Authentic Masculinity Program Progress Report!

We recently received an update from our AMP cohorts. We ask that you would continue to pray for the women, children, and men.

The second cohort AMP in Holeta:

In the first phase, Biblical Foundations and Initial Community Learning were concluded on November 12, 2021. All were participating with enthusiasm. The second phase, part 1 started on November 19, and continued till now. We are on the fourth week’s lesson. The manual was copied, compiled, and distributed for each one. We covered the Program Introduction, Asset Mapping, Income Generating Activities, and Purpose Statement, Vision, & Mission setting of each one.

We were not able to continue the sessions for three weeks. It was due to my having Covid -19. In those weeks the group was meeting two times for rehearsals and prayer.

In all the meetings we were able to share prayer question from each of us, and we have been praying together and in our private prayer time for each other’s needs and for our country’s situation.

The first cohort:-

I was trying to keep in touch with the first cohort members, and ask their life situation and the progress in their business. All are in the status I reported last time. They are continuing being active in their local churches. Tilahun, Chale, Masresha, and Mesele are serving regularly in the church. Tilahun has started doing the business. Dereje is also doing petty trading. Masrehsa continued his shoe making business. Chala, Mesele, Daniel, and Tegegn are not progressing in their business.

Prayer question:

Please praise God with us that the situation of Ethiopia would calm down. The war was escalating and currently localized. The government of Ethiopia is deescalating the situation for peace and stability.

Please continue praying, as many children are left without father, and they need healing and rehabilitation.  Please continue praying for our country’s peace and stability progress.

Please pray also for all men in the AMP program. The Holota cohort is currently learning on setting their IGA, its Purpose Statement, Vision, & Mission. They need to choose and plan their business well with the help of the Holly Spirit and His wisdom. As we learn from the first cohort in Addis Ababa, there should be a good start before they embark in to getting the money and miss use for different needs. ”

Thank you for taking time to read this report! These families’ generations are heavily impacted by both your prayers and your financial partnership.

Mid Year Update 2021!

Every summer we like to take a step back and look at what God has done through your support of the ministry of Man Up and Go.

It’s our distinct privilege to fight for the fatherless alongside you, and we’re happy to report how God is using you in James 1:27 ways, both here at home and abroad: 

Obviously we are limited in how much we can report. Even we won’t know the actual impact in individual lives until we’re hanging out with one another one day in heaven. 
None of this impact takes place without you. Our prayer is that as you continue to grow in the Lord and with us, that you would take the next step in your fight for the fatherless. For some of you, it means volunteering with us (yes, we have places for women to serve too!).  For others, it means giving 5 hours per month to mentor an aged-out foster youth and see him break the chains of generational fatherlessness. For others, it means funding one man for one year in international AMP at a cost of $1000.For others, it means helping to fund one aged-out foster youth in AMP’d.For others, it means committing to pray each week when we send out our prayer requests. And for others, it means continuing to triage the effects of fatherlessness by sponsoring a child, going on a trip, or making the lives of foster and adoptive families a bit more manageable through our Man Up 100 program.Whatever it is, there is a way to fight for the fatherless with Man Up and Go. Let us know how we can help you take the next step! 
Regards, 
  
 CEO, Man Up and Go
​Isaiah 1:17

As an extension of the Church, we love partnering with local churches! It provides an opportunity to reach more foster families because there are more volunteers to help serve. Check out the “Serve Day” video recap below when Grow Life Church partnered with us to serve a foster family of 7.

Our flagship program internationally is our Authentic Masculinity Program (AMP, for short). Despite the challenges of COVID during this last batch of Cohorts, we still saw tremendous growth in the men who participated. We are convinced the way to defeat fatherlessness is to get upstream and disciple the men to love their families. 

At Man Up we believe children benefit in every measurable way by the presence of a loving, committed father in the home. Check out this quick video of one of our long-time Board members explaining the tangible importance of engaged men and fathers. 

