By Christa Countryman (with Simon Villeneuve) | Grants Manager
Meet: Juan Garcia
Agros exists to restore hope and opportunity to the world’s poor. Our mission is to see rural poor families own agricultural land, attain economic-self sufficiency, realize their God-given potential, and pass on to future generations the values and resources that enable them to flourish.
Juan Garcia is 34 years old, and he and his wife Cristina have two children, Delvin and Seydin. Juan is someone who likes to be involved in the community and was for a time a member of the community board. He is humble, hard working, and has the desire to serve and support his family and small community.
Before Agros came in contact with Juan, he worked in El Tuma, Nicaragua cultivating basic grains (corn and beans). His only option for work was to rent land during the harvest season because he did not have the resources to purchase his own. When the harvest season was over, he looked for anywhere he could find work and held many positions in coffee mill production, as a pepper farm slicer, and as a farm driver. Everyday was a struggle not only to feed and clothe his family, but also to support the struggling community around him. Juan was losing hope for a sustainable future.
By God’s grace, Moises, a partner of San Jose Agro Village, approached Juan and asked if they could work together growing coffee. When he began to work with Moises he started to learn more about the project, and that through Agros he may be able to own land and attain more economic self-sufficiency. Juan begun to have new hope for a more successful life and a better future! Though the first year of harvest was rough because the there was a drought, the following year he was able to grow some crop. He is now growing upwards of 5,300 new coffee plants and also has an acre plot to grow jalapeño peppers and chiltoma peppers on the side. Juan now has more opportunity than ever to flourish and grow.
Juan is grateful for Agros because otherwise his family would not have had the resources they need to survive and the support they need economically sustain themselves. Gifts and donations to Agros have helped Juan secure a better life and more resources for his family now, and for future generations.
Spring 2013 Village Highlights
Community Organization
Because organization matters to community development, the community participated in the creation of proposals for economic and community wellbeing activities for the community plan of the new fiscal year. Community partners actively participated in the election of a new community board and strongly encouraged the new board members to continue working for women, children, and community wellbeing projects.
Infrastructure
Because of the need to have an official place to conduct heath and well-being activities for the people, the community center has gone through necessary structural updates.
Economic Development
There has been huge progress made toward a bigger and stronger economy in this community. Through your support, Agros has led preparation of 0.35 acres of land to grow peppers, 9 acres of rice for family consumption and sale of surplus for money, and 3,052 acres of corn for food and sale of surplus. Additionally 54,000 bags of soil have been filled with coffee seedlings in preparation for 23 acres of planting and renovation.
If that is not enough, because we want this community to produce the best quality crop for their consumption and sale, we put together a diagnostic of the entire coffee parcel took place to determine the health situation of the crop.
Human Development
24 families are actively involved in Growth Groups. Not only are these groups educational, but they are also building strong friendships that help motivate families to apply what they are learning, overcome obstacles, and encourage each other.
Because education is extremely important, the community has been continually working on building a School Center that will benefit the primary school students. 34 children have been enrolled in basic education, and parents in the community are supporting 7 teenagers in the secondary schools. As well, three female teenagers have received and purchased their own bicycles through Amigos por Cristo (Friends for Christ) in order to travel to school.
Education and support is being given not only to children, but to adults as well. Eleven women have attended workshops on topics ranging from domestic violence to gender relations and equality.
As far as community health and livelihood is concerned, two health promoters have also been trained to take malaria detection samples as well as been given training on the basics of nutrition and family planning by MINSA (Ministry of Health). Home visits to pregnant women were conducted, community clean-up days have been implemented, and a trash dump has been built in the community for better waste management.
Follow Agros on Twitter @AgrosIntl, or on Facebook at Facebook.com/AgrosIntl to get day-to-day village updates and more info from the field.
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