Small Steps for a Better Future

Summary

Over the past four years, Healing Venezuela has been focused on addressing child malnutrition in the remote village of Guaraunos, Venezuela. With our support, a proactive team from the village has made remarkable progress, reducing the prevalence of malnutrition to 5%, compared to the national rate of 26%. Our aim is to ensure that every child in the area receives the nutrition necessary for healthy development.

During our time in Guaraunos, we've noted the numerous challenges faced by families and collaborators in securing stable income. Limited job opportunities in the rural region and Venezuela's economic crisis have left 90% of the population living on less than $2 per day. Consequently, many families struggle to provide balanced and nutritious meals for their children, hindering their physical and mental development.

To address this issue sustainably, we're promoting community development initiatives. Our focus is on establishing a backyard poultry farming business model, proven successful in similar remote areas. This initiative empowers women and mothers in Guaraunos to achieve economic independence.

By participating in this venture, women can generate a reliable income to support their families while contributing to the food programme by supplying necessary proteins. This fosters a sense of belonging within the community and ensures the program's longevity.

How it works

Our sponsorship covers initial programme stages, including technical and business training for female micro-farmers. Funds support the purchase of livestock, feed, vaccines, vitamins, and other necessary supplies. In January, we provided five women a “kit”, each including 25 one-week-old chicks, along with food and medicines for their growth. Our on-ground volunteers coach micro-farmers, while an agronomist engineer monitors the chicks' health and development. Supplies are purchased locally and supplied to farmers weekly to avoid storage and refrigeration challenges due to inconsistent electricity.

As we keep adding beneficiaries to the micro-farms, the financial sponsorship will gradually decrease as well as our support to the children’s food programme as the community will be capable of taking over the care of its most vulnerable individuals. By allowing our farmers to have enough working capital to take a more active role in managing and directing their businesses, we are ensuring both their autonomy and the sustainability of the food programme.

Costs

Despite the challenging and highly unstable inflation rates in Venezuela, we have taken every possible measure to keep the start-up costs of our programme minimal and basic. Our approach involves each participant contributing a designated space in their backyard to house the chicks, thereby effectively reducing infrastructure and set-up costs. This has resulted in a unit cost per chick of approximately $5 over its entire development cycle, with a capacity of 25 chicks per yard in the initial stages of the programme. Our goal is to gradually increase the capacity to a maximum of 60 chicks per yard, with the aim of decreasing the marginal unit cost. Additionally, we have managed to cover all the necessary expenses such as the purchase of chicks, feed, vaccines, vitamins, and other inputs, as well as the monthly transport costs with an average remittance of $800 per month to this programme in Venezuela. Other expenses include project management in the UK.

Conclusions

Thanks to the support of GlobalGiving, we have been able to make our dream of creating a self-sustaining business model a reality. Our programme is focused on empowering the women of Guaraunos, who are often the primary caregivers and providers for their families. We believe that by providing these women with the necessary training to learn a trade, we can help them become economically self-sufficient and provide a better future for themselves and their families.

Our programme is designed to be socially integrated into the economic cycle of the community. We work with local partners and businesses to ensure that the training we provide is tailored to the needs of the community. By creating this economic integration, we are helping these women to become active contributors to the local economy and enhance the overall economic stability of the community.

Through our programme, these women are provided with the skills and knowledge they need to start their own businesses or secure employment in their chosen field. This initiative enables them to earn a secure source of income and meet the nutritional needs of their family while also contributing to the dining room. This is a significant step towards breaking the cycle of poverty and empowering these women to take control of their financial futures.