Empowering Through Training: Medical & Farm Training in West Africa
In October, the ITEC medical and farm teams traveled to West Africa to provide training for a group of indigenous Christ followers. One afternoon, while our medical trainees were conducting home visits in the community, a local man shared a meaningful observation as we were leaving: “Many missionaries come here and tell us what to do, but you came here to teach us.”
His thoughts echo the words Mincaye spoke to Steve Saint that sparked the idea for ITEC: “When you were a boy, we had to teach you how to hunt with a blow gun and spear, and how to climb a tree with a climbing vine. Foreigners come here and do the tooth thing and the eye thing and the medicine thing for a day and another day and leave. We say, by you teaching us to do those things, we can take care of our own people.”
Going to train is a challenging concept. How do we take something from a developed world context and use it to train in a developing world context? ITEC exists to answer that question—to modify training programs and tools for a developing world context. The challenge is not just about technology; it’s about ensuring the training is usable in a place where there may not be running water or reliable electricity.
Over the years, ITEC has proven that when training is adapted to the context, even people with no formal education can learn. Our trainings usually last five or six days, and we’ve seen time and again that indigenous Christ followers with a desire to serve can learn and use these skills effectively. Whether it’s training for church planting, disciple-making, or meeting practical needs with medical or dental care, the key is to modify the training so that it works in their context and opens doors for the Gospel.
If the idea of taking training on your next short-term mission trip interests you, we’d love to hear from you! We come alongside local churches in the US to equip them to take training overseas, helping create long-term impact on a short-term mission trip. Contact us today at itecusa.org!