Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Celebrate Dads who work hard for a better world.
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Fathers’ dreams for their children often surround what athletics or interests they will share, what college they might attend, the career they will embark upon after graduation, and the happiness they will find later in life. But in the developing world, a father’s dreams for his children are often overshadowed by the struggle to meet his family’s most basic, immediate needs. Fathers’ dreams for their children often surround what athletics or interests they will share, what college they might attend, the career they will embark upon after graduation, and the happiness they will find later in life. But in the developing world, a father’s dreams for his children are often overshadowed by the struggle to meet his family’s most basic, immediate needs.

Aparicio García Benítez of Buena Vista, Honduras is married with six children in primary school and has been working with SHI for one year. Although initially skeptical of the promises made by SHI, Aparicio was keen to diversify his crops, grow healthy vegetables and reforest his land with timber and fruit trees.

“When the SHI field trainer first arrived to work in our community, I had no intention of participating because I had no confidence. I thought that if I joined, I would lose my time because there are organizations that use only words but do nothing for families.

After a year of observing SHI’s good technical work with other families, I decided to apply for assistance. Another year later, I am now growing a variety of crops and fruit trees in my little plot, and I'm even expanding to a larger plot. As I like to say, SHI is an organization of actions, not just words.

My farmland is on a slope, so my field trainer, Salomon Zelaya, taught me to grow against the slope and to use techniques that prevent soil erosion while applying fertilizers, which I prepare myself with organic materials. The truth is that, before, we always used slash-and-burn techniques, herbicides and synthetic pest controls, but I am proud to now cultivate in a way that is good for the environment. We feed the soil with materials of the same forest, and everything is useful in this farming system that I implemented with SHI’s help.

Something very interesting is that with these new vegetables, all my children help me: some water the plants, and others help transplant seedlings. This is a joy for my entire family and is most beautiful when we harvest… We are happy to eat fresh, nutritious food that is free of contaminants. My children are growing and need to be well nourished to pay attention in their classes.

The big dream in my family is that by the time we stop working with SHI, we're going to have much more [regular] income and enough food, and most importantly, we will protect our water sources with all these trees we are planting. I'm optimistic and I am also ready to share my new knowledge with neighbors that are still burning the forest. If they learn the techniques we are now using with SHI, we can all live better lives.”
How can you help? Give a Gift of Hope to honor the dads in your life and empower fathers working with Sustainable Harvest International in Central America.
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