Inspiring Stories of Transformation
Below are only a few of the the most uplifting, life-changing stories from rural communities inwards Asia, Africa, Latin America in addition to the Caribbean Area . World Neighbors-supported communities take fought against hunger, poverty in addition to disease, in addition to made changes inwards the lives of their families in addition to communities forever.
Tula García - GuatemalaTula Garcia is a 37-year-old unmarried mother, rearing her 3 adolescent daughters inwards a three-room reed domicile inwards Loma de Paja, Comatán, Guatemala. Thanks to World Neighbors, she is too an entrepreneur.
“When World Neighbors starting time came, I was fearful to pgelidipate because, many years ago, some other organisation came to hope us support, but they were non serious in addition to it was a coterieback,” she explains. “I talked to the World Neighbors staff near my fears in addition to they assured me they would non neglect us.”
Tula in addition to other community members met amongst World Neighbors inwards 2014 in addition to learned how a ascribe programme would let them to borrow coin to expand their businesses. Tula was elected every bit facilitator of the grouping in addition to was trained inwards the best manner to track, beleaguer in addition to repay the loan.
“After grooming I received a check, which I cashed in addition to distributed to the women every bit I had learned inwards the trainings,” Tula says. “World Neighbors too trained me to role a spreadsheet thence I could rails the involvement in addition to loan payments made.”
Tula used the microloan to expand her family’s nutrient business. She used to sell entirely tamales but has since added cooked corn, breadstuff in addition to fruit popsicles called “titucos.” The grouping of women she leads – which has grown from 10 to twenty women – too invests inwards coffee.
“We purchase java beans at 7 quetzals; in addition to then nosotros procedure it in addition to sell it for xv quetzals. We are a grouping of real smart women,” Tula chuckles. One quetzals equals nearly xiii cents inwards the United States.
Tula says life inwards her hamlet has improved since World Neighbors began investing inwards it final year. She says all xc of the families living inwards Loma de Paja pcoolipate inwards programs developed past World Neighbors.
"World Neighbors makes a departure because they render training,” Tula says. “I pose into do what I acquire in addition to I am doing improve at my business. I tin dismiss pay my loan on fourth dimension every calendar month in addition to all the same accept a medium income for my family.”
Tula has get thence successful that her counsel is oftentimes sought past other women in addition to job organization leaders. She encourages her grouping to invite to a greater extent than women to pcoolipate in addition to has seen families finally able to afford necessities such every bit latrines or improved stoves.
An agrarian village, Loma de Paja’s high character products are existence noticed past purchasers in addition to distributors from other areas. Tula hopes that an increment inwards productivity volition assistance improve the character of life for all community members.
“I would similar to improve our agriculture past returning to traditional organic fertilizers instead of harmful chemicals,” she says. “We too necessitate many things such every bit latrines in addition to other sanitation services thence that nosotros tin dismiss improve contend diseases.”
With the assistance of World Neighbors support, Tula feels confident that her wretched but hardworking community tin dismiss improve its character of life. For Tula, that agency taking improve attention of her 3 daughters.
Her oldest daughters, 18-year-old Olga in addition to 16-year-old Milvia currently attend school. But 12-year-old Heidi stays at abode amongst her mother.
“My youngest had to work out schoolhouse to assistance me but I desire her to decease dorsum to school,” Tula says. “My daughters dream of existence professionals and, if my job organization keeps expanding, I volition live able to mail them all to school.”
Thanks to World Neighbors, Tula is receiving the grooming in addition to back upwards she needs to make a improve hereafter for her hamlet in addition to for her daughters.
Martha Carpio - PeruMartha Carpio’s 24-hour interval begins betwixt iv in addition to 5 am, when she wakes upwards to attention for her elderly begetter in addition to 2 disabled brothers. Martha never married or had children, but, amongst assistance from World Neighbors, the 51-year-old has get a successful farmer, provider in addition to community leader. Martha lives inwards the hamlet of Llaccolla, located inwards the region of Ocros inwards Ayacucho, Peru.
