Earlier this month we shared with you the story of Clara Alanya of Peru, a young woman who has remained in her rural community and become a leader through her participation in a Heifer project. In this video, you’ll hear more about Clara and go on a virtual tour of her improved kitchen, including the improved stove, which she now helps her fellow community members to build.
by Heifer Philippines
Jane Bangao-Lutong, 53, used to live locked inside her shell, wallowing in insecurity and bouts of self-pity. Her husband, Alejandro Lutong, was murdered in November 1995 and ever since, Jane bore her hardships in silence and raised three children amidst a life of wanting and poverty.
Jane lives by herself in a house made of pine lumber with GI sheets roofing built when her husband was still alive. The house was located on a rocky high bank along the Bayudan River in Supang, a mountainside village in the town of Sabangan, Mountain Province in Northern Philippines. Alfred, her eldest son, is now 29, is married and living with his own family. Norvy, the second son, is 22, a working student who supports himself through college (he is on his third year). Her youngest, daughter Je-ann ( 21), is also on her third year of college taking up hotel and restaurant management. Norvy and Je-ann stay in a boarding house in the town of Bontoc where their college is located, about an hour and a half away from Supang. They visit Jane every other weekend and during school breaks and holidays.
Jane has no advanced education, completing only the fifth grade. Jane worked hard in silence, and maximized whatever available resources to raise her children and send them to school. The murder of her husband has strengthened her resolve to raise her children but left her feeling insecure, withdrawn and misunderstood by neighbors.
“Poverty has denied me of higher education, I do not want my children to suffer the same fate, this is the only heritage I can give to them,” Jane says. Her children did their part, looking for ways to support their studies, but there are times where they have to stop and enroll again when money is available. What the children cannot do is restore Jane’s confidence. Jane’s insecurity and withdrawn personality resulted in lost opportunities to make the family life better. Her relationship with her children, at times, becomes stressful and strained, especially when they began working for their own. “I am just sorry that I cannot continuously make it easy for them, they have to learn early how to also support themselves,” Jane added.
Before joining the project, which started a year ago, Jane earned a living planting rice in a 1,000 square meter rice terrace in the hills of Supang. Cropping is once a year and whatever harvest she gets is just for family consumption for the whole year. She augments this by vegetable gardening. Money comes from hired farm labor whenever available and from sales of extra vegetable produce. The children meanwhile also do hired farm labor for their school needs. In times of emergencies, the family gets by with loans from the Rural Improvement Club in Supang Village (with very minimal interest) and small loans from relatives. Jane also raised native pigs, which she sold during some occasions to keep up with certain tribe traditions and for household needs. Simply put, the family is really hard pressed to make ends meet and survive.
“It is quite fortunate that me and my children do not experience serious illnesses, as we only depend on the Philippine Health (PhilHealth) Program for indigent families paid for by the provincial government for our health needs,” Jane says. “Also, the relationship within the family is okay, except for minor misunderstandings, especially when the children try to convince to try new things and look for opportunities,” she added.
But life is really hard. Jane has an annual income barely reaching PhP 21,000 (less than US $500), despite all the hard work she is putting in. Her usual litany is “if only my husband was still alive.” Self-pity and lack of confidence to take part in community programs have long held her back from seeking opportunities to improve her family’s quality of life.
A year ago, Heifer Philippines and the Igorota Foundation, Inc. started a new project in the towns of Sabangan and Bauko. Supang village was selected as the main project site in Sabangan. Igorota Foundation has a very successful partnership with Heifer Philippines with an earlier project in two other villages in Sabangan, which are adjacent to Supang. Again, Jane was reluctant to join. It was only the persistent request from Norvy and Je-ann and the efforts of Igorota’s local community facilitator that convinced Jane to finally try it out. “At that time I told myself, free animal gifts and vegetable seeds in exchange for attending a seminar, I have nothing to lose,” Jane says. “Turned out, it was one of the wisest decisions I have ever made,” she said, with a very faint trace of a smile in her face.
