Page 22 - GDG Annual Report 2021

Annual Report 2021 22 Global Development Group

Growing a Healthy Future

Receiving a first paycheck is a memorable life experience, and
many of us can even recall exactly how much we earned. For
those living on the margins earning an income means the
difference between health and sickness, life and death. Whilst
the past year has seen more relief activities necessitated due to
the pandemic impacts, our projects have strived to implement
relevant activities to impart income generating training and
facilitate activities with our beneficiaries to ensure they’re
equipped with skills necessary to thrive in this new era.

In the Philippines, J1074N Fresh Hope Agape Center operates
a coffee-based sustainable community development project.
The project provides training and jobs to local farmers that will
support communities in addressing poverty on a long-term
basis. This community typically works as day-labourers, and
initially showed reluctance to join the profit-sharing program
which has been designed with longer-term profit in mind.
However, by phase two of the project, 15 farmers expressed
interest, with 37% of the target population now engaged in the
ongoing program.

“I have been praying and waiting for this coffee farming
project with Fresh Hope Agape Center to finally take off. It
was such a big blessing that our tribe was given access to
100 hectares of land by the government. These mountains
are part of our ancestry and culture - and our tribe must
learn how to better cultivate and nurture it for the benefit
of our children and generations to come. We should be
open to new ideas and work better to lift families out of
poverty. I know it may take some time for some of our
community members to engage in coffee farming and
industry. But through our partnership with Fresh Hope
and PICMI and with the help and guidance of Apo (God) –
I know that our community will get there one day.”
– Joseph Badar Tribal Chief, Aeta Tribes in Palauig (ATIP).

Community members are trained in farming endeavours such as
chicken raising.