Better Lives | Assisting families, schools & children

Mt Kilimanjaro, TZ – Garden shop employee gets to apply job skills to home life for increased income – 15 Aug

15 Aug 2017

Eliza continues to expand her livestock holdings at home. The most recent additions are 2 piglets which she is planning to fatten and sell. She...

Los Alamitos, USA – This program provided me with a mentor – 14 Aug 2017

14 Aug 2017

Chris Wade

Dear Better Lives, My name is Myla Karmelich and I found the Leadership Academy to be educational, productive, and a place where I can learn...

Mt Kilimanjaro, TZ – Parmiters students continue to expand economic engine for Lishe Bora and families – 6 Aug 2017

06 Aug 2017

Sam Barnes

Parmiters A group took the work started by Parmiters School students in 2015 and grew the Happy Pig Pen project from a single experimental demonstration...

Moshi, TZ – Visiting students assist Maendeleo primary school move towards food self-reliance – 6 Aug 2017

06 Aug 2017

Sam Barnes

Parmiters C group picked up where their schoolmates left off in 2015, helping Kahe-area primary schools achieve food self-reliance. 16 students and 3 leaders spent...

Battambang, KH – Garden shop hosts UK Student Groups – 5 Aug 2017

05 Aug 2017

Chris Wade

Since 2015, UK students have visited Battambang, Cambodia to assist the garden shop staff, local families and schools by building projects that assist poor families...

Utete, TZ – Assisted by laptop loan, daughter brings pride to village with high marks in secondary school – 2 Aug 2017

02 Aug 2017

Sam Barnes

Acheni, the oldest daughter in the OMM Family, passed all of her national examinations and is now waiting to hear which universities she will be...

Mt Kilimanjaro, TZ – Parmiters B Group trenches over 450 meters to improve local water access – 1 Aug 2017

01 Aug 2017

Sam Barnes

Parmiters B helped Lishe Bora break new ground in more ways than one. The 17 students and 3 leaders were the first guests to stay...

Moshi, TZ – Ermysted students bring energy to begin Maendeleo garden expansion – 30 Jul 2017

30 Jul 2017

Sam Barnes

The young men of Ermysted Grammer School provided the energy and enthusiasm needed to start the expansion of Maendeleo Primary School’s Self-Sustaining Breakfast Farm. Over...

Siem Reap, KH – Grandmother is enjoying selling vegetables – 31 Jul 2017

30 Jul 2017

Chris Wade

TC’s mother is enjoying life in the market each morning, selling vegetables that her son is growing in his garden. She and the family love...

Battambang, KH – Better nutrition improves school grades – 30 Jul 2017

30 Jul 2017

Chris Wade

It is wonderful how organically grown vegetables have helped CDH’s children improve their school grades. The nutrition has improved both their attendance and attention in...

Moshi, TZ – Visiting students assist Mwangaria to move towards food self-reliance at school – 25 Jul 2017

25 Jul 2017

Sam Barnes

Frensham Heights and ISL students worked with school and community members to dig over 60 meters of 1 meter deep trenches for installing irrigation at...

Kikondo, UG – 4E Design and CQI help Wamukisa continue on their path to financial self-reliance – 21 Jul 2017

21 Jul 2017

Sam Barnes

Wamukisa is applying principles of 4E Design and Continuous Quality Improvement to make their commercial vegetable and banana gardens more effective. As the gardens become...

Kikondo, UG – Money earned, saved, and invested in community to create new jobs – 15 Jul 2017

15 Jul 2017

Sam Barnes

Emmanual is saving and investing the money he earns with Wamukisa. He is creating new employment opportunities in the process. Emmanual works for Wamukisa as...

Moshi, TZ – Maendeleo bean farm on target and providing energy to students and community – 15 July 2017

15 Jul 2017

Sam Barnes

Maendeleo Primary School’s bean farm is coming in well and giving energy to everyone involved. Local experts believe the farm is on pace to meet...