Jane first attended the Cornerstones Workshop for participating families in the first quarter of 2011. “Things happened so fast in that workshop, I realized I have imprisoned myself all these years in self-pity and insecurities,” she says. “That was when I realized I should get out of my shell, develop my self confidence and this Heifer project is the perfect opportunity. Me and my neighbors are all learning together and we are committed to help each other.” Jane also attended other skills trainings, such as improving animal management, savings and loan management training, organic farming, values-based planning, and community-managed disaster risk reduction planning.
In July 2011, Jane finally received her gifts from Heifer and Igorota. “I received one gilt, fruit tree seedlings, assorted vegetable seeds (bitter gourd, string beans, eggplant and pechay) for kitchen gardening. She established her kitchen garden first, and started earning from them as early as September 2011. She earned almost a thousand pesos on bitter gourd alone in just three months. “I am very thankful for this Heifer Project. I have wallowed in self-pity for so long I missed out on opportunities like these,” she says.
In late December 2011, Jane’s gilt had her first farrowing and gave birth to eight piglets. She is now fattening seven piglets while one piglet was given to the boar’s owner as payment for boar breeding service. “My target is to earn gradually from my pigs,” Jane says. “Maybe 50,000 pesos (US $1,100) for this year.” Jane is planning to sell some — if not all seven piglets — by this March.
The biggest change in Jane since joining the project is how to overcome her shyness after years of insecurity and self-pity. “It was a difficult struggle at first, but I cannot allow myself anymore to live in the past. I am sure my husband would be happier the way I am now,” Jane shared with a deep sigh, which, it seems to be, a release from the emotional pain she had been nursing. “My husband is long gone, I cannot afford to also lose my children if I go on wallowing in self-pity. My children are my greatest treasures, and to these gifts from Heifer, they will help me nurture my treasures.”
Jane is evolving into a silent group leader for her self-help group, and she is one of the more dependable members of the group. What she cannot express in words she expresses in hard work and initiative. She readily accepts responsibilities for the group, strengthening her core accountability and the practice of sharing and caring and other principles of the cornerstones. In due time, Jane is sure she will make good progress as the project progresses.
“I am also deeply inspired by the stories of Heifer’s Golden Talent Awardees. I hope to be able to emulate their examples. For me, the only way to repay Heifer and Igorota Foundation is through sheer hard work to take care of the gifts and do justice to the opportunity they have given for poor families like us to break free from hunger and poverty,” she says. “Thank you Heifer International and all the donors who make these kind of projects a continuing success.”
Story Contribution by:
Jun Dom-oguen, Heifer international – Philippines, Program Officer for Northern Philippines
Marifee A. Lucaney, Facilitator, IGOROTA Project
The migration of young people from rural areas to urban in the hope of a better future is common worldwide. This is understandable in many ways, but it can have negative effects overall (urban slums; overloaded urban infrastructure; and an absence of young rural innovators, farmers, caretakers, etc.) What we’ve often seen in our work, however, is that young people engaged in Heifer projects often choose to stay in their rural communities. Doing so allows them to not only remain with their families, but also give back to the community that helped raise them. Clara Alanya of Peru is a great example of this phenomenon.
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Clara Alanya is a young leader who has made a difference in her community. Her view of rural life and devotion to her work have enabled her to rise above the exclusion and chauvinism still common in the small farming community of Buenos Aires in Huancavelica, the poorest region in Peru.
Clara grew up in a family that imbued its members with strong values. The oldest of five children, Clara says she felt it was her responsibility to set a good example for her siblings.
When she was 19, her father took her to all the training workshops that the Peruvian Social Studies Center organized in their community. In those workshops, Clara began to think about the potential for development in her community and the possibilities for emphasizing local production and strengthening rural community organizations.
Certain that happiness and success are not to be found only in large cities, she decided to stay and take advantage of all the workshops offered in her community, unlike many young people who migrate to work outside their communities, scorning rural life.
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“I went to all the workshops about how to build improved stoves, raise guinea pigs, keep a family garden and raise chickens, and my family and I made changes to our house to make it a healthy home. Now I know all about how to build an improved stove. My neighbors ask me to teach them, and I do it with pleasure.
