"For 50 years, I thought broccoli, carrots, and spinach were only for the elite," Genevieve shares. "Now, at age 60, thanks to ADRA, I am eating these foods and feeding them to my grandchildren. Our health has greatly improved!"
For most of us, the eating of broccoli, carrots, and spinach is something that we have been doing all our lives. It is even something that we take for granted, not only for ourselves, but for others as well. And yet this simple statement from Genevieve, a grandmother participating in ADRA's gardening project in Zimbabwe, is eye-opening for all of us.
Answering the cry of the food crisis of 2010, in which 20 percent of the people of Zimbabwe were in desperate need of food aid, ADRA distributed much-needed immediate food. However, knowing that unless individuals are taught to grow their own food, the crisis will happen again, we immediately began teaching gardening concepts to the poorest communities south of Harare. And now we are being called upon to expand this project.
With 80 percent unemployment in these communities, life is extremely difficult. ADRA's garden projects are the largest in the country, currently covering 125 acres in two communities, benefiting thousands of individuals. Priority is given to families that are caring for orphans, female-headed households, and those who are HIV-positive. All work is done by hand under the hot sun.
"Many people dropped out of the project at the start," says Eleanor. "It was too much work. Now, after seeing our harvests and improved health, there is a long list of people who want to join. It is necessary to have guards on all our gardens 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Life is much better with ADRA. Thank you for changing our lives."
The challenges are great for the grandmothers and single mothers in this project. Crime is so rampant that the ADRA gardens are behind 6-foot-high cement block walls with two feet of barbed wire on top of the walls. The women employ armed guards at night at the gates of the gardens with part of the profits from the sale of their produce.
"We must have guards; otherwise, everything we plant would disappear in the darkness," says Esther, the community president of one garden location. "People are desperate; however, few are willing to work hard. We women are organized into groups that guard the gates during the day. I pray that change will come as everyone sees the efforts of our labors."
"Now, having all the vegetables we need, we are selling the extra," Esther shares. "As a group, we are taking a small portion of our proceeds to put together for extra projects. On our own, we have built a latrine inside the garden walls for our families to use. Now we are using our small extra funds to construct a chicken coop. When we have everything ready, we will invest in chicks and have eggs to eat and to sell. Two year ago, when we were hungry all the time and didn't even have one meal a day, we never dreamed of days like this. Every part of our life is better because of ADRA."
