Stories of Change

Daw Aye May and her chickens.

Hope for a new chicken farmer in Myanmar

Daw Aye May, a 56-year-old widow, used to make a living selling herbs in an open-air market. That was before COVID-19 public health restrictions curtailed public gatherings at large markets and travel beyond township borders. In the village of Sar Phyu Su, 40 miles north of Yangon, Myanmar, salaried job opportunities are limited. And when she lost her husband in 2019, Daw Aye May thought her future was gone too. Then along came the pandemic which disrupted an already limited economy by reducing the ability for farmers to sell products in more distant and larger markets.

Although Daw Aye May lives alone, she has emotional and limited financial support from a son and daughter, both married and in their thirties. When selling herbs was no longer a possibility, she started to consider how else she could earn money. Then in July, she heard that CWS was sharing chickens with families in greatest need. She learned that funding had come from vending machines set up by the Latter-day Saint Charities. She had never heard of CWS, nor of the Church of Latter-day Saints. Moreover, she had only seen vending machines in American movies, and those machines contained drinks and snacks.

Within weeks of picking up two hens and a rooster from a hatchery delivery truck, she had eggs. “I didn’t have any idea about how to raise chickens, but just wanted to try. I just fed the chickens and let all the eggs hatch,” she said. In fact, she let the first 12 eggs hatch into young chicks. Shortly afterwards, she collected another 13 eggs from the first two hens and sold 10 eggs in the village to earn $1.81. That’s more than half the official daily minimum wage of $3.53. “I was so happy as this was my first time to make money from chicken raising business,” she said proudly.

CWS sourced a local breed of hens and roosters for villagers because they are easier to raise free-range style. Daw Aye May now has 30 hens and five roosters in less than five months, and with no prior experience in raising poultry. “I learned that chicken meat from the local breed earns more money. For example, 3.5 pounds of my chicken sells for $5.06. Meat from foreign species sells for $2.89 for the same weight.”

She spends just 37 cents per day to feed the flock as they forage around a fenced yard area for scraps and insects. Daw May Aye expects to gather 30 eggs per day starting next month, earning up to $5.42/day in sales within a cluster of walkable villages.

The newly inspired chicken farmer gushed, “I thank CWS for sparking the light of a more hopeful future for me. Honestly, I wasn’t initially interested in chicken raising. Now, I want to be a poultry businesswoman. With a flock of 35 hens and roosters already, I will expand the flock further. My plan is to collect and sell more eggs in neighboring villages where I am allowed to travel. Also, I will use chicken manure in my home-gardening as organic fertilizer. Lastly, I say ‘Thank You’ to CWS and LDS, as these simple words express my sincerest gratitude.”

Stories of Change

Nona with some of her chickens.

A nightmare turns to confidence for a single mom in Georgia

For years, Nona has focused all of her time and energy on feeding her three children. Her husband passed away four years ago, so Nona is the only breadwinner for her 6, 8 and 10-year old children in their community in Georgia. 

It has been an uphill battle. Nona owns a small plot of land where she grows cabbage, beans, corn, tomatoes and other vegetables to eat and sell. But environmental conditions like drought and wind have made it harder and harder, and she doesn’t have quality seeds or tools or money to buy them. Her agricultural yields weren’t enough to feed her children, so she took on extra jobs elsewhere. She worked as a cleaner at the local café in the evenings and would sell fruit in a local market during the day.

Then the COVID-19 pandemic happened. The café closed, and Nona lost that job. Pandemic restrictions meant that she couldn’t sell fruit in the market. “I tried to do my best to feed the children by asking for support from some relatives,” she says. “I was sometimes thinking of running away from this nightmare, as we faced endless problems of hunger and poverty. People tried to survive in any way possible, but it was twice as hard for me because I was the only breadwinner for my children.”

