Five years ago, 80-year-old Ali Abdul Adam’s land was nearly barren. From sunup to sundown, he and his family worked to cultivate the land just to grow enough food to survive. Because their help was needed in the fields, none of Ali Abdul’s six children were able to attend school.
“Then ORDA came into our life and awakened us,” he says.
ORDA constructed a household pond on Ali Abdul’s land to serve as a source of irrigation. His neighbors gladly carried stones and sand for the construction and did the digging, while ORDA brought additional materials and paid the villagers for their labor.
ORDA also provided seedlings—for mangoes, papaya, guava, groundnuts (peanuts), tomatoes and onions—to Ali Abdul’s family to help boost their crop production.
“It was the end of the old life for us,” Ali Abdul says. “Finally, I was able to grow enough food to feed my family. I have never felt prouder.”
Today, his land is growing and expanding. Because the pond supplies more than adequate irrigation for his crops, he’s able to sell part of his harvest for cash, which he uses to buy clothes and other supplies and assets for his family.
Ali Abdul is especially thankful to see his grandchildren benefiting from the success he has had. Currently, he is saving money to buy a house in the nearby city of Bati, so they can attend school there.
“We’ve been awakened when our lives have nearly ended,” he says. “If I were awakened in my early years, I could have changed so much more.”