“This is all we have”

Adrian rises each day at 3am for work, which involves him collecting garbage and then sorting it at the local dump. He returns home to a hungry family living in a terribly cramped single room, where due to the conditions, his eldest son, Eduardo, struggles to breathe. In winter, when temperatures plummet, the family freeze, even though Adrian has tried to insulate the home with cardboard and materials he finds at the dump site. Still, despite his efforts, the cold air finds its way through every crack.

“This is all we have,” Adrian says, sadly.

Adrian

But now, it is spring and there is renewed hope for this family. Gone are the days when they could not see anything before them, as along with warmth and deep blue skies filling the air, so too does optimism and a new direction fill Adrian and his family’s hearts.

The local church in Victoria has developed a self-sufficiency project to help families just like Adrian’s.

The greenhouse project aims to give families a place to plant, learn and harvest. By harvest time, not only will Adrian and his family have learnt how to cultivate crops, but they will have supplies for the winter months. On top of this, what they produce will also feed disadvantaged children at the After School project which the church also runs.

"We have always wanted a garden,"Adrian’s partner Ana Maria says. “With every seed we plant we have more hope. It is a beautiful thing too that what we are doing will help other local children in need.”

“Our main goal is to give families a chance to defeat their poverty,” Pastor Timotea Stinea says. “We empower them with a greenhouse, water and an irrigation system; all they need is the will to work and learn. If they can do that, they will reap huge benefits from this project.”

This spring, Adrian is working hard, putting all his strength in to digging and raking the land. It is as if the project is a distraction from grief and is helping him get over the loss of his brother.

“Even when I have a break from work, I feel excited to go back to the greenhouse,” he says. There are many families in Eastern Europe with the will to work, but who do not have the tools or knowledge to develop the rich land. By supporting a greenhouse project and sponsoring a family you can empower them to defeat their poverty and journey towards a sustainable future.