Protect family in the long difficult situation (Part Ⅰ)

I am a JEN’s staff. Once I introduced myself to her, Maｌini who lives in a village, looked at me with shining eyes. She said “I have been fighting with difficulties for a long time to protect my family, but I’m now full of hope. Since I participate in JEN’s activities, I can own property to improve our living condition and earn an income from small-scale agriculture.”

<Maｌini and goats>



“I’m forty three years old. Two of my daughters are sixteen years old and fourteen years old. My husband fell victim to the war that continued over two decollates. Our life was destroyed in the moment of his death.

My husband’s death in 2000 was a tragedy. I thought that my life has been taken away, too. However, I have lived somehow only with a sense of duty and determination to raise my two daughters.

The past fifteen years since his death, I have been raising my daughters and worked as hard as I could. I’ve been a day laborer and supported road works and farm work of paddies. However, I could not get these works every time. Income from those hard works are only just enough for daily meal and minimum daily necessities for my little daughters. I didn’t have any other income sources besides the day labor.

However, I have two goats which are my only tool as sources of income.

I really felt relieved, when I was selected in a JEN’s project in 2015. I was told that I would be certified as a woman householder and would be provided a newly built well for farming to start a small-scale agriculture.

It was a very hard work to draw drinking water from a public well nearby. I was excited to hear that I could have my own well. My daughters didn’t like to bathing at the public well, so the news of the well is wonderful support for my family.

In addition, the project has another aspect which is “sharing”.　My well is shared with two families, my family and my neighbor. To make it convenient for both of us, we agreed to build a well between the two houses.

I also participated in a workshop facilitated by JEN. They consistently told us to support each other and to aim for a common goal. I think it is important for support and develop awareness to each other in our community. Thanks to the workshop, I have learnt a lot. I look forward to carrying out life in our society, with the shared well with my neighbor.”

(Continue to next time)


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