It's All About Price

Fifty cents makes a difference in Africa! That's why Oasis works so hard to save pennies on books to grow the church. Fifty cents to a man who makes $50 a month is like $35 to a man who makes $3,500 a month. Would you think hard before spending an extra $35 on a book or Bible? This makes almost any English book from the USA or UK totally unavailable to minister to the needs of most Africans whose yearly incomes are measured in hundreds of dollars. An English book that sells for $15 might as well be in Chinese for a Kenyan pastor that makes $50 a month. Oasis uses innovative methods to get prices down to where people can afford Bibles and books.

The economic realities of Africa are hard to understand. We can try to put it into perspective by a quick review of statistics. If we exclude South Africa and the predominantly Arabic speaking countries of North Africa we are left with over 30 nations. These nations have a population of over 500 Million (M) and a combined GNP of over $155 Billion (B).

Compare the economies of the following countries with the combined GNP of these 30 poorest nations in Africa (population is listed first and the GNP second): Denmark: 6 M, 184 B; Columbia 33 M, 87 B; Malaysia: 21 M, 98 B; Poland: 39 M, 139 B; Portugal: 10 M, 109 B; South Africa: 42 M, 130 B. Or, we could consider Colorado: 4M with a GSP (Gross State Product) of 154 B, Ohio: 11M, 362 B, or Wisconsin: 5M, 166 B. This is the only large geographic area where virtually every nation has a national debt to the World Bank/IMF of 70-100% of its GNP. In short, as a continent the poverty of Africa has no parallel on earth. There is immense physical hardship and suffering.

The staff of Oasis works in this context every day and we love Africa. Caring for the poor of Africa and providing them with the resources to grow and succeed is what drives us. At the same time, we are convinced that it is possible to be economically successful in this climate. Part of our corporate value statement is that economic success and development is the best way to help the poor. Oasis' goal is to empower and train nationals to be successful and build local businesses.