Why would a foster family request a pool? How would that help? If you have to ask those questions, you probably, A) Haven’t been a parent, or B) Haven’t lived through a Missouri summer. 🙂 Check out the work our Man Up Springfield Cohort is doing to help one foster family beat the heat! 

We recently took a small team to the Dominican Republic to encourage our partners, Pastor Kendar and his wife Hozanna, as they are doing great work in a difficult context. The work they do is on the “basurero,” which is a community partially built (literally) on trash. Man Up Champions sponsor 15 children here, but we need many more (they anticipate over 100 enrolled this Fall). Reply to this email to see how you can sponsor a child with a Christian education and food security for just $45/mo. 

Recently Man Up was able to bring on long time Board Member Vicki Tims to serve as our Executive Administrator, a position that was vacated due to the promotion of Jennifer Sanabria to our newly created Programs Manager position.

Congratulations ladies – you’re the “women behind Man Up!”

International Update

With COVID-19 dominating the news and restricting travel the past year, the focus of Man Up and Go has, in some respects, turned domestic. However, our programs internationally are still in operation, even if hampered somewhat by Coronavirus restrictions. 

Man Up recently sent a team to East Africa as part of their Climbing Kili for the Kids trip, giving them a chance to reconnect with our partners there in person for the first time since March of 2020.  Here’s a quick summary: 

Ethiopia Authentic Masculinity Program (AMP) Update

Our CEO travelled to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and was able to meet the 7 men enrolled in AMP for the first time. In this inaugural Cohort batch, what impressed him the most was the camaraderie which had formed among the men. 

“We went to lunch with these men and had them share their experiences with AMP. Each of the seven men talked about the brotherhood that had developed among the group, saying it was something they’d never had before,” said Jeff Ford, Man Up CEO. 

During a global pandemic in which so many restrictions and mandates of isolation have been handed down, we count this as a huge victory for these men and for the reduction of fatherlessness in the future. The enemy wants us isolated, but strength is found in the community of God’s people. These men are more equipped than ever to handle life’s challenges and the temptation to abdicate personal responsibility when the going gets tough. 

Jeff also had a chance to meet with Man Up AMP Coordinators Sami and Tamirat. Tamirat is in charge of teaching the men and Sami oversees the administration of the program. Despite a number of challenges, we are proud of these men and give God thanks for all they’re doing to pour into and equip men to lead during these tumultuous times. 

Side note, if you’re ever in Addis Ababa, make sure you head to Kaldi’s Coffee Shop…after all, the Ethiopians founded the coffee bean. 

Uganda AMP Update

The team met up in Entebbe and from there drove about 6 hours east (and a little north) to the village town of Pallisa. Here they met up with Man Up’s AMP Coordinator Eliazar and visited several of the men’s businesses that had been started with the microloan from Man Up. The challenges were greater here, as police strictly enforced social distancing laws and curfews (sometimes with canings and jailings). Despite this, several of the men were thriving in various businesses: 

Welding 

Poultry

Brick-making  

Casava (common food) Production

The following day the men spent time with Geofery, Man Up AMP Coordinator in Kibuku and Bulangira. They had a chance to visit with 35 men enrolled in Man Up’s AMP there, saying a few words of encouragement as well.

After that they were able to visit some of the projects from these men: 

Moses has produced over 30,000 bricks, 3 times the area average  

Roman used his loan to invest in materials to make motorcycle seat covers

Other men invested in what was already life-sustaining in their communities – animals

Poultry

Cattle 

Pigs

Rabbits

Even Mushrooms (not an animal, but still pretty cool) 

We believe God has put an innate desire in man to provide for his family. Sometimes the woman is the breadwinner, but in Africa, it’s nearly always the man. Equipping these men with microloans and the mental and spiritual fortitude to pay them back is preventing more children from growing up fatherless, and for this we give God praise. 

Child Sponsorship Update

Finally, the men were able to check in with the children and Kerith Children’s Home. Although their time was short – and although the gifts from sponsors were on a baggage delay from Amsterdam – the men report the children were doing great! 