Surrounded past a woods of eucalyptus trees, Martha kneels to tend her organic lettuce field, which is thriving thank you to a H2O reservoir she learned to build.
Martha Carpio - Peru
“Before, my H2O tank was pocket-size as well as I did non tending almost improving it,” she says. “But when the technicians from World Neighbors showed me that a improve tank would improve my crops, I took their advice. Now I am the model for my neighbors as well as I learn them from my ain experiences.”
When World Neighbors start came to the community of Llaccolla inwards 2014, Martha was suspicious of outsiders inwards the village. The local government assured World Neighbors staff that Martha was difficult working as well as good respected inwards the community. Developing trust alongside her would live vital to the success of the project.
“I was form of shy,” she says. “I didn’t know what to say.”
Despite her initial misgivings, Martha is a calm as well as generous person. She is an splendid hostess as well as industrial plant to brand visitors experience at home. She is proud of her community’s culture, particularly its festivals, when people who get got moved away from Llaccolla render dwelling house for the celebrations.
Of course, caring for her male parent as well as brothers has ever kept Martha close her home, merely alongside the sustainable farming techniques she gained from World Neighbors, she has increased her crops exponentially.
“I used to attain mayhap 1 sack of carrots as well as beetroot,” Martha says. One sack weighs xx kilos, or 44 pounds. “But straight off I tin displace attain upwards to 8 sacks, thank you to the back upwards given as well as the counsel provided. Building a adept H2O reservoir as well as buying proper tools has increased my production.”
At to the lowest degree 3 Fridays a month, Martha as well as her brothers get got her products to the marketplace medium inwards Chumbes, which serves equally the commercial hub for immediateby villages. The marketplace is xviii kilometers (11 miles) from her home. She takes world transportation, unremarkably a truck, to go her products to the market.
“My customers pay me a improve toll straight off because my crops expect healthier as well as beautiful,” Martha says. “I get got a large diverseness of legumes as well as vegetables inwards a larger space.”
With the increased revenue, Martha is to a greater extent than confident purchasing seeds inwards mass directly that she knows how to ameliorate attention for them. Her dream is to purchase a three-wheeled truck for taking crops to market.
Because of her cognition as well as optimism, Martha is oft asked to accept leadership positions inwards the community. She is reluctant to accept on as well many responsibilities for fright that her begetter as well as brothers volition non have proper care. But her wish to assistance others as well as her promise for the futurity dwarf whatsoever worries or burdens she may have.
“I wish to assistance other women of my community, peculiarly those who are raising a house unit on their own, as well as then they tin hold a guide a opportunity to escape poverty,” she says. “I hold improved my life past myself as well as I prize how World Neighbors plant because they gave grooming as well as cognition to operate out my ain solutions.”
There is yet enough of operate for World Neighbors to make inwards this region. All the surrounding communities hold been negatively affected past political violence as well as terrorism of the terminal several years. The part has experienced higher rates of schoolhouse dropout; illiteracy; chronic malnutrition as well as poverty.
Fortunately, people similar Martha assistance ensure our operate makes a difference.
Emmanuel Fortuné - Haiti
We met Emmanuel Fortuné inwards Léroux, a pocket-size hamlet betwixt the municipalities of Gros Morne as well as Pilate inwards northeast Haiti. Flanked past the Grand Riviére du Nord, Léroux lies inwards a humid valley, accessible exclusively past dirt roads, which are oft impassable. The area’s cardinal crops include tropical fruits as well as wood trees. The hamlet is abode to about 115 families, amongst a full estimated population of 900 inhabitants.
Although Emmanuel (age 52) described himself equally shy, he was enthusiastic well-nigh sitting downwards to enjoin his story. Seated amongst his fruit trees, the sounds of passing motorcycles together with children at play seemed to fade equally the farmer began to speak. He lives amongst his married woman Desina (age 45) together with their 7 children inward a three-bedroom humble business firm amongst a kitchen together with a pit latrine at the back. The walls are constructed of local rocks covered past cement together with has a rattling one-time calamine roof which has started to train a swayback. The business firm has 2 external doors together with a piddling window.World Neighbors came to Léroux inward 2008 to go inward 4 lines of development: sustainable agriculture; climate alter adaptation together with mitigation; together with community wellness together with sexual/reproductive health. The World Neighbors model has been successfully used throughout the earth for decades – it is a model that respects the local community together with involves its members inward solving problems.
