God is creating harvests of hope and better health for families in El Alto through Samaritan's Purse agriculture and nutrition programs.
The city of El Alto overlooks La Paz, a larger city, among the high-altitude Andean peaks.
Instead of opportunity, though, many of them have found a harsh reality. They struggle to find steady, well-paying jobs, and growing crops to feed their families has been difficult in the arid, rocky soil. They’ve left the support structures of their home towns and now don’t have any of the resources required to live without adequate income.
“In the countryside, people usually grow vegetables, raise animals, have something to eat,” Samaritan’s Purse Senior Programs Manager Gilvan Ramos said. But in a more urban setting like El Alto “people don’t grow anything and they have no animals, and when it comes to eating, they need money. They are less qualified than people in the cities. They can hardly find jobs. Their jobs are very underpaid; they struggle to survive.”
We supplied residents with all the materials and training they needed to grow in micro tunnels in El Alto.
The resulting food insecurity has become a significant threat to the health and well-being of many families. But residents are experiencing new glimmers of hope in their own backyards.
Victor and Elvira have been amazed to see the work of their hands turn into food growing just outside their door. Right in the sunny part of the couple’s yard they’ve watched nutrient-rich vegetables, such as lettuce, radishes, carrots, and chard, all begin to emerge from the once rocky, barren soil.
Their family is just one among many who are experiencing renewed hope day by day as they see the Lord provide. We praise God that He is using Samaritan’s Purse agricultural work in these less developed outskirts of the city to point residents toward a brighter future.
“Our diet is going to change and our children will also grow up healthier,” Victor said. “I praise the Lord our God for this.”
The Gift of Microtunnels
Our agricultural engineers are teaching families how to make use of even small areas of ground. We provide them with the seeds and tools they need to garden, but even more important is the approach to how they grow crops in such an unforgiving climate. What makes these small plots produce surprising yields is the simple technology of microtunnels.
Samaritan’s Purse staff teach residents proper ways of harvesting to keep plants healthy and growing.
These simple structures of translucent nylon sheeting stretched over plastic piping essentially function as small greenhouses. They create microclimates by allowing vital sunlight and air to filter through while protecting the crops from the volatile weather, especially as the high-altitude winter begins to roll in.
By implementing this technology, we’ve helped families dramatically increase their harvests by protecting crops from the elements and extending the growing season.
“We are so grateful to be able to produce our own vegetables,” Elvira said. “I am truly so glad to have the possibility to do this. Every day I come and I put some water on them, and we take good care of them. It’s like a miracle. We’re so glad we have the possibility to do it.”
It’s like a miracle. We’re so glad we have the possibility to do it.
Elvira celebrates the radishes and other crops harvested during this growing season.
But at the heart of the project is the desire to help many families in El Alto come to know the love of Jehovah Jireh—‘the Lord will provide.’
“I think one of the things that we are the most grateful for is that they guide us spiritually. They have given us the Word of God. They have given Bibles to each of us,” said Franz, an El Alto resident who is celebrating his ability to reap sizeable harvests from his small patch of land. He previously had to travel long distances to purchase food, but now is growing fresh vegetables right in his yard. As a leader in his community, he is taking what he has learned and helps those living on his street grow bountiful crops, too.
From Garden to Table
The program extends beyond the initial training and supplies. Families are later invited to attend nutrition classes with Lenicia, an El Alto-based nutritionist working on the Samaritan’s Purse team helping others in her city thrive through simple yet healthy meal preparation.
Samaritan’s Purse nutritionist Lenicia teaches El Alto residents how to prepare nutritious meals for their families.
Lenicia says that health conditions, such as the rampant cases of anemia in El Alto, are often the result of imbalanced nutrition. In her hands-on classes, Lenicia shows men and women how to cook with readily available ingredients, in addition to those grown in the microtunnels, to create balanced diets.
“I love to gather them around and just let them know how they can have nutritious meals, so they don’t go to the hospital or to the doctor because of a lack of nutrition,” Lenicia said. “I want them to see how they can use whatever they have at home and prepare a nutritious meal.”
One of her students, Protacio, has seen how his family has been impacted by what he has learned in the nutrition classes.
“I have never seen something like that, but it has really helped us because the children want to eat [this food] as well,” Protacio said. “They want to eat properly.”
Lenicia uses every nutrition class to encourage her students spiritually, too. She even used a watermelon “snack break” to give a picture of what life with Jesus Christ looks like. She uses the seeds of the watermelon to talk about our sins, the red pulp of the fruit to introduce the blood of Jesus, and the green and white rind to discuss spiritual growth through a relationship with our Lord and Savior.
Throughout her lessons, she encourages families to not only feed themselves physically with healthy food, but to feed their souls. “They see that the word of God is so tasteful; it’s so rich for them,” she said.
“They see that the word of God is so tasteful; it’s so rich for them.”
As a result of this Samaritan’s Purse program, there have been harvests of hope springing up across El Alto. As families learn how to grow and prepare quality food, it’s been miraculous to see that many who had lost hope are once again looking toward a brighter future as a result of God’s faithfulness.
Please pray for the people of El Alto that they would come to know the abundant love of Jesus Christ and that their harvests would abound.
El Alto families are experiencing better health and nutrition as result of the Samaritan’s Purse program.