Then, hope arrived in the form of chickens and quails. “One fine day this spring, I was invited to a meeting where the activities of this program were discussed,” she recalls. The program was a CWS food security program made possible by support from Latter-day Saint Charities. We’re helping families start poultry raising businesses to add eggs and meat to their diet and have a new source of income. Nona says, “My children and I received 15 grownup hens and seven quails and a quail cage that was a really great support during this period of hardship.” 

Every day Nona and her children collect 8-10 chicken eggs and 2-3 quail eggs. They’ve started earning money from selling eggs, and they’ve hatched more than a dozen chickens to expand their flock. Mate, 10, already has dreams of becoming a quail breeder when he grows up. “The children have eggs for breakfast–I am happy that they are not hungry anymore,” says Nona. “We decided to grow more chickens and quails for sales. Very soon we won’t have to ask anyone for food or clothes. The program has made a big positive change in the lives of my children and me. We are confident in our strength to withstand the hardships.” 

“Sometimes I think about the people that helped us, and I’m sending them my blessings,” Nona says. 

Stories of Change

Alexander with his wife Rusiko and their three children outside the chicken incubator.

From desperation to hope for a family in rural Georgia

“I was in a desperate situation, not knowing how in the future to feed my children or what to do. The tension was growing in the family,” says Alexander Kobakhidze, 35. There are eight people living in Alexander’s small house in Georgia, including his wife, three children, parents and brother. 

Before the pandemic, the family was barely scraping by. They have a small plot of land that they used to grow produce to eat and sell. But it was never enough. Alexander would go to Turkey to work in a poultry farm, sending money home to make sure his children had enough to eat. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, that’s no longer an option. His brother also lost his job, making things even worse. The family was relying on state social assistance and occasional money Alexander could make doing odd jobs in a nearby town. But they weren’t making ends meet. 

“I remember well the day at the community center when I was told about the program that included distributing chickens to vulnerable households and supporting poultry raising,” Alexander says. This is a CWS program supported by Latter-day Saint Charities. “Because of my background and experience of working at the poultry farm in Turkey, my family was offered a demo site for hatching and breeding the chickens. The program supplied us with an incubator and hatching area and helped organize the poultry shed to breed 300 chickens,” he says. “The program brought a new hope to our family and self-confidence, and it appeared to be a crucial point in changing our family’s life for the better.” 

Alexander joined workshops on hatching and breeding poultry, and he has regular consultations with a veterinary expert. They’ve already started earning money from selling chickens, and their optimism is growing. “A few weeks ago I couldn’t believe that my family, my children, would become the owners of such a nice small-scale poultry breeding area with an incubator,” he says. “Every morning after we wake up, my three children and I go to the poultry area and count the hatched chicken (the children are learning to count), and we feed them. It is a great joy to be an owner of such a facility.”

This program is providing a pathway out of hunger and poverty for families like Alexander’s in Georgia. It also supports sustainable, local food production. Or, in Alexander’s words, “Now I believe that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to this program, we can survive and feed the children.” 

Stories of Change

Secretary General Saw Kyaw in his office at the YMCA.

How do you share 30,000 chickens with families? By working together.

Vending machines are uncommon in Myanmar. And vending machines filled with practical items for vulnerable families are unique, even in the United States. But last Christmas, the Church of Latter-day Saints stocked vending machines in a few U.S. cities with gifts for families around the world instead of snacks. Among the gifts were two hens and a rooster per family.

Fast forward 9 months later and across the oceans to Myanmar. By the end of 2020, as a result of those vending machines, more than 10,000 rural families west of Yangon will raise chickens for eggs and meat. What an unexpected windfall for families facing food insecurity!

It takes disciplined and trusted partners to execute complex projects. The YMCA of Maubin is one such partner for CWS. In 2005, the YMCA opened its office in Maubin Township, sixty miles southwest of Yangon. Secretary General Saw Kyaw leads YMCA staff and volunteers in community development efforts. A biblical quote serves as inspiration for the office: “That they all may be one.” (John 17:21). Under the direction of the Secretary General, the YMCA offers vocational training like motorcycle repair, hair styling, sewing and basic computer training.

