Your gifts at work
Mina Tamang has learnt to grow seedlings and vegetables and is now sharing her agricultural knowledge with other women’s groups in her community.
Gifts which support earning a living
Planting seeds of hope in Nepal
Mina Tamang lives with her husband, son and parents-in-law in a village in Nepal. The only source of income for Mina's family used to be traditional agricultural farming (maize, millet and paddy) but this was becoming threatened due to degradation of the soil quality. The family was not able to grow vegetables and could not often afford to buy any to eat, which led to them becoming malnourished.
In 2006, Mina became a member of a women's group, part of the community-based Health and Development project run by Share and Care, one of TEAR's partners in Nepal.
Later on, Mina was selected to be a coordinator of the group. Her group started saving money and used it to grow vegetables. They also worked to improve issues like sanitation, safe drinking water, personal hygiene and education for the girls in their community. Recognising Mina and her group's enthusiasm, Share and Care helped the group establish a nursery so that they could grow vegetable seedlings for commercial purposes. Mina and her group now sell seedlings and vegetables on a regular basis, and Mina is sharing her agricultural knowledge with other women's groups in her community.
Mina and her family are happy with the income they are now making through agriculture. They have started to consume green vegetables daily and Mina's son's health is improving. In her words: "There is nothing impossible if we really like to do. If we are dedicated, we can grow gold in our soil.”
The difference a goat can make
See the difference it can make when you buy a goat and contribute to a long-term poverty-fighting project:
Salojina and her husband Bheem Das have turned 25 chickens into a new life plan.
Salojina, Bheem Das and their chickens
Salojina (pictured) and her husband Bheem Das have turned 25 chickens into a new life plan. When they received the chicks from MGVS, one of TEAR's partners in northern India, they were struggling to make ends meet. But with some training, along with the equipment they built themselves, they've successfully raised a flock.
Salojina and Bheem Das have also been able to make an income from selling eggs and also some of the chickens once they were six months old. This has supplemented Bheem's seasonal income, and has helped the family purchase more chicks from their own savings, which they will again sell on after a few months. Salojina and Bheem have also started savings accounts for each of their four children, who now have a “nest egg” of their own.
Ethiopian man Tonato and his family now have a new toilet and sanitation knowledge as a result of the EKHC Health and Hygiene Promotion Program.
Gifts which help provide safe water
Walking the rope to improved sanitation!
In Ethiopia, only 15% of households have a latrine (or toilet). For most people, going to the toilet means finding a place in the bush or using a river or stream. People rarely use soap to wash their hands. This leads to the pollution of water sources and the spreading of disease. As a result, many children and adults suffer from water-borne diseases, especially diarrhoea. The results can often be fatal.
Tonato is 70 years old and completely blind. Until recently, he and his family (wife, three daughters and three grandchildren) had no household toilet, using instead nearby bushes. Being blind, it has become increasingly difficult for Tonato to do this, and recently he fell and badly injured himself.
Tonato and his family have been learning about the importance of sanitation through the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church (EKHC) Health and Hygiene Promotion Program. The program has trained local volunteers as health promoters who teach their community about improved sanitation practices like washing hands after going to the toilet or before eating.
The program has also taught community members how to build a simple household latrine from local materials. Tonato and his family now have a new household toilet, about 150m from their home. To prevent Tonato from slipping and falling again, EKHC staff and community members have cleared a level a path and installed a strong, steady rope for him to hold onto. Now he is able to go to the toilet by himself at any time of the day or night without assistance.
Across Program Director Stuart Houghton and one of the program's school mothers, Elizabeth.
Gifts which support learning
School mothers help girls stay in school
Across, one of TEAR's long-standing partners, is working on an education project in South Sudan designed to help girls stay in school for longer. Girls in Sudan often leave school at an early age due to marriage or to assist with family duties, like looking after the cattle.
This project has involved recruiting female role models in the community known as 'School Mothers'. The 'School Mothers' have been successfully acting as mentors to girls and encouraging families to keep them in school.
Across also provides teacher training—help for teachers from the local community to develop skills in areas including classroom management and lesson preparation. With class sizes in South Sudan triple or quadruple what they are in Australia, and with few resources available, these much-needed extra skills help teachers provide a better education to children in their school.
Gifts which support improved health
Sharing the health message
Several of TEAR's partners run community health worker (CHW) projects, which involve training people to act as health advocates, or CHWs, within their own communities. These people are empowered to manage basic health issues in their communities and teach others how to improve their health and that of their children.
Training can include awareness of the prevention of malaria, diarrhoea and other common illnesses as well as information on nutrition and hand washing practices. It can also cover the importance of using fly-proof latrines and clean water, and of antenatal and postnatal care. Once they are trained, CHWs then share their knowledge with others in their community. Sounds simple, but its effect can be life-changing—and life-saving.
Gifts which support a whole village
Jinandapur: An Example of Things to Come
(A story of success from one of last year's Village Package partners)
When the Muneer community worker first suggested to the people of Jinandapur that they start their own Community-Based Organisation (CBO), two men were inspired. Their village was very poor and lacked government assistance, and they believed that they could make a difference. So they went from house to house in their village, inviting people to come to a meeting to talk about the needs of the village. Around 50 people turned up, including 20 women! From there, they started tackling their problems.
They started with education. The closest primary school was 2km from their village, and many children were not going to school. They gathered at a village meeting and wrote a letter to the local panchayat (council) member, with signatures from all of the villagers, inviting him to come and inspect their village. A month later, he arrived. With his support, Jinandapur now has a primary school, with two teachers and sixty children. Those children were not attending school at all before.
Next, they addressed electricity. Previously, individual village members had asked the government to connect the village to the grid. But they'd had no response. The CBO called another meeting, and wrote another letter to the panchayat. This time, several panchayat members, and other government officials, visited the village. In January this year, technicians came to install the power lines to every house—a great outcome!
The elected members of the Jinandapur CBO now meet every Sunday, and have many more plans. They're starting to address entitlements to pensions, health insurance and housing. Already, they're a huge inspiration to the villages Muneer is starting to work with in Contai.
