In a country with the highest rates of child malnutrition in our hemisphere, Food For The Poor is supporting initiatives that are helping poor, isolated communities grow more healthy foods. The El Caminero Vegetables project is just one endeavor that deserves a round of applause.
The families living in El Caminero, a small village in the department of Totonicapán, are hardworking, yet extremely poor. Many are unable to give their children the nutrition they need to grow up healthy. Some in this area are so desperate for food, they spend their days scavenging local dumps and landfills for anything they can bring home, or possibly sell.
A food-growing, potentially income-generating project is a dream come true for a poor family in desperate need of nutrition and income.
With this in mind, our kind donors have given 25 of the area’s neediest, most committed families an opportunity to benefit from this project, which includes seeds, fertilizer, fungicides, fumigation pumps, an artesian well and a water pump for irrigation.
Now, having tried my hand at gardening this past year, and managing to bring in a grand total of 3 tomatoes, zero peppers and a very disappointing cilantro harvest, I can see the appeal of having some agricultural support on a project like this. Our in-country partners at The Social Assistance Committee of the Lutheran Church of Guatemala have been doing a great job of making sure the beneficiaries of this project receive whatever equipment or support from agricultural technicians they need.
Despite a cold snap earlier this year that wiped out some crops, the people of El Caminero are resilient. They have regrouped, replanted, and are making this project flourish. The beneficiaries are now growing radishes, lima beans, cauliflower and cabbage with tremendous success.
This great project is doing much more than providing healthy, nutritious vegetables and an opportunity to sell the surplus for extra income. It is bringing a community together. It is giving poor mothers, who used to sift through garbage to find food, the assurance of having a supply of healthy food to give their kids. That is something to celebrate.
If you would like to support a self-sustaining initiative like the El Caminero Vegetables project, click here.
