ขออนุญาตนำมาลงไว้นะคะ อ่านได้ใน http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/20070523/ ได้อีกทางนะคะ
Stable sustenance
She started off with 10 piglets. Now she's the village leader, teaching others to earn a living - all thanks to a small communityprogramme
Watching Awooma Lomo as she farms her land in Ban Huaychansri, a community high in the mountains of Chiang Mai's Mae Ai district, it's hard to imagine the difficulties this 30-something Akha woman has had to overcome in her short life.Yet, in less than two decades, Awooma has gone from being a teenage prostitute to village leader and today her farm serves as a training centre for other hill tribes to learn about sustainable agriculture. Awooma was just 16 when she went to Chiang Mai to earn money for the family. After working as a prostitute for a few years, she met a man and they got married.Her happiness, unfortunately, was short-lived. Unable to live with his drug addiction, she returned home with their newborn child in her arms.She used her savings to open a restaurant, but the business soon failed - the villagers were too disgusted by her former profession to frequent the premises.Then, in 2002, non-profit organisation Heifer International arrived in Ban Huaychansri.When Heifer, which emphasises community involvement and teaches sustainable development, offered her the chance to learn about integrated agriculture, such as growing fruits and vegetables simultaneously, making fertiliser and caring for cattle, pigs, poultry and catfish, Awooma jumped at the chance, even though she had little formal education. As part of the project, she was given 10 piglets to raise and after six months she managed to sell the animals for Bt30,000. Her hard work and diligence also won her acceptance from the villagers, leading the project staff to send her story to their headquarters in the US with a recommendation for an award.And they weren't disappointed. In 2005, Awooma received the Wild Award Grassroots Achievement from Heifer International USA.The NGO's helping hand has also been felt in Ban Huaygum, a Lahu hilltribe village also in Mae Ai district, which can only be accessed during the dry season.About 30 families in Ban Huaygum have long farmed their land that is largely dependent on the weather. Few members of the community have been educated beyond primary school so have little option but to seek jobs when they can't work in the fields.Local government has shown no interest in offering assistance or investment, so last year, they appealed to Heifer for aid. The organisation sent in staff to provide training and give technical advice, and followed up with a community-based project. Heifer provided black pigs, which would be ready to sell within six months, and taught the farmers how to produce fertiliser and bio gas from the animals' waste. Today, the villagers raise catfish, poultry and cultivate vegetable gardens around their houses. Excess eggs and produce is sold and the money is put into a community investment fund for the future.Heifer has been promoting sustainable development in Thailand for 33 years and has also assisted groups with special needs, such as HIV/Aids and leprosy patients, in earning their livelihood. The organisation's philosophy emphasises community involvement and its slogan, "Passing on the Gift", means recipients agree to share the offspring of gift animals with others in need.The upshot is that the recipients become partners in development, forwarding Heifer's programme to enhance the lives of both individuals and communities, and helping to preserve forests and water resources.The Gift for Life Foundation (GLF), which was registered as a non-profit organisation in March, is now accompanying Heifer International Thailand in its mission to support poor agriculturists in rural areas, as well as the underprivileged in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Burma and Vietnam.So far the organisation has assisted more than 20,000 families in some 1,600 villages throughout the north and northeast of the Kingdom as well as in neighbouring countries."Integrated agriculture is one aspect of the sufficiency economy theory that can be quickly put into practice for tribal or poor people living in remote areas," explains GLF board member Dr Suchon Tungtaweevipatna."GLF has the project of providing cattle for 80 families to mark His Majesty the King's 80th birthday this year," adds Heifer country director Dr Boonlom Cheva-Isarakul. "By working together, our foundations can offer hope to people with little opportunity for a self-reliant and stable life."
Phongsatorn Manraks The Nation
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น