Since they didn’t have the sponsor gifts (don’t worry, they eventually got there), they popped into town and brought sandals and matoke (banana) as substitutes.  

The men got their African dance on with the kiddos too (don’t judge the skill level): 

For those who sponsor kids at Kerith, seeing them is always a treat: 

Because of the travel restrictions in the world due to COVID-19, the trip was a difficult one logistically. We’re thankful God allowed our men to make the visit and to see how He continues to move around the world, even in a pandemic.

February 2021 Update

As we settle into 2021, we at Man Up and Go want you to know that God is opening doors only He can open. Just like the Apostle Paul had doors open to him in ministry (1 Corinthians 16:9), the same is happening to us as we look to prevent fatherlessness right here in the United States. While we cannot go into details just yet, please know we’re working hard behind the scenes to break the chains of generational fatherlessness like never before.

The reality is we have a different kind of pandemic going on in our world: fatherlessness. 80% of single parent households are headed by women. We’ve simply made it too easy for men to walk away from their responsibilities as husbands and fathers. The programs we’re implementing later this year will address this issue head-on, and we can’t wait to share it with you.

In the meantime, we’re looking for mentors all over the country who are willing to give of themselves for about 5 hours a month. If you would be interested in becoming a mentor for a young man who has aged out from foster care, please fill out this

short form. This will help us keep you in the loop as more info becomes available.

Enjoy the rest of this February update, and please let us know how we can be praying for you.

Regards,


Jeff Ford, CEO
Isaiah 1:17

Check out the current numbers above from ourMan Up 100 program. For those who aren’t yet aware, Man Up 100 is designed to recruit 100 men in a given area to serve and support foster and adoptive children and families.

Man Up’s impact in serving and supporting foster and adoptive children and families continues to grow. This past month we had several special deliveries of food and diapers to many of the awesome foster families enrolled in our Adopt a Family program. Check out some of these smiling faces (we promise the kiddos are smiling under those hearts too!).

We rang in the new year by putting up a privacy fence and gate to a backyard for another foster family. Anyone who’s had kids under 2 knows this is a mission critical project. ©

We’re also pretty good at setting up play toys for our families like this trampoline pictured above, which is always a welcome addition! Any time the kiddos can get some fresh air (even if it’s 3 degrees?), it’s a win for foster mom and dad.

Did you donate to Man Up and Go last year? You should’ve received your tax statement from us either in your inbox or in your physical mail box. If you didn’t, please email us or call us at: 727.266.0226 and let us know.

It’s been tough for our international Authentic Masculinity Program (AMP) Cohorts during the pandemic. Recently our Cohort Coordinators in Uganda met in person and reported the following:

Because of restrictions by the government, the men were not allowed to meet in-person for several months.

Harsh methods by the government in Uganda – including caning and imprisonment – made starting/growing businesses challenging.

The inability to meet made it difficult for our men’s businesses to market and attract new customers.

Despite these setbacks, the men are hopeful. We know God has called men to protect and provide for th r families, and in developing nations, economic opportunity is often limited. The Man Up program has provided stability and optimism, even in a pandemic.

Meanwhile, the Ethiopia Cohort has learned to adapt – meeting outdoors, adjusting meeting times, and adjusting business proposals. Thankfully, just recently the men finally completed their business plans and received their loans. This after nearly 1 full year of participating in and completing Phase 1 and 2 (it should’ve taken 6 months, but for a pandemic).

Here are some of the businesses they’re starting: Coffee, honey,, cow butter, shoe wholesaler, shoe retailer and etc.

Believe it or not, we are sending a small team to East Africa this week. Yes, it’s been incredibly difficult to meet all the necessary COVID-19 protocols. However, rather than looking at them as setbacks, the 6 men in this team are looking at it as an opportunity to grow!

They will be once again climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and visiting our partners overseas. If you are a child sponsor and sent in your child sponsor gift, our guys will be delivering it next week some time.

Thank you for praying for our team as they travel.

We continue to praise God for all that He’s doing in and through theAuthentic Masculinity Program.