Glmikael family
With your support, the Glmikael's were given orange and avocado seedlings and shown how to grow a greater variety of crops.
Meet the Glmikael family – dad Hagos, mum Tiblest and their children, Mebrahtu, Berhan, Alem, Asmara and Kibrab. They are neighbours of the Gebreselassie family (who appear on this year’s WEE BOX) in a remote village in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
It has always been hard to grow enough food in the harsh, rocky, landscape of Tigray. But years of poor rainy seasons have brought drought, making it even more difficult to survive.
The Glmikael family were unable to grow enough food and Hagos had move to Addis Abeba in order to find work. He got a job at a garage but he earned very little and his children often went to bed hungry.
SCIAF helped their community build a reservoir which collects and stores rain water, and a system of concrete canals which channel the water directly into their fields. The Glmikael family also received agricultural training and were given avocado and orange seedlings to plant.
Hagos no longer has to leave home in order to support his family. Thanks to the training, they now know what to plant and when, and how much space to leave between seedlings. They also grow a greater variety of fruit and vegetables which they can eat, and sell.
With SCIAF’s help, a local market has been set up near the Glmikael’s home so that all the families in their community can easily sell what they grow.
Hagos said: “Before we were poor. I had to move around to find work. Now I don’t have to. Thanks to the canal, we have more food than before. In my field I grow peppers, potatoes, tomatoes and onions.”
Tiblest added: “After we harvest the crops, I take them to the market and sell them. When we get the money, we identify the gaps in our household. If food is the problem, we buy food. If clothes are the problem, we buy clothes. Life is better.”
What are you giving up?