Every day Marlena, from Papua New Guinea, would slash and prune the cocoa trees with her husband to try and provide for their five kids.
But they were struggling to make a living. Marlena says, “The greatest needs of our family are school fees, clothing, and sometimes food.”
Having never been taught about weed control, farm management or how to manage their savings, all of their hard labour was bringing little return. Marlena is a strong, resilient, hard worker — she just needed the right education and training to lead her family out of poverty once and for all.
With a little training and support, Marlena and her husband’s cocoa farm has now grown significantly, and they have been selected as model farmers in their community to help share their new skills with other locals in their village.
Before, we used to harvest half a 50kg bag, but now we harvest nearly two bags of dry beans. We have about 200 trees.
Marlena, Papua New Guinea
Marlena and her family on their farm
The training taught Marlena and her husband about the importance of sharing the responsibility of farming the cocoa. Sharing duties has provided them with opportunities to challenge norms that have kept women in poverty for generations. It really has helped them build a better life for their family.
Today, Marlena smiles, “No one in our family is vulnerable now because all of us work together as a family.”
And that’s what a gift to CARE Australia in your Will is all about. It’s about building and strengthening healthy families, so they can thrive and lead their communities out of poverty.
If you would like more information about how to leave a gift to CARE Australia in your Will, please contact the Gifts in Wills Team at giftsinwills@care.org.au or 1800 020 046.
Marlena using the women-friendly secateurs provided by CARE Australia.
Photos: John Hewat/CARE
