Written By Neyzielle Ronnicque Cadiz, Writer, Operation Blessing Philippines
The Bless-a-Child (BAC) Program of Operation Blessing Philippines (OB) doesn’t only cater to the needs of the undernourished children, it also provides livelihood assistance to the parents of the beneficiaries.
Fully committed to meet the practical and holistic needs of the beneficiaries, OB recently conducted a livelihood training in Canlalay, Biñan, Laguna for the mothers of the BAC beneficiaries in that area, together with the parents of the Back-to-School beneficiaries from Payatas, Quezon City.
60-year-old agriculturist Dionisio “Dave” Ramos was the speaker of the said event. Ensuring the dissemination of livelihood-enhancing technology to people who could least afford it, Sir Dave talked about the Biblical principles of farming, good management and principles of organic and natural farming for them to have a better grip on the topic.
“Start small and grow into it,” he said to the participants. He had this golden rule: Feed the soil and it will feed the plant. There was also a hands-on planting and soil mixing which the participants really enjoyed.
“Ang dami kong natutunan, ang laking tulong ng training na ito lalong lalo na sa karamihan sa amin dahil nagtatanim kami ng similya ng kamatis, sili, gabi, at iba pa na binebenta namin para magkapera. May mas maganda palang paraan para mapatubo ang mga tinatanim namin.
Hindi ako magsisisi na sumama ako hanggang dito sa Laguna kaysa magbenta, (I have learned a lot. This training is a big help, especially to us who plant and harvest crops we sell for a living. Now I know that there are better ways to grow seedlings. I don’t regret attending this training instead of selling our produce today,)” said Leonida Ferreras, a participant from Payatas.
When asked why he chose to extend his service to OB, Sir Dave proudly said, “[Jesus said,] ‘Whatever good you do to your brethren, you do it as unto me.’ By doing this, I feel like I am serving the Lord by helping the underserved Filipinos. As a graduate of the University of the Philippines, it is just right for me to give back the wisdom to our fellowmen who cannot afford these kinds of training. They need to know how to restore their livelihood by moving on to the right path of farming.”
Livelihood trainings like these are a lifetime learning that the participants can use in their everyday life. Much more than just planting crops to feed the family, the training was the start of planting seeds that bring them hope of a better life.
Bless a child and you could bless their parents by helping provide livelihood assistance as well. Indeed, God is sovereign, using the right people to reach out to the underprivileged. Plant seeds of hope with us today!
