Thursday, February 6, 2014

In a world of hope, one plus one equals much more than two!

Baagan Bibi and her family live on a small parcel of land outside the rural village of Akbarwala, near the border between Pakistan and northwestern India.

A widow and sole provider for her family, Baagan’s home is a modest one-room house with no amenities.

Baagan and her family can cope having no amenities, but the struggle to put food on the table every day can be a much bigger challenge.

Recently, Baagan shared her story with us and today, we want to share it with you, including the amazing transformation her family as gone through.

It’s always been difficult for Baagan to grow enough vegetables on her small parcel of land, much less buy them in the village of Akbarwala, a number of kilometers away.

“We live far from village”, says Baagan.  Even when I could make the trip in to the village, I often could not buy vegetables due to lack of money.

One day, I was sitting with women who live in Akbarwala and I shared my problems with them and asked if they had some solutions.

It turns out that one of the women had been part of a group of women that received training on kitchen gardening, so I asked her about the training.

Later on, I approached the group who did the training and then participated in training sessions and my basic skills regarding kitchen gardening improved.

In addition, I received seeds of different vegetables, along with gardening tools. I then cultivated my vegetables with the confidence and trust that this season I would not have to purchase vegetables from the market.

Believe me, I not only had enough vegetables to feed my family, but also sold extra vegetables and earned Rs. 10,000 (CAD $105) in the season.

I’m happy and thank HOPE International Development Agency for rebuilding my confidence.

I also promise that I will encourage other women to start kitchen gardening themselves and gain what I have gained through this activity.”

Baagan, like nearly every other person we’re privileged to work with is proof that the people you help through your donations not only improve their own lives, but the lives of others as well!

In a world of hope, one plus one does equal much more than two. In can, in fact, equal an entire village as people, like Baagan pass on the skills that transformed their lives.