In 2015, YMCA partnered with CWS to assist people flooded out of their homes in Maubin Township. Then in early 2020, YMCA facilitated 45 days of sewing classes for 20 women from the villages that CWS works closely with. When the opportunity to share chickens with families arose, the YMCA jumped at the chance. They found families in 27 villages interested in raising a local species of chickens. Secretary General Saw Kyaw explains: “We provided 10,317 chicken to 3,439 families in 27 villages. Each family now has three Chittagong chickens which they like because they are easy to raise.”

Families hailed from among the poor and vulnerable who could not afford to pay the usual $5.42 per chicken. Parents lined up for chickens in anticipation of making egg dishes rich in protein for their children. Hens start laying one egg per day beginning at age 5 months old. Older children describe the chickens as “cute” and help their parents collect eggs.

Not only is chicken raising valuable for families, but it also helps CWS and YMCA staff hone work skills. For example, the YMCA identified vulnerable families and managed logistics delivery. After arrival from hatcheries, Village Leaders coordinated orderly pick-up and enforced social distancing. CWS Field Coordinators managed communications with hatcheries, drivers and Village Leaders. The Field Coordinators collected signatures and snapped pictures of delighted families beside delivery trucks.

Secretary General Saw Kyaw praises the collective effort. “Our team learned new procedures and documentation processes while working with CWS. We appreciate the support and collaboration which helps our confidence after each project. We always welcome CWS as our good partner,” he remarked. CWS intends to fulfill the intentions of donors by sharing over 30,000 chickens in Myanmar. Collaboration with partners, YMCA included, paves the road to better food security.

Stories of Change

Families in Mole St Nicolas, Haiti, working on a soil conservation program.

Baseline studies set foundation for measuring success

This story comes from our partners at Growing Hope Globally. It is about a CWS program in Haiti. It is reposted with permission from its original posting here. 

Most of the stories that we share at Growing Hope Globally highlight the successes and progress made by the communities we support. However, you might be wondering what things are like before our partners start a new program.

Many of the programs we fund utilize baseline studies. They are typically conducted by program staff in the first few months of the program. Information is gathered by interviewing participants and making observations regarding things like housing quality or whether or not the family has livestock or gardens. As staff meet with each participant family they begin building trust, which is key to the long-term success of the program. They also get a sense of the challenges or barriers that must be overcome for the community to flourish, as well as the resources or skills that already exist in the community and might be leveraged.

A recent baseline study conducted for programs in the Northwest Department of Haiti provides some perspective. The Haiti Mole St Nicolas and Haiti Jean Rabel program staff conducted 600 interviews to gain insights into the communities where they work. They found:

– Families range in size from single individuals to ten members. The average was six people per household.

– About 30 families shared that they have children who are not living in their homes because they cannot afford to care for them. The children are either living with relatives or working as domestic servants. Unfortunately, many children that serve as domestic servants in Haiti suffer from physical and emotional abuse.

– The average family has access to three acres for farming and livestock. Primary crops are corn, black beans, and lima beans. Many families also farm plantains or yucca.

– 98% of program families are not familiar with composting, erosion control, or other soil conservation practices. 86% of families use slash and burn practices to prepare their fields.

– 80% of families do not use or have access to any type of fertilizer for their crops.

– Average income is 44 US Dollars per year. People that work as fishermen make considerably more, but also have more expenses.

– About half of the families do not have access to a clean water source and about 35% of families have suffered from diarrhea or typhoid in the last year as a result.

– 98% of families reported entire days where they had nothing to eat in the last year.

The baseline survey shows that participating families currently face high levels of food insecurity. While these initial statistics may be discouraging, this information will allow us to see the progress being made as the program is implemented. The results of the survey will be shared with the communities to encourage community reflection and can be used as a tool for advocacy. It will also allow staff to monitor the impact being made and adjust the program as needed to ensure that the funds contributed are making the intended positive impact.

