Monpura, Bangladesh, is a beautiful island surrounded by the Meghna River. To the south, beach views stretch into the Bay of Bengal. To the west are forests and gardens where wild deer roam.

But in some areas, natural disasters like cyclones damage the landscape in the summer and autumn months. Houses are lost, farmlands flood, and roads and dikes break. Residents like Noornobi, who lives on Monpura with his family of 11, are always looking for new ways to protect their homes.

Noornobi says his family was poor when they lived in a small hut with a tin roof and hay walls. Their land would flood often, making it difficult to grow vegetables year-round. Noornobi found day labor catching hilsa fish in the river, but some days work was limited. This made it difficult for his family to eat well.

When Noornobi joined Catholic Relief Services’ Mutki Project, he learned how to prevent his land from flooding, to farm using chemical-free and organic fertilizers, and to raise chickens and ducks to sell. Now, with the help of his father and nephew Abdul, Noornobi farms more than half of his land and grows a variety of vegetables—including tomatoes, chilies, eggplant and lal shak, which is like a red spinach. He sells the vegetables at market.

“We have been improving because of vegetable farming … we slowly began to make a profit,” Noornobi says. With that profit, the family bought a larger tin house. Noornobi also helped his brothers open a shop to support their family and pay for private schooling for Abdul, who wants to be an engineer, and his sister Nihar, who dreams of being a schoolteacher.

“If I can build a nice family … I will be grateful,” Noornobi says. And for his community, he hopes everyone can “have a full stomach by working hard in the field.”

REFLECT

God created our world, and it is our responsibility to take care of it.

Why is caring for creation so important, and what is the impact—locally and globally—when we don’t care for it?

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All things are achieved when one sets out to do so.

— Raúl Chanchavac

It’s 5 a.m. in the village of Xequemeyá, Guatemala, but Raúl and Lilian Chanchavac are already starting their day. 

First, they thank God for all he has given them—their two sons, a field full of plants and a successful business. They certainly have a lot to be thankful for.

It all started with a dream to flourish and to help others do the same. “All things are achieved when one sets out to do so,” Raúl says.

In their village, malnutrition is high, which is especially dangerous for children. The community also struggles with water scarcity, poor education, poverty and a changing climate. But Raúl and Lilian believe all this can be overcome.

They started working toward change by growing tomatoes. They dedicated long hours in their field, but plant diseases and other problems destroyed their crops. They felt defeated and humiliated, Raúl says. But they pushed onward.

Then Lilian heard about Catholic Relief Services' SEGAMIL program and how they could receive agriculture training and nutrition education for their children. Raúl and Lilian learned to manage and care for their crops. From there, they began growing for their business—adding onions, chili peppers and oranges to their crops. Produce was plentiful, but they continued to struggle—this time with selling it at markets.

Still determined, they entered CRS’ Nuestra Cosecha program that helped them register with the government to begin selling their produce to 16 local schools. Soon, they hired family and community members to harvest and pack the food. Today, they are proud to be able to help others in their community—especially children.

“It helps them be stronger and to learn better … and to avoid malnutrition in our village,” Lilian says.

Today, Lilian and Raul are looking forward to the future.  Together with Lilian, Raul says, “Now that I am living a dream, other dreams come. Now, my dream is to expand the business … so other people can benefit too.”