CEPAD Volunteer Alayna wrote the following story after visiting Sabas and her garden.

Squash, cucumber, cabbage, carrots, papaya, onion, corn, plantains, yucca, malanga. Saba’s outshone the sun on this rainy day as she gave us a tour of her 0.85 acre garden on the side of a mountain.

Forty-two-year-old farmer and homemaker with four children, one still under her care, Sabas María is a strong woman. She’s been filled with wisdom through her faith in God, and new-found knowledge that has made her even more resilient.

“My faith has grown a lot. I’ve learned to have faith in all things. Now when I go to plant a cabbage, I have faith that it will grow and I will harvest it. And everything you do, you have to put in God’s hands.”

Two years ago, Sabas attended a community meeting where she learned about CEPAD’s Family Gardening Program. This new opportunity excited her! Sabas only received a second grade education, because her family was too poor to afford school supplies during the civil war. Sabas attended CEPAD’s workshops, excited for this opportunity to learn. CEPAD provided seeds, fruit trees, pineapple plants, and corn. At the workshops, she learned how to choose the best seeds for reproduction, how to harvest her new produce, and how to prepare it for her and her son.

“I like everything about working in my garden!”

Before gardening, Sabas spent her days in the house being a homemaker. Now, she is able to get out more and meet new people in her community. She also saves money, because she no longer has to buy produce!

If life in the campo (countryside) wasn’t hard enough, four years ago, Sabas watched her neighbor’s house get swept away in a landslide.

“I saw the landslide when it hit, it was just a few meters away from me. Only God knows why I’m still alive. He must still have a purpose for me, so I’ll continue working with faith.”

Sabas hopes to build her own home and have her own land again someday. The joy in her smile when she is in her garden can only come from a place of trust and faith in God. This spark inside Sabas was ignited through the work of CEPAD.

“The biggest impact of CEPAD has been the workshops, and the joy they’ve brought to the whole community through the projects. Because before, there was nothing like this going on here.”

All of this has been made possible because of generous donors like YOU. Thank you for making a lasting impact on not only Sabas and her family, but many families across Nicaragua!