Kikondo, UG – Committed to community, employee learns, applies, and teaches new skills – 1 Jul 2017

01 Jul 2017

Sam Barnes

Nakato Rosemary (Rose) is continuously learning, applying, and teaching new skills through her work with Wamukisa. She hopes to contribute to the continuous improvement of...

Battambang, KH – Productive Garden pays for school fees – 30 June 2017

30 Jun 2017

Chris Wade

CC and his wife work very hard to support their five grand-children while their parents are away working in Thailand. 6 year old Cheany, 7...

Siem Reap, KH – From waste land to happy home – 30 Jun 2017

30 Jun 2017

Chris Wade

What was an unproductive small piece of land covered by bushes and weeds has been transformed into a beautiful home and garden. This happened because...

Moshi, TZ – Maendeleo bean planting underway, students hope to improve from previous season – 27 Jun 2017

27 Jun 2017

Sam Barnes

Maendeleo Primary School is beginning their second season grow crops at their School Breakfast Farm. They are hoping to improve over last year’s disappointing groundnut...

Kikondo, UG – Wamukisa combines existing infrastructure with management processes to create new value – 26 Jun 2017

26 Jun 2017

Sam Barnes

Wamukisa is combining existing infrastructure at their farm with best practice management processes to continue moving towards sustainable self-reliance. The team cleared out an existing storage...

Mt Kilimanjaro, TZ – Rollins College students help Lishe Bora develop Eco-Lodge and campsite – 15 Jun 2017

15 Jun 2017

Sam Barnes

Students from Rollins spent a week living and working with Lishe Bora on Mt. Kilimanjaro. They focused their efforts on helping Lishe Bora develop its...

Kikondo, UG – Home water projects help family grow vegetables at home, looking to expand – 15 Jun 2017

15 Jun 2017

Sam Barnes

The HHM family’s early success tending their three-bed organic vegetable garden is motivating them to plan additional beds and experiment with new crops. The family...

Kikondo, UG – Small sustainable steps help families move towards food self-reliance – 2 Jun 2017

02 Jun 2017

Sam Barnes

Mama HCM’s first interaction with Wamukisa came in July 2016 when she attended a series of training sessions about water conservation, organic gardening, and SMART...

Moshi, TZ – Tupendane forms School Breakfast Farm Task Force to improve food self-reliance – 1 Jun 2017

01 Jun 2017

Sam Barnes

Tupendane has collaborated with local schools to form a new entity in the community: the School Breakfast Farm Task Force. The objective of the Task...

Siem Reap, KH – SL invests in land to increase family income – 31 May 2017

31 May 2017

Chris Wade

SLs vegetable garden was very productive, so he was able to save some money to help purchase an extra piece of land. Land that he...

Kilimanjaro, TZ – VICOBA savings and loan group continues to help families move towards income self-reliance – 26 May 2017

26 May 2017

Sam Barnes

More than a year after members of the Mkyashi VICOBA began lending to each other they are continuing to collaborate to improve their lives and...

Kilimanjaro, TZ – Low TCO management and proactive maintenance enable water committee to hit targets ahead of schedule – 19 May 2017

19 May 2017

Sam Barnes

The nine families who received water connections in Phase 1 of the Mkyashi Water Project have been fulfilling their promise of acting as best-practice examples...

Moshi, TZ – Parents and Task Force lead effort to show sustainability of corn growing – 9 May 2017

09 May 2017

Sam Barnes

Parents and Task Force members at Mwangaria Primary School are leading an effort to show that growing corn at school can contribute to food self-reliance....

Kikondo, UG – After job loss, father uses vegetable garden to rebuild health and income – 5 May 2017

05 May 2017

Sam Barnes

Organic vegetable gardening is offering Mr. KGK the opportunity to rebuild a dependable income after he lost his job as a carpenter. The garden he...

Battambang, KH – JS overcomes challenges to keep earning an income – 05 May 2017

05 May 2017

Chris Wade

JS lives in a village near Batambang, Cambodia where she grows morning glory vegetables and raises pigs for meat. She starting fattening piglets in 2016...