Blog | Outreach International

International Day of Families

re•lent•less posted by Sarah Boyd, May 15, 2013

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May 15 is dedicated to family awareness around the world. Known since 1993 as the International Day of Families, it is a day to acknowledge the social and economic processes affecting families worldwide.

In India, families in Outreach International communities celebrate farm animals with extreme gratitude. Thanks to the 22 water buffalo Outreach helped their community obtain, they can feed their children, and even have surplus milk to sell.

Because vegetable gardens have been planted in Bolivia, with greenhouses to sustain growth during the winter months, families no longer have to worry about being able to feed their children all year.

Congo

In DR Congo, families are now able to teach their children the importance of sanitation, decreasing extreme health risks.

Zambia

In Zambia, increased access to health care allows families to avoid diseases like malaria with mosquito nets.

father, toddler

In the Philippines, options for education put parents at ease, knowing their children have bright futures ahead.

The City of Smell

re•lent•less posted by Sarah Boyd, May 14, 2013

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For more than 50 years, Sitio Duco, Philippines, had few toilets to offer its 49 families. In fact, in 2009, surveys showed that there was merely three toilets in the community–two privately owned and one open to the public. Made of plastic and used truck wheels, the public toilet was in no way appealing.

And for lack of adequate facilities, residents of Sitio Duco would openly defecate in their backyards or in nearby fields. As a result, the village became known to surrounding communities as the “village that stinks.”

Jun, the chairman of Sitio Duco, was worried. Not only did his community smell, but the people were not well. Diseases such as typhoid fever, diarrhea and nausea ran rampant.

When a local facilitator from Outreach International came to organize the group, things turned around quickly for the community. Residents united to identify 12 sanitation-related issues that needed to be addressed. To no surprise, the lack of toilets in the community was at the top of the list.

In a year’s time, with a collaborative effort as a community, Jun and the residents of Sitio Duco accessed more than $900 on their own–enough to build nine more toilets in their village.

“We have constructed five toilets with concrete septic tanks, and are about to construct another four. Next time you’re there, you won’t need a place to hide–you’ll have a place to go,” said Jun, addressing outsiders from the village.

Thanks to generous donations from Outreach supporters, families in Sitio Duco have prevented illness due to lack of sanitation. Help us continue empowering communities to build latrines and improve sanitation conditions all over the world.

Story told by Krizza, Facilitator at the Outreach Program in the Philippines

The Most Important Gift on Mother’s Day

re•lent•less posted by Sarah Boyd, May 11, 2013

Most important Mother's Day Gift

“I am blessed to know so many strong, selfless and resilient mothers in the community of Kuljing,” said Rashmireka, a community leader in Outreach International’s India program.

Rashmireka has now seen 28 widows in two communities access their pensions. Witnessing their financial struggles firsthand, she’s seen mothers who once had no means to feed their children no longer worry.

75 Families in the Philippines Create Clean Water for the Community

re•lent•less posted by Sarah Boyd, May 7, 2013

family water

One hot , summer day in Canantong, Philippines, a young boy went for a swim in the irrigation canal near his home. He was abruptly interrupted when his mother, Mary Ann, came out to scold him. What Mary Ann’s son was naively oblivious to was the fact that broken bottles lined the floor of the irrigation canal.

Celebrating Malaria Prevention in Africa

re•lent•less posted by Sarah Boyd, April 25, 2013

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In the last year, roughly 3.3 billion people were considered at risk for malaria—that’s almost half the world’s population. About 90 percent of malaria deaths occur in Africa. And most of those deaths are in children under the age of five years old.

Right now, Outreach International is working with several communities to boost health and prevent malaria in children as well as adults.

Reforesting Helps Fight Poverty

re•lent•less posted by Sarah Boyd, April 22, 2013

A real replacing of trees in Malawi

This year, on the 43rd celebration of Earth Day, a special focus has been placed on climate change. In impoverished communities around the world, families experiencing deforestation are seeing that climate change manifest itself in their home villages. Although deforestation is damaging for all of us, the ones who suffer most are the impoverished people who rely on the forest for food and income.

Outreach villages in Malawi and Bolivia are taking action to reforest their communities, repairing our environment and increasing their resources.

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Bolivia

re•lent•less posted by Sarah Boyd, April 19, 2013

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How well do you know Bolivia? Here are a few intriguing facts you may not have already heard. From its diverse culture to Outreach’s work to fight hunger in its impoverished communities, there is so much to learn about this South American country.

A Kitchen Changes Everything for a Nicaraguan Feeding Program

re•lent•less posted by Sarah Boyd, April 16, 2013

In La Prussia, Nicaragua, the Immaculate School Community has been providing children with lunches for five years. With help from community mothers, 120 children are no longer scraping by each day, suffering through hunger and low-energy levels—they’re eating nutritious rice and vegetables and excelling in school.

As Outreach International observed this process over time, staff members were able to adjust the program as the community needed. And through the slow-but-steady progression of the project, we realized we needed to take the feeding program one step further.

Communities in Malawi Take Action to Improve the Environment

re•lent•less posted by Sarah Boyd, April 5, 2013

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While deforestation no doubt takes an extreme toll on our environment, in poverty-stricken areas where water and crops are scarce, the negative effects are already unfolding, causing extreme harm to the people who depend on the land for survival.

In Malawi, communities are experiencing land degradation due to deforestation. Trees release water vapor into the atmosphere and provide shade to keep soil from drying out. Deforestation means soil erosion and a lack of water in these communities, so Outreach International is taking serious action to improve environmental conditions.

Lean Months: Zambia

re•lent•less posted by Sarah Boyd, April 4, 2013

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Reserving two days for watering crops, the people of Luano, Zambia, had no choice but to use precious time that could be spent generating income on irrigating harvests. Due to the climate, six months out of the year are unsuitable for vegetable growth in this region. Consequently, families were having difficultly producing food and generating income to provide for their children. And as a devastating result of the lean months, five children suffered from malnutrition.