Pandemic or no pandemic, families in the Philippines are eating fresh produce every day with extra to share.
There was no going hungry for Elsa Pajardo, despite the Philippines’ three-month COVID-19 lockdown that caused many others to run out of food. Instead, the elderly woman ate every day from the nutritious food grown in her backyard. Her garden is always a life-sustainer; in crisis, it is a life-saver.
Elsa’s bountiful harvest from her garden.
Quarantined at home, Elsa went to work maximizing her garden’s potential. But it wasn’t a coincidence that she knew exactly what to do. In the past, she had received SEED training (Something to Eat Every Day) from Samaritan’s Purse and our local partner.
“I thank the Lord for learning gardening techniques from the SEED project,” she declared. “Because of it, I was able to utilize our under-utilized land and make it a fruitful garden.”
For nearly 15 years, your gifts have been transforming the lives of hungry people and reviving their livelihoods. The project uses a unique Bible-based curriculum to teach church leaders and vulnerable families how to grow bountiful backyard gardens. It also trains small-scale farmers how to boost their agricultural yields naturally.
For farmers in impoverished communities, growing an abundant crop can feel like an uphill battle. Elsa was able to use the agricultural training she received through Samaritan’s Purse to make her under-utilized land into a fruitful garden.
With a focus on training pastors, local churches are equipped to provide a solution to their communities’ physical hunger. Then they can witness powerfully about the only food that satisfies the soul—faith in Jesus Christ.
In the best of times, these communities experience everyday nutrition—fresh-picked and free. In the worst of times—like during the COVID-19 crisis, when food is scarce and movement is restricted—their existence could depend on it.
“Our beneficiaries who learned the improved agriculture techniques not only survived [the lockdown]…but also became a blessing to others,” reported our partner. Elsa is one example.
“My family isn’t worried about food on our table because we have an abundance,” she shared. “We were [even] able to give some of our produce to our neighbors and brethren in our church.”
Elsa’s “abundance” of food is a welcome contrast to the world at large. A recent report from the United Nations states that nearly one in every ten people experienced severe food insecurity in 2019.
The pandemic has made that terrible problem even worse. That’s why Samaritan’s Purse is passionately pouring effort and resources into agricultural projects that help families produce consistent, nutritious, and plentiful food. In Elsa’s words, “No one will go hungry if they have a vegetable garden at home!”
Your gifts translate into fresh, homegrown food on the tables of hungry families around the world. Just $50 can equip families with hardy seeds and helpful garden tools. Please join us in this fruitful work.
“If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday” (Isaiah 58:10, ESV).