Stories of Change

Afes holds the eggs his family received while standing in front of the chicken coop he built. Soon he will receive two hens and a rooster to start his chicken-raising business.

Eggs and chickens: emergency nutrition + long-term resilience

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of South Central Timor, Indonesia, closed public markets. And with all local markets closed, Afes worried. He wouldn’t be able to sell his cassava or banana harvests, and his family urgently needed the money. His recent corn crop had failed because there wasn’t enough rain, so his family’s resources were already stretched too thin. Once again, he and his wife wouldn’t be able to give their children nutritious meals. 

For Afes, the coronavirus pandemic was the peak of a crisis that had been building for years. He and his family make a living by planting corn, sweet potatoes, cassava, bananas and coconuts. But climate change has led to unpredictable weather patterns. Year after year, the rains have been coming later and have been lighter. There just isn’t enough water to support the family farm.

Afes used to make about $50/month, which means that his family falls in the Indonesian government’s categorization of “very poor.” But recently even that $50/month started slipping away. He still dreams of sending his younger children to school like his older ones, but that dream seemed less and less likely. Instead, his family faced food insecurity. 

Clearly, Afes was fighting an uphill battle to provide the life he wanted for his children. But the CWS family, thanks to support from Latter-day Saints Charities, came alongside him to help.

Afes joined the CWS Timor Zero Hunger program, which focuses on building food security and livelihoods for vulnerable families, especially ones with young children. As part of a life-saving nutrition initiative, our team has been buying eggs locally and providing them to families like Afes. It’s a short-term measure to ensure that his children are getting the nutrition they need. Eggs are an excellent nutritional supplement for kids, so we’re helping more families add them to their diets. “The eggs are very helpful to keep my children healthy, especially my young ones. Eggs are very important for our nutrition, and better nutrition means the children don’t get sick so easily,” Afes says.

And when you want to add eggs to your diet, what’s the most sustainable way to make sure you always have eggs on hand? Raising chickens! Through the CWS program, Afes got supplies to build a chicken coop. Soon he will fill it with two hens and a rooster. Then his family will have eggs and chicken meat that they can add to their meals. Plus, they can sell eggs and chicks to earn more income. 

CWS is also helping Afes learn about new strategies to adapt to the changing climates. He now knows more about terracing and plating climate-adaptive crops like sorghum, which CWS is helping him do. 

Little by little, Afes’s worry is being replaced with gratitude. His income is still down because of the pandemic, but he is receiving immediate support while also building long-term resilience. 

“So, thank you CWS, and the LDS Church, for your help to all of us in this village,” Afes says. 

Stories of Change

Ko Ye Naing with one of his chickens.

Local chickens mean a hopeful future in Myanmar

Farmer Ko Ye Naing is always looking for opportunities to improve his family’s livelihood. The 38-year-old father of two and his wife, Ma Nandar Win, live on a three-acre farm 55 miles west of Yangon, Myanmar. They grow about 700 pounds of chili peppers, which they sell for about $500 yearly. He also works as a broker: he buys chili peppers and corn from 20 other family farms and sells them to wholesalers in Yangon, Mandalay, and Kayin. He earns about $1,700 profit each year for his family through this work. 

Ko Ye Naing first got to know CWS when he volunteered on a committee in his village. The group focused on emergency preparedness and risk mitigation activities coordinated by CWS. He and his wife also participate in CWS nutrition programs for caregivers of young children, since they have a 4-year-old son named Mg Htet Naing Lin.

When the opportunity to raise local chickens came along, Ko Ye Naing and Ma Nandar Win were excited to be selected for the program.

“In the area where I live, local species of chicken are very hard to find and cost about $7 each. However, I prefer this species because they are easy to raise at home. They are strong and resilient, and the meat is healthy and nutritious,” Ko Ye Naing explained. “ I had planned to breed local chickens as a business at home, but I didn’t know where to buy young hens and roosters. Although commercial breeds are abundant, they are not good to eat because of chemicals in the feed and antibiotics used,” he continued.

