Tearfund | What you need to know about our partners part 4: Farming and Enterprise

I never imagined in my youth that I would end up living in foreign countries for most of my adult life, working in war zones, or responding to natural disasters in all kinds of challenging environments. This gave me a strong sense of empathy for the poor and disadvantaged and a passion to find ways that could counter the injustice they constantly faced.

The biggest impression I witnessed as an outsider working alongside civilians caught up in civil-war or disasters, was their inability to prevent what had happened to them or protect themselves from the suffering it brought. Many became my friends—all of them were ordinary people with normal hopes and dreams, but their lives descended into despair. They were left facing a future of seemingly impossible challenges and uncertainty.

This gave me a passion and desire to help change their situation and replace despair with hope, and their uncertainty with a measure of control over their futures as they dealt with the challenges they faced. I saw that most poor families living through such difficult circumstances would prefer to have the resources or ability to help themselves, and not have to rely on foreign guests like me coming to help them in their crisis.

Meeting with model farmers at the training farm in Sri Lanka.

For this reason, 10 years ago when I returned to New Zealand, I joined Tearfund to help support poor families around the world to help themselves. Through our Farming and Enterprise programmes, whether it is a dairy programme in post-war Sri Lanka, an agricultural programme in post-typhoon Western Samar in the Philippines, or a community market gardening programme in Mongolia, each project gives ordinary people a chance to rebuild their lives and determine their future.

Our approach is to invest in communities. We assume that everyone lives in a community, and individual poor and disadvantaged households can determine their futures if they work together. Organised communities working together and supporting each other, strengthen their ability to become more resilient in the face of external challenges and to find opportunities to take control of their lives.

It takes time and vision, and it requires a long-term strategy, but we have found that if we persevere and support communities, the lives of families improve. They are happier, feel safer and believe they are in control of their lives.

Mobile milking machine.

This approach creates positive change for families and improves their wellbeing, household security and community goodwill. They also recover much quicker from future shocks such as drought or severe cyclones caused by climate change. By working across multiple communities, especially across diverse ethnic social and gender groups, our farming and enterprise activities also help improve trust, build peace and bring people closer together.

We have found that over time, our approach to investing in communities works. They prosper and are happier—they have dreams and believe the future for their children will be safer. They don’t leave their families in search of work and they are not coerced into selling their children to human traffickers offering false dreams in overcrowded cities.

And when a crisis comes along like the global pandemic we all faced this year, none of the communities in our Farming and Enterprise programmes needed outside help. They remained food secure, could support themselves, communities remained safe, and families supported each other.

I regularly give to Tearfund, so what?

Friday, 22 October 2021 — Carl Adams

Tearfund’s ministry is about creating positive impacts in people’s lives but this would not be possible without the generous support of Kiwis.  Your donation is not just about how much money gets to where it is needed, but the level of positive change it creates.  I want to present impact through the lens of stewardship, and asking the question: “so what?”

Why periods are no longer a red light

Monday, 11 October 2021 — Compassion International

Today is International Day of the Girl Child where we recognise the rights and unique challenges girls face globally. One of the many challenges they face is period poverty. Millions of girls in developing countries experience shame, confusion and even stigma and discrimination when they get their period. The good news is in Compassion centres around the world, girls are finding education, protection, empowerment, safe bathrooms and period supplies.

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Wednesday, 08 September 2021 — Compassion International

As Haiti faces another devastating earthquake, Willow Welter from Compassion says, while it is time to weep with Haitians now, there is hope to rejoice as she reflects on what has been achieved by supporters since the last big earthquake occurred in 2010, which killed more than 200,000 people. With support, these communities will once again rise from the rubble and be able to rejoice again.

Four years on, we will not forget the Rohingya people

Wednesday, 25 August 2021 — Andrew Robinson

Today, August 25, marks four years since extreme violence and human rights atrocities erupted against the Rohingya people, forcing thousands to flee from Myanmar to Bangladesh. The Rohingya Refugee Crisis continues to this day, with over 880,000 refugees still living in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. We remember the Rohingya people today, and invite you to pray with us as you read our reflections on this crisis in this blog.

Kids around the world: My favourite foods

Friday, 20 August 2021 — Compassion International

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Kiwi working to prevent human trafficking

Friday, 13 August 2021 — Keith Ramsay

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A year on from the Beirut explosion, the effects are still being felt

Wednesday, 04 August 2021 — Tearfund New Zealand

Today marks one year since the devastating explosion at Beirut’s port in Lebanon killed more than 180 people. As one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded, it left hundreds injured and hundreds of thousands of people homeless and unemployed. Your support enabled our local partner MERATH, a Christian NGO in Lebanon, to help thousands of vulnerable individuals and families. Here’s what we were able to do with your donation.

What you need to know about our partners part 4: Farming and Enterprise

Related posts

I regularly give to Tearfund, so what?

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