International Women’s Day 2023: Women in Honduras Harvest Hope for the Future
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (March 8, 2023) The women in the UNIOYOL Cooperative of El Medio Guire, Honduras, are using new tools and entrepreneurial skills to increase their crop yields and income for their families, thanks to Food For The Poor (FFTP) and its partner, the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund.
In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, FFTP salutes these women and the generous donors who support this sustainable project.
UNIOYOL stands for Unión de Organizaciones de Yoro Limitada, or the Union of Yoro Organizations Limited. Twenty women in the cooperative were provided with the tools, education and training necessary to cultivate their bean crops during the harvest that began last September. In the future, the same will be provided for their corn crops in time for the late spring growing season.
The women who oversee small farms in UNIOYOL need help adapting as the agricultural industry moves toward increasing environmental sustainability. Many do not have the skills necessary to grow their crops using these new farming techniques.
Without the proper training to sustainably grow their crops, these women will be forced to leave Honduras in search of better opportunities for their families.
Sindy, a local farmer, thanked FFTP and the Taiwan ICDF for helping her provide for her family.
“We as a family live from agriculture, and what little we get is to survive and pay for the medicines for my little boy who is sick,” Sindy said. “We believe that this support will lead us to progress, and we want to thank you for thinking about our country. This help means more than we can express.”
International Women’s Day is a global day marked annually on March 8, celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It was recognized for the first time in March 1911. The date was fixed on March 8 two years later.
FFTP began serving poverty-stricken children and families in Honduras in 1999, shortly after the country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch. The charity works with its partner CEPUDO, which is based in San Pedro Sula, to oversee and carry out relief and economic development projects throughout Honduras.
The country’s economy continues to reel from the COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented impact of back-to-back hurricanes.
The pandemic caused additional hardships for the Honduran agricultural industry and the small local farmers within it. Women were hit particularly hard.
The women faced lack of access to goods and services, an increase in the burden of care and the devastation of rural communities and disruptions in food production. These factors made farming increasingly difficult for them.
But the future for the women looks brighter.
The enduring partnership of FFTP and the Taiwan ICDF goes back more than a decade, making the development of agricultural, aquaculture and animal husbandry projects a reality for destitute families and a stepping-stone out of poverty.
FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine said the Taiwan ICDF’s generosity is helping the women of the UNIOYOL cooperative reach the next level of self-sufficiency.
Raine said the women are learning valuable skills that will provide them the foundation to succeed.
“We’re committed to income-generating projects in the communities where we serve to give women and their families the ability to break free of poverty,” Raine said. “Because of our long-standing relationship with the government of Taiwan and the unwavering support of our donors, we are planting the seeds for the success of these women.”
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry children and families living in poverty in 19 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for vulnerable children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Michael Turnbell
Communications
954-471-0928
[email protected]
