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| Bernard and his wife on their farm |
In the Mpika Area Program of northern Zambia, World Vision is hard at work. Farmers have been introduced to the Economic Empowerment program called THRIVE—Transforming Household Resilience in Vulnerable Environments. It is a proven model for economic transformation and for altering world views that perpetuate poverty.
Witness was widowed some years ago. In her early 60’s, she had to endure the burden of taking care of 7 grandchildren because their parents (her two elderly children) trekked to South Africa in search of greener pastures. As such, she single-handedly took over the responsibility of looking after the grandchildren with little support from their biological parents in South Africa. Her adult children held only menial jobs and sending support back home is difficult due to legal constraints.
For Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSME) Day 2019, Chris Rowlands, VisionFund International’s Director of Small and Growing Business (SGB) shares how the right financial support and business coaching helps unlock growth opportunities for entrepreneurs and creates critically important jobs for low-income women, men and youth.
Sylvester always wondered why his family did not have the basics necessities to raise him and his five siblings, ranging from ages 10 to 23 years. He used to ask a lot of questions of his mother after school, like why he didn’t have shoes, or books and pens for class. His classmates pestered him about his shabbiness and lack of school supplies.
Sylvester, 12, is the second to last child of Vincent and Ansilla. He is a sponsored child in the Mudasomwa Area Program located in southern Rwanda.
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| Salamatou Ilia, 65, stands next to one of 120 trees she cultivates. She plants millet, sorghum, and cowpeas between the trees. Her harvest is much bigger since she started growing trees rather than cutting them down. (©2017 World Vision/photo by Joelma Perera) |
Earth Day, April 22, reminds us to treasure God’s creation and to steward our natural resources wisely. Re-growing trees from their roots in deforested and degraded landscapes is one of the best ways to care for our Earth, says World Vision’s Tony Rinaudo, an agronomist and natural resources expert.
In the 1980s, Tony pioneered a reforestation method in Niger that World Vision is using to help farmers become more resilient and food secure.
Following Tony’s farmer-managed natural regeneration (FMNR) system, smallholder farmers learn to regrow trees from living stumps, by selecting, pruning, and managing the growing stems.
In World Vision programs, FMNR initiatives are changing farmers’ lives for better in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Niger, and Ethiopia — 24 countries in all. In Niger alone, more than 200 million trees have been cultivated through FMNR.
Mayoka village is surrounded by beautiful mountains and a big river that flows around the village. It’s hot and dry and area farmers are working their farms, preparing for the next short rainy season. Approaching Maria and Lawrence’s farm, a cool breeze blows through the green and lush vegetation.
Maria (50) and Lawrence (55) are married and have five children, three boys and two girls. They are farmers and raise livestock as their main source of income. Four of their children go to school and one is working in Arusha town.
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| Grace and her son inspect the corn |
Lack of economic independence is one of the plights of many African women, especially in rural areas. In many African countries, men are the bread winners. This was true of Grace Njikho of Kamphalo village in Chikwina-Mpamba Area Program in Malawi. Married over 31 years and a mother of 5 children, she depended on her husband for everything. She never engaged in any form of business to gain income or supplement what her husband earned. For her, being married, meant the husband had to shoulder total responsibility for everything. “Before the THRIVE Project, I could hardly think of engaging in any form of micro enterprise for additional income for our household. I thought my husband was there to provide everything for the home,” said Grace.
“When I saw these children living in desperate conditions, my heart broke and I asked their mothers if I can take them with me and raise them.” Magdalena pauses for a moment and takes a deep sigh with her head bowed down and when she raises her head up, it is clear that she is having a difficult time pushing back tears from her bright eyes. She looks at me and breaks the silence “Being a mother is a blessing, but being an abandoned single mother is the worst nightmare anyone can wish for,” she says.
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| Gladys picking peppers |
Every morning, Gladys wakes up and runs into the kitchen for breakfast. Her mother, Olga Campos (37) prepares her a healthy meal; Soy milk, green tortillas made out of vegetables, eggs and beans. Gladys who is 4 and half years old looks very healthy and happy. They all live in the community of Santa Ifigenia in Honduras. “Thanks to the recipes I learn from the World Vision project, ‘Common pot’, I saved my daughter’s life,” Olga says very proudly. A few years ago Gladys use to suffer from anemia, she almost died. Her father Jaime Coto use to work at other people’s farm, making a daily income of $6. This was not enough to properly feed his family. “We struggle for a long time with money, my daughter was very sick and it was hard for me to afford Ramon and Ana Julissa, my other 2 children ́s education,” Jamie recalls.
Liyana Zenasi hails from Zenasi village in Chilenje Area Program in Malawi. She is married to Enosi and together, they have 4 children, age ranging from 6 to 18. For years, they have engaged in rain-fed subsistence farming, using traditional farming methods and with no involvement into micro enterprise. Providing for the family’s basic needs and supporting children with school supplies was an uphill task. They could hardly harvest enough from their fields and had no other source of income.
