HEALTH AND WHOLENESS 3
FROM TINY SEEDS GROW MIGHTY TREES BY JACQUELINE TUCCI
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long the border between Thailand and Burma, a new social enterprise project run by DARE (Drug & Alcohol Recovery & Education) Network and supported by PWRDF, is providing a source of hope for refugees and migrant workers in the region. Moringaid is a powdered supplement made from moringa seeds, rich in protein, iron, calcium and vitamin B and C. Growing and processing the seeds into Moringaid, and then selling the product online, is providing a source of income for migrant workers and refugees, empowering them with long-term financial sustainability. The protracted crisis has left thousands of Burmese refugees living in camps with little-to-no economic opportunity. There are currently more than two million Burmese migrant workers in Thailand working in harsh factories and on farms, most often for less than minimum wage. The lack of jobs worsens the plight of those in the camps dealing with addiction, trauma and violence. “Addiction and violence are rife in this population due to the extreme abuse [migrants] have suffered,” says DARE Network founder, Pam Rogers. “Yet, because of continuous security issues it is challenging to provide services to them. Now, thanks to PWRDF, we have a chance.” “Addiction is a family and community problem,” Rogers adds. “Women in migrant worker village communities hold the families together. If the male partner is an addict, then the women are subject to more poverty, stress and domestic violence. Men also undergo severe stress from loss of traditional roles and PTSD from war, including loss of land and disability due to land mines.” PWRDF funds are supporting the cultivation and processing of moringa seeds on a recently purchased plot of land measuring 3,200 square metres (slightly less than an acre). DARE will also be building a house on the property for training addiction workers and treating the migrant population. The moringa is a versatile, fast-growing, and drought-resistant tree, which grows in tropical countries in Asia, Africa and South America. Local people use all parts of the tree – leaves, roots and pods – to enhance their diets and for its many herbal and medicinal properties. For many people in these regions, the moringa tree can be the difference between malnutrition and wellbeing. DARE has always taken a community-focused approach, allowing programs and activities to be led by the local community, for the local community. As a result, DARE Network rehabilitation programs have a 61% non-relapse rate, compared to the average Western rehabilitation program’s rate of 25%, something Rogers credits to listening and learning from local people, and working together to achieve sustainable change. “When you work in a different culture, with many different ways of thinking and languages, it is important to be respectful of local knowledge,” says Rogers. “In order for our program to benefit people on the [Thai-Burmese] border, we needed them to participate with this knowledge and to buy in to the whole process. It has to make sense to them in terms that are important and close to them, not what we think is right or ‘best practices.’ The results speak for themselves.”
A woman holds a tray of cultivated moringa, the seeds of which will be made into Moringaid powder.
Counter-clockwise from top: Community members bring pipe to a build-site of the Barangay Ballayangon water system. Then they connect pipes which will carry water through the system. One of the system’s water tap stands is next to a school.
‘THIS WATER IS LIFE ITSELF’ BY JACQUELINE TUCCI
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n July 2022, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake struck the mountainous province of Abra in the Philippines. The quake caused flash flooding which then destroyed buildings, homes and infrastructure in several areas. In the Barangay Ballayangon communities of Pugo, Topap and Agimitan, essential water systems were washed away. The Cordillera Disaster Response & Development Services (CorDis), a long-standing partner of PWRDF, responded with relief to the affected communities through funding from the Canadian Funds for Local Initiative of the Canadian Embassy in Manila and other sources. PWRDF responded to a request from CorDis to fund the rehabilitation of village water systems. With PWRDF’s support of $22,700, CorDis, in collaboration with Timpuyug ti Mannalon iti Kalinga (TMK), the Bangowan Farmers’ Association (BAFA) and local community members, built four water systems in the spring of 2023 to provide clean, running water to Pugo, Topap and Agimitan. BAFA worked with local government representatives to form user groups to implement the project and ensure sustainable management of water systems. Local community members came together to build the system infrastructure due to the urgent need, completing the systems in only a few months despite the busy agricultural season for farming communities. These water systems have provided clean water to 81 families across 63 households, as well as an elementary school and a day care centre. An additional 69
families across 51 households benefitted from the project indirectly for a total of 150 families across 114 households – including 303 women and 259 men. Rosemarie Lingbawan is the chairperson of the BAFA organization of West Ballayangon. “We only have a small source of water but it’s not enough,” she said. “We, the women in the community, were scrambling over the little supply of water. It was laborious for the women to do their laundry and to fetch water. We carried our heavy containers looking for potable water. Now that we have our water system our work has become lighter, so we are very thankful. Now our problem of potable water is solved which is essential for daily life. We searched for the best sources in the mountains. The water is now readily available in our backyards. We are very thankful to CorDis who helped us, because now we have our water system. This water is part of our life, this water is life itself.” “CorDis is a long-standing partner of PWRDF,” said PWRDF Humanitarian Response Coordinator, Naba Gurung. “I had the honour of meeting their Executive Director, Jimmy Khayog, and his colleagues in their office in Baguio back in 2015 and have full confidence in the quality of work that they do with the community-based organizations in the region.”
Scan this QR code with your device to watch how the restoration of clean water made a world of difference in the Philippines.