“Before World Neighbors came here, I didn’t accept much noesis well-nigh sustainable agriculture,” Emmanuel said. “Our community didn’t go good together to solve problems similar sanitary services or to contend diseases similar Chikungunya together with Cholera.”
Emmanuel described how World Neighbors-Haiti staff commencement sought to sympathise the people together with the community needs, so worked gained their trust together with friendship. Later, World Neighbors-Haiti began to mail technicians, economists, wellness promoters, social workers together with other trainers.
“All these activities led to corking changes inward my life together with my community,” Emmanuel described. “We didn’t know how to forestall diseases simply amongst preparation together with education, nosotros are able to contend these diseases.”
With aid from World Neighbors-Haiti, surface belt farmers united to get an system of the commencement rural department of Gros Morne (OPG1). The group’s goals include: updating together with improving faculty for sustainable agriculture; improving solidarity amongst community members; together with providing ameliorate services to grouping members. These services include micro-credits, socio-cultural education, sanitary education, makeantiseptic H2O initiatives, together with the prevention together with handling of disease.
“We all the same accept some problems because the dry out flavour has prolonged, simply directly nosotros don’t lose all our crops similar nosotros did before,” Emmanuel said. “I am hopeful for the futurity because, out of all my problems, I accept realized I’m non solitary together with in that location are proficient neighbors that volition e'er lend me a hand.”
Like all parents, Emmanuel wants his ain children to complete their didactics together with get professionals. He hopes at to the lowest degree 1 of his children becomes an agronomist together with plant the household unit farm. Maintaining the area’s pretty light-green spaces together with avoiding deforestation are flush number concerns for him.
“I desire my grouping to go along making especial progress,” Emmanuel said. “We dream of having a community eye to improve the services to nosotros furnish to members. I desire to come across our rural saving together with attribute commission grow stronger.”
A goal-oriented leader, Emmanuel wants to get a reference together with leader inward sustainable agriculture production. He knows that, amongst the aid of World Neighbors-Haiti, his hopes together with dreams for himself, his children together with his community tin dismiss get a reality.
“Four years ago, I was elected main of my rural department to aid together with Pb my community,” Emmanuel said. “It was my chore to live a leader together with provider for the community and, during that time, nosotros improved the roads together with built a novel cemetery.”
With the leadership of people similar Emmanuel together with the assist of World Neighbors-Haiti, changes are beingness made inward Haiti. But the communities inward this surface belt stay at high-risk. The coexistence of dissimilar faiths frequently threatens social cooperation inward the village. Political violence together with social unrest go along throughout Haiti, frequently undermining the difficult go together with efforts of groups similar Emmanuel’s. Despite these challenges, Emmanuel remains hopeful.
“We take to a greater extent than high schools together with agricultural institutes to improve our knowledge,” Emmanuel said. “We besides take ameliorate roads together with provision of supplies to improve our productivity. With all that, I’m certain nosotros tin dismiss go along advancing.
Beyond a Thorn-riddled Path
Jérémie Guitanga lives inward Gnagna Province of Burkina Faso where the landscape is rugged together with agricultural productivity has declined over fourth dimension due to deforestation, ground erosion together with erratic rainfall. At the historic period of 31, Jérémie is supporting a household of ix people. Married amongst 1 child, Jérémie depends on his small-scale farm to back up his extended family.
“Life was hard together with pitiful but what could I practise but proceed to till my state fifty-fifty though the yields could non feed my family? My despair continued, until i of my in-laws spoke to me well-nigh joining a self-help group. It was through the grouping that I learned of World Neighbors together with the Gnagna Integrated Development Program.”
Jérémie used the noesis together with skills he had gained from pfrigidipating inwards the faculty edifice sessions together with farmer champaign schools offered past World Neighbors.
