anna Terry
Anna grew up in a small agriculture town in East Texas, where her family had a cattle ranch. After a decade of non-profit experience, Anna is passionate to leverage business opportunities for families in poverty. After working in East Africa for three years, she joins the Planting Faith team in Memphis, TN.
