Roberto: How Gardening Allowed a Family to Recover After Typhoon Rai
18 October 2022<strong>Story by Jamie Gutierrez</strong> <br><strong>Photos by Mahjalin Baldesco</strong>
Roberto is a 64-year-old farmer and fisherman from San Francisco, Southern Leyte. He and his wife have two children, the older of which is 20 years old and the younger is 10 years old. He shares that Typhoon Rai turned their family’s lives upside down as the storm completely damaged their crops resulting in the loss of their livelihood.
Roberto and his family were one of the recipients of humanitarian aid provided by Japan Platform and Plan International Philippines. They received a gardening kit which included bitter gourd (kalabasa), string bean, ladies’ fingers (okra), cucumber, eggplant, and sponge gourd (patola) seeds as well as gardening tools to help them recover their lost livelihood and ensure their family’s food security.
“If it wasn’t for Japan Platform and Plan International, we would not have been able to start over with our livelihood,” shares Roberto. With the gardening kit they received, they were able to plant Chinese cabbage (pechay), eggplant, and squash which they sometimes sell as a way to generate income. They share that they are able to earn 100 pesos from one hour of selling in the market. As of now, Roberto’s garden is at its second cycle of harvests. He is extremely grateful for the aid they received because it has given them the opportunity to start over after Typhoon Rai.
The work continues for Roberto and his family as he shares that they still have some way to go before they can consider themselves fully recovered from the typhoon. He shares that his dream for his family is for his sons to finish their schooling. As for his community, Roberto wishes that everyone can have a thriving livelihood so that everyone can adequately provide for the needs of their family. He wants everyone in his community to live a comfortable life.
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