Through the CWS program, which was made possible through the Light the World campaign of the Latter-day Saints Charities, Ko Ye Naing and his family are raising free-range local chickens. They told our team how grateful they are to have this opportunity. They told us how neighbors have dropped by to see the chickens, which they described as “beautiful.” The two hens and rooster each weighed about 2.2 pounds when the family received them. All have doubled in weight after nearly two months on a diet of broken rice, corn and foraged bugs. Ma Youn Lai Naing, the family’s seventh grade daughter, is responsible for feeding the chickens.

Soon, the hens will start producing eggs for the first time, and the family will have a regular source for a variety of egg-based dishes.

“As I have wanted to breed local chickens at my house for a long time, I’ve already decided to expand the flock. In fact, I bought four more hens. My goal is to sell local chickens to interested buyers. And, I will fence my yard as recommended for a larger flock. I thank CWS and the Church of Latter-day Saints for helping our family start this new business,” Ko Ye Naing said.

Stories of Change

Top: Saw Edmond, Eint Phoo Myat and Mi Mi. Bottom: Saw Edmond feeds some of the chickens.

A chicken hatchery’s largest order ever in Myanmar

Chicken farm owner Saw Edmond lives in Ywar Thit Pine Village on the outskirts of Yangon, Myanmar. He and his wife, Mi Mi, have owned and operated their hatchery business for the past twelve years.

After years of struggle, the couple now have a profitable business. When they first started, they didn’t know the first thing about running a hatchery. They could neither identify chickens by breed, nor how to guard against livestock diseases. Now, they raise and sell Chittagong breed chickens. Saw Edmond and Mi Mi grew and improved their business through years of study and mentoring from other, more experienced hatchery owners. Their sixth-grade daughter, Eint Phoo Myat, helps with some chores around the hatchery when she’s not in school.

In 2019, Myanmar’s Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department reported that chickens were the most common farm animal for families in Myanmar, with more than 70 million in the country. The next most common was cows at 9.5 million, which shows that chickens are clearly the top choice for families. The Chittagong hens that Saw Edmond and Mi Mi raise start laying eggs when they are six months old. They continue to lay eggs until they are about four years old, and one hen can lay upwards of 100 eggs. Farmers and hatchery owners usually keep Chittagong hens for about five years before they humanely slaughter them. 

Mi Mi and Eint Phoo Myat collect eggs daily to put them in a cool and dry place before moving them in an incubator. Chicks hatch 21 days later and are moved with their age cohort to designated areas on the farm. The family feeds and vaccinates the chickens for the first four months, and then the baby hens are mature enough to sell to a family as egg-laying hens.

“At first, I sold each mature chicken for 3,500 Kyats ($2.49) each. We saved our money and invested in incubators with capacity for up to 1,000 eggs. And now I have 230 hens laying eggs daily. After paying farm hands daily wages for manual work, and then subtracting feed and vaccine costs, I make about 60,000 Kyats ($42.70) profit per day. COVID-19 didn’t affect my business as I already had feed and vaccine reserves for 3 months,” Saw Edmond explained.

Most customers come from neighboring villages. The average order is approximately 100 chicks. Recently, though, Saw Edmond received his largest order ever. It was for more than 3,000 chickens. 

CWS was the customer.

As part of our program to help families overcome hunger and poverty in Myanmar, we are distributing chickens to thousands of families. Each family receives a small starter flock as well as information and workshops on raising chickens, building chicken coops, making chicken feed and keeping their flock healthy. When possible, we purchase supplies from local vendors to support the local economy. Saw Edmond is one of those vendors.

Saw Edmond was grateful to receive this historic order from his hatchery. “I appreciate CWS for these large orders, since the revenue is helpful for our general operations and livelihood. I also want to invite CWS and interested people to visit my hatchery; I will explain you everything you want to know, ” Saw Edmond said with joy.