At such a young age, however, it wasn’t easy to convince others to recognize her leadership. She had to persevere, participating in community assemblies, before she was respected as an outstanding young member of the community.
In 2010, she began participating in a Heifer project called Training Communities to Exercise their Rights to Natural Resources. Clara and other promoters from 40 rural communities received training on legal issues, developing skills for defending rights related to land ownership, water use, food security and climate change.
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Clara now shares her knowledge voluntarily, facilitating workshops in her community and neighboring communities.
“I used to be afraid to talk in front of a group, but I lost my fear little by little, thanks to the training workshops. I’ve gained more confidence with the Heifer project, because the facilitators trust me. Now when older people say, ‘Why is she going to teach us? She’s so young!’ I don’t even resent it, because many people do support me and I show them everything I’ve learned.
Clara’s family has also become an example tot he entire community, confronting poverty with perseverance, understanding, and above all, family unity.
“What we do in my family is talk things over. My parents don’t make any decisions without consulting all the members of the family. That way we all agree, and we support each other in everything.
Now 23, Clara is a young woman with many dreams, who is committed to working for her community. She has shown that the most important step toward progress is to shake off the lethargy brought on by conformity and hopelessness, and envision a better future.
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| Front row, left to right: Thanapon, Jariya and Sunisa. Standing: Satian. |
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| Jariya cooks in her family’s kitchen. |
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| Thanapon (age 8) feeds his family’s ducks. |
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| Pite Niuniu and his wife, Azhe Zuotu, in Zhaojue County, Sichuan Province China |
by Heifer China
Pite Niuniu and his wife are living in Zhaojue County, Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. The county is threatened by AIDS and abuse of drugs. The whole family is depending on farming potatoes, rice and buckwheat, plus pig breeding. They have three children who are all at school, a 15-year old daughter and 2 younger sons. The low production and larger expenditure lead the family to poverty.
After Heifer China came to the village, his wife Azhe Zuotu joined a Self-Help Group. Heifer China gave this family a sow, 4 pigs and some other resources. She learned the 12 Cornerstones, animal breeding management, disease prevention, prevention of AIDS and drugs, crop planting techniques, sapling planting techniques and principals of cooperatives. With the consultation of technicians, they built a new shelter with bricks and cement. In the past few months, the sow passed on 11 offspring, which made the family a 3,500 Yuan income. What’s more, thanks to the seeds provided by Heifer and the couple’s hard work, they had a great harvest consisting of 3,500 kg potatoes, 500 kg rice, 200 kg buckwheat and 1000 kg corns, plus some vegetables.
Azhe Zuotu has received a profound understanding about the mutual support offered in self-help groups; as a result, she started caring for people who need support and love. When the project began, the family received a donation of 4,200 Yuan; so far, they are going to pass 2,200 Yuan to the pass-on candidate family this month. They are planning to pass on an additional 2,000 Yuan in March of next year.
At present, with the help of the Heifer program and the family’s hard work, the household had more income, a better quality and a more harmonious life. They had a repaired shelter, a new biogas pit and a self-owned toilet. Speaking of the future, Pite Niuniu said, “Thanks to Heifer program, I could learn skills and be confident to our future. Thanks for the donors’ help. We are going to be all right.” He would like to redecorate the house; well breed the sow, and make his kids happy.
Editor’s note: This post is the first in a new series that follows the progress of specific families, starting at the beginning of their work with Heifer. Initially, this series will focus on our programs in Asia/South Pacific, where our colleagues have chosen one family in each region in the countries where we work and will bring us quarterly updates.
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| The newly-constructed animal shelter Pite Niuniu and his fmaily built with help from Heifer China. |
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| Zhangmin, 33, with her family in Wangzhuyuan Village, Anhui Province, China. |
Here on the Heifer blog we often bring you compelling stories of families whose lives have been transformed through the gift of an animal. These stories often represent a particular point in time, and it’s most often near the end of the story.
