Sowing for a Better Life
By Scovia Faida Charles“Our first year of harvest was only enough to send my 13-year-old daughter Atong to school.”
24-year-old Yom Ater was left with five children after her husband passed away. Growing up in a cattle camp, she did not know any other source of livelihood except tending cows and surviving on their milk supply.
In 2019, Yom joined World Vision’s Greater Resilience through Enhanced Agriculture and Nutrition Project to increase agricultural production and enhance her marketing skills through the training. “Our first year of harvest cleared the debts I owed. I was able to earn enough to send my 13-year-old daughter Atong to school,” Yom proudly shares. However, her finances still suffered with high prices of food and healthcare, and were not enough for the family’s needs.
World Vision approached women in need to assist in vegetable production in 2022. The initiative’s goal is to improve gardening skills and improve quality of life of families like Yom’s through consumption of fresh organic vegetables. Families are supported with tomatoes, onions, eggplants, okra, carrot and cabbage seeds, as well as cassava and sweet potatoes that provide good nutrition for both mothers and children.
With the help of the new project, Yom said her children now attend school and eat well, and their health are getting better. “This year will be better as I harvest a variety of vegetables every week for food. I will sell the produce to pay for the children’s school fees and still save some for consumption,” she happily adds.