Beekeeping: an unexpected lifeline in Paraguay


July 8, 2020

Indigenous communities have lived in the Gran Chaco region of Paraguay for centuries. And for most of that time, families had lots of ways to earn a living. They hunted, fished, ate local fruits, consumed local honey and made crafts. This lifestyle was largely possible because they could move freely across the vast region. It wasn’t an easy way of …

Stories of Change

From top to bottom: Irakoze, Nibizi, Ndayizeye and Kabura in their garden plots in Nyarugusu refugee camp.

Vegetable harvests and new skills for refugees in Tanzania

Tanzania’s Nyarugusu Refugee Camp is home to tens of thousands of Congolese and Burundian refugees. CWS has been working in the camp for years, and most recently our focus has been on helping residents build businesses and earn a living.

The previous phase of this program was called REFLECT. Then, starting in April 2019, we launched a pilot program focused on agricultural productivity. Thirty refugees from Nyarugusu participated alongside 120 people who live near the camp in the Kasulu District. The program’s goal was to support participants as they increased their vegetable harvests and earned additional income.

In Nyarugusu, we have started a community garden area. Part of the space is used as a demonstration plot, where experts help program participants learn about different types of crops and how to grow them most effectively. The rest of the space is made up of plots belonging to individual participants. They are free to sell or eat what they grow. The 30 farmers, most of which had participated in the REFLECT program in the past, focused on growing amaranths, cabbage, onion, green pepper and eggplant.

Nibizi Jeanette Nsabiyunva and Irakoze Eric Bilahila have both been participating in Agricultural Productivity Project and REFLECT activities for a few years, and they each received sewing machines and tailoring lessons in an earlier phase of the program. Now, they are cultivating spots in the garden, too. “I’m doing tailoring activities to earn some money and sustain my family’s needs,” Nibizi, a mother of six, says. She also expects to earn about $37 this year from selling amaranth and green pepper.

Irakoze, 29, has embraced vegetable farming and is now a lead farmer who helps encourage his fellow participants. “I’m grateful that I have different skills obtained from CWS programs. I can now make organic pesticides and compost, and I know how to sew different clothes and earn some income for my family,” he says. “Last year, I planted different vegetables and sold out. I earned about $55. This year I have planted more vegetables and I hope to earn more than last year. On top of that, I have started selling some of the vegetables now and I earn up to $3 a day.”

Kabura Eliakim Bandyatuyaga lives in Nyarugusu with his wife and seven children. Like most of his neighbors, he struggled to make ends meet. He opened up a small retail shop in order to provide for his family. Through REFLECT, he secured startup capital of about 220 pounds of rice. “I did not end up just selling rice in my shop, but instead I was able to add other products including sugar, soap and many other small items. This was made possible by the profits I earned from selling rice,” he says.

When the agriculture phase of the program started, Kabura jumped at the opportunity to participate. Now he’s growing vegetables like eggplants and cabbages. In 2019, he earned $44 from selling his harvest, and he had plenty to share with his family and neighbors. He expects to earn at least that much again this year. “I’m really grateful for the Tanzanian government for allowing us in their country, and to Church World Service for the support in the vegetable farming project,” he says. “Our families are also grateful for this support. May the good Lord bless you.”

Finally, let us introduce you to 31-year-old Ndayizeye Johnson Nzobarinda. He has been participating in REFLECT programs for years, and credits this work for teaching him to read and write and develop skills like mushroom farming and vegetable production. “Vegetable farming helps my family, and we are now living a good life, earning some income from selling the vegetables,” he says.

Nibizi, Irakoze, Kabura and Ndayizeye are all from Burundi. In 2015, more than 100,000 people fled Burundi following a failed coup, protests and a humanitarian emergency. We are proud to support our Burundian neighbors as they build new lives in safety in Tanzania, and we look forward to the continued success of the participants in the REFLECT program.