I’m excited to tell you about a new venture that will offer a different lens into Heifer’s work. Starting next week, we’re going to bring you stories that follow the progress of specific families — from the beginning of their work with Heifer until they Pass on the Gift to another family. You’ll see each family’s story of transformation unfold over time, and I think this will give us all a new perspective on what it means to empower others to break the cycle of hunger and poverty.
We’ll be starting with programs in Asia/South Pacific, where our colleagues have chosen one family per each region in the countries where we work. They’ll be providing quarterly updates about these families, and we’re really looking forward to sharing these with you.
So please join us as we follow these stories of transformation.
story by Puja Singh
photographs by Geoff Oliver Bugbee for Heifer International
For centuries, women have been telling stories through art and music. In Bengal, these stories are told through Nakshi Kantha, a type of folk art where colorful patterns and designs are embroidered into a quilt with a running stitch called “kantha stitch”. Nakshi Kantha tells the story of life in rural Bangladesh. It tells the story of the joys, sorrows and the dreams of the future. Originally produced for the use of the family Nakshi Kantha has seen a revival and is now produced commercially.
Heifer’s projects in Bangladesh incorporate the making of these intricate quilts as an income generating activity. Project participants work on one or many of these quilts at a time. A medium sized quilt will
take 2-3 months to complete and will sell for around 5000 takka. With growing demands in the national and international market, Nakshi Kantha is becoming a good source of income for many rural families.
The women of a Heifer group in the Johari village in Natore are gathered in the porch of a house to work on Naksha Katha. Each woman works on a portion of the quilt. A usual banter hangs in the air as the women share their secrets with each other. ‘We will work on this at least an hour a day,’ says Mousammad Sabina Begam. “It’s a good way to relax and catch up with the women.”
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| Mr. You Saroeun helps his wife on the farm instead of drinking and committing violence against her. |
Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
From United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s official message:
Violence–and in many cases the mere threat of it–is one of the most significant barriers to women’s full equality.
On this International Day, I urge governments and partners around the world to harness the energy, ideas and leadership of young people to help us end this pandemic of violence. Only then will we have a more just, peaceful and equitable world.
In our work around the globe, we have seen a definite connection between poverty and gender-based violence. Living in hunger and poverty puts stress on the entire family, and these conditions can lead to domestic violence, particularly against women.
As a condition of receiving gifts of livestock and other agricultural inputs, participants of Heifer projects must undergo trainings on numerous topics, including gender and family issues. As a result of the increased sensitivity to gender issues combined with improvements in family living conditions, it is not uncommon for us to learn that husbands who once committed violence against their wives have stopped.
From Community Empowerment for Poverty Reduction Project in Svay Rieng province, Cambodia :
“After attending the gender training, I am ashamed of the domestic violence I committed on my wife,” said Mr. You Saroeun. He admitted that drinking and domestic violence brought nothing to his family, except a waste of time and property, as well as making his family fragile. He no longer leaves his family to find a job in other towns and provinces, as he has a stable job on his farm. “Staying with family, I have plenty of time to look after my children–one of them is attending high school now.”
From Community Empowerment for Poverty Reduction Project in Takeo Province, Cambodia:
“I was disregarded by villagers because of my act in plummeting my family into hell through wasting the family’s property and committing domestic violence,” said Soy Pha. He added, “But, I have changed after attending trainings provided by the project, in particular the Cornerstones training, which brings harmony and transformation to my family. Now my family is respected and recognized by the community. The family value is priceless.”
Cambodia is only one of many countries where Heifer has seen the transformation of a family suffering domestic violence into one of harmony. Nepal, Vietnam and Ukraine are other examples.
In addition to training husbands and sons in gender and family issues, another approach of Heifer’s that has been shown to improve the status of women within both the family unit and the community is engaging the community’s women as the primary project participants. The self-help group (SHG) is an effective tool in community organizing, and women-only SHGs are particularly effective at empowering women, especially in Asia/South Pacific. Learn more about and help fund projects using this approach in India, Nepal, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand.
In September, we posted a series of guest posts by Ian Hands, a participant on a Study Tour to Peru. Sarah Donaghy, a member of Heifer’s Education team and the leader of the trip, reported back on camera some of the experiences the group had.