There is only a small portion of rice left in the cupboard, Angela knows there will not be enough left over for dinner and she is devastated that her son will go to bed hungry.
As a single mother, Angela is the sole provider and carer for her son and will do absolutely everything to take care of him.
Angela grew up in poverty and was forced to make many sacrifices throughout her life. As a teenager she dropped out of school to care for her sick mother who later passed away. Despite applying for many jobs, her limited education has made it difficult; instead, she relies on farming as her source of both food and income.
Having experienced how a lack of education can negatively affect your opportunities, Angela is determined to keep her son in school and give him access to a brighter future.
To provide food and education for her son, Angela previously sold bananas in her local market.
In her rural town, the roads are difficult to drive and cycle along, it is easier for Angela to walk and carry the bananas with her, although this takes longer.
“In the rainy season, people aren’t buying the bananas and the animals are dying also. So that makes us feel sad.”
When Angela heard that there was an ADRA project coming to her community, she jumped at the opportunity to get involved.
Through the project, Angela received a farming kit with ginger to plant. To start, she received six bags of ginger to plant. From her first harvest she produced over 60 bags of ginger! Her farming has multiplied ten-fold.
Not only did her harvest increase but she is now selling her ginger directly to supermarkets, giving her a better price and meaning she no longer needs to walk far distances to sell her produce.
On top of this she joined an ADRA savings and loans group. From this group she can take out a loan when needed and pay it back at an affordable rate – something she previously would never have access to.
“I feel happy because when we need emergency funds for our school needs, we can take it from the loan with low interest.”
She has used the money she has earned to pay for food for her family, as well as paying her sons and young siblings school fees.
“If ADRA has not come, we would not have enough to pay for my siblings or sons education, we also wouldn’t have enough food in our home.”
Angela no longer worries about not having enough food for her son. Her dream is for all children and families in her village to never go hungry again.