His commencement destination was to improve the massive erosion on his farm. With back upward from other grouping members, he began establishing erosion-control sites on his farm. Jérémie used ‘stone-bunding’ equally a fashion to dull downward surface run-off caused past rain. Also, inwards guild to improve the soil, Jérémie established a compost manure pit to fertilize his farm.
Through his hard work, Jérémie has seen a precipitous increment inwards his farm production. This increment is providing for his household’s needs, together with immediately he entirely has to buy minimal grains only earlier the adjacent harvest. Jérémie believes that if he continues along this path together with consistently applies the noesis together with skills he has gained, his line of piece of work firm unit volition never lack food.
Water: A root of alter for i village
Samalbong, a small-scale hamlet inwards West Bengal, India, in i case faced a H2O shortage. Villagers spent hours everyday carrying H2O from the nearest H2O root – almost half dozen miles away. The small-scale total of H2O they could get together was used to H2O their gardens together with livestock, together with for cooking together withcleanlying for the family, but it was never enough.
A precious resources that many of us hold for granted everyday was a vast root of tension for the people of Samalbong. Man Kurmari Rai, female parent of iii children, feels terrible when she thinks well-nigh the days of walking hours to get together water.
“I started working equally a porter when my boy was only half dozen months old. I could non leave of absence the babe behind then I had to comport him all the fourth dimension together with practise the industrial plant similar cooking, tilling together with carrying water, provender or fuel wood. While working equally a porter I carried the babe over the peak of my load, similar every other nursing mother. I had to pass to a greater extent than than 4 hours a twenty-four hour period carrying H2O from the nearest H2O spring. But, my concern was how long am I going to alive that sort of life? I wanted to practise something else together with go able to generate some income for the line of piece of work firm unit then that I could go out of the misery.”
In 2004, World Neighbors began go inwards Samalbong together with saw the villagers’ desperate postulate to hold createcleanly H2Oproximate r to their homes. World Neighbors told the villagers they would offering back upward to convey downward the leap H2O to their village, provided the local community was create to provide local labor together with material necessary for the H2O project. After a community coming together was held, the people agreed they must consummate the next tasks inwards guild for the H2O projection to go successful:Select the nearest H2O source.
Provide all the labor to dig the trench, lay pipes, fill upward up the trench, create H2O collection
tank, etc.
Transport all the material to the projection site.
Provide local material similar sand, stone, etc.
Establish a repairs together with maintenance fund through contributions from the community, and
ensure smoothen H2O provide amongst timely repairs together with maintenance of the system.
Be responsible for protecting the H2O provide system.
World Neighbors agreed to assistance past carrying out a feasibility survey together with providing all of the necessary polythene pipes of dissimilar sizes, plumbing equipment materials, etc. The community, thrilled well-nigh the persuasion of the H2O tank, banded together to consummate the project. World Neighbors together with volunteers from Kalimpong Silent Workers Association (KSWA), a partnering organization, worked amongst the community during the project, however, i individual from each household was assigned to go on the H2O project.
Mr. Dil Bahadur Budhathoki, an elderly human being amongst no line of piece of work firm unit inwards the village, was assigned the task of squad leader together with organized the daily activities. After iii months of really hard labor, 124 households had nominate stands amongst drinkable H2Oproximate their doorsteps. A minute H2O projection was initiated together with v taps were constructed, which provided H2O to 23 to a greater extent than households. The
project too benefited 700 students of the nearby schoolhouse together with other local community people. The entire projection took i yr to complete.
Man Kurmari Rai tells how her daily life was completed transformed afterwards the H2O project. "This H2O has changed my whole life. Now, I hold plenty fourth dimension to go inwards my kitchen garden, to await afterwards my children together with livestock, together with I’m too tangled inwards some income generating activities. I hold started a small-scale grocery store to assistance back upward my livelihood together with it is generating a skillful income. The pig-raising concern that I started amongst the loan from the Savings together with Credit Group has been beneficial. The most of import affair is that I hold no concern for water. That has helped me together with my hubby considerably to cut back our tension inwards other aspects equally well. My children's wellness has improved noticeably together with they too buy the farm to school.”
World Neighbors programs inwards Southern Asia had never funded such a big projection of this length (almost half dozen miles) from the root to the reservoir tank. Thanks to World Neighbors together with the hard go of then many villagers, this community immediately has H2O 24 hours a twenty-four hour period for drinking, washing,cleanlying together with irrigating kitchen garden.
A immature farmer transforms his land
Julian's FarmAt entirely 22 years old, Julian Vasquez, a farmer inwards the Polochic valley inwards Guatemala, wanted nix to a greater extent than than to brand life amend for his line of piece of work firm unit using the small-scale slice of state that belonged to his mother. So when he saw other farmers pfrigidipating inwards a World Neighbors programme together with saw firsthand how much healthier together with productive their fields were, Julian wanted the same for himself.“Before World Neighbors, my champaign did non await similar this,” Julian said. “It instead was total of weeds together with couldn’t attain a well for you crop. World Neighbors taught me to terrace my champaign to foreclose erosion together with to improve the wellness of my soil using organic compost.”
Julian too learned to implement an irrigation organisation using an erstwhile plastic soda bottle inwards an try to conserve rainwater during the dry out seasons.
His mother, who originally had doubts inwards the go Julian wanted to practise amongst World Neighbors, immediately says, “I desire to give thanks World Neighbors for helping Julian larn how to work. Julian has e'er had inwards his heed to place into activity what he’s learned together with has been really smart to place World Neighbors instruction into practice.”
What began equally a small-scale spark of enthusiasm past i beau has immediately spread into other farmers learning together with implementing World Neighbors tools together with techniques.
“I immediately prepare other farmers to function what I learned,” Julian said. “What World Neighbors has done is really pfrigidular to me because I never persuasion I would hold such successes.”
Sikandar forfeits strange chore for farming
Sikandar Chaudhary from the hamlet of Haripur inwards the Terai Region of Nepal, was fed upward amongst using chemic fertilizers together with pesticides on his farm."I used to waste material at to the lowest degree NRs. 9,000 ($120 USD) every yr on fertilizers, but all the same my agricultural yield was declining,” he remembers.
Whatever he grew inwards his fields wasn’t sufficient to feed his line of piece of work firm unit for the entire year. He too couldn’t afford to mail his children to schoolhouse together with his dream to renovate his old, small-scale line of piece of work firm remained unfulfilled.
He tried to go to Malaysia for strange employment, but he was unable to practise then due to fiscal constraints. Sikandar had to turn over upward a department of his state to the local merchant of his hamlet when he couldn’t pay dorsum the coin he had borrowed.
When Sikandar joined a savings together with ascribe grouping initiated inwards his hamlet past World Neighbors partner RWUA, he received trainings on agro-forestry, livestock urine collection, vermi-composting amongst others. When Sikandar started agro-forestry on his land, he realized that he didn’t postulate to walk all the fashion to the wood to collect provender for his animals anymore, allowing him to blockade inwards to a greater extent than animals.
Sikandar used vermi-composting to eliminate the function of chemicalsHe starting vermi-composting which gradually allowed him to cut back his function of chemic fertilizers inwards his fields, eventually discarding them altogether. He shortly acquire a renowned producer of vermi-compost inwards the hamlet together with is making a lucre past selling it. When he started to collect livestock urine together with apply it on his farm, he discovered that it boosted his agricultural product fifty-fifty further.
Sikandar too started a vegetable garden purely for commercial purposes. Today, he grows cabbages, potatoes, tomatoes together with other vegetables which he sells inwards the local market.
With his novel sources of income, he has been able to provide his line of piece of work firm unit amongst amend wellness care, mail his children to individual schools, together with renovated his house. With his sufficient income, Sikandar no longer feels that he has to buy the farm to a strange state to notice work. "Thanks to World Neighbors together with RWUA, I hold managed to brand a decent living inwards my ain country.”
