Issues: Livelihoods <Back to previous page Welcome to Tearfund Learn's blog. It's a lively and diverse forum where voices from around the world share their stories, learning and insights. Sign up to receive our latest blogs direct to your inbox First name Last name Email address Subscribe Active Filters: By Desalegn Demissie, 25 July 2019 Sustainable farming helps family face climate change in Ethiopia In recent years, climate change has meant Abebech* and her husband have faced some hard times. They are farmers in the village of Offa Esho Kebele in… Read More By Lahai Amara, 03 July 2019 Church programme brings harmony into the home Kadiatu Mansaray and her husband, Sarrah Mansaray, were known to community members as the couple who always argued with each other. They lived in the… Read More By Tearfund Learn, 27 June 2019 Q&A with Ashraf Mall, Country Director, Tearfund Pakistan Ashraf has worked for Tearfund for more than ten years. He steps down next month to take up a role with the Pakistan Partner Initiative working with… Read More By Marah Danielle, 13 June 2019 In Brazil, the water finally flows Moises Frausino da Silva has faced many droughts in his lifetime and lived much of his life with a lack of water. He is a father of 11 children and… Read More By EFICOR, 30 May 2019 Enterprising couple are an inspiration to villagers in India Both Kandhi Gound and his wife, Rukman, have been living with disabilities since birth. They live with their son in a village in central India and… Read More By Sini Maria Heikkilä, Jackson Wachira and Alex Mwaura, 17 May 2019 Can markets help build resilience of pastoralists against drought? In Kenya, pastoralists’ communities live in some of the harshest environments and their livelihoods have been severely hit by recurring droughts. Read More By Tearfund Pakistan and Pak Mission Society, 29 March 2019 Meet the married E-guards who play a key role in cleaning up their community Mumtaz and Beenish are in their sixties. In fact, they are not quite sure of their exact ages. But they are sure about their love for their community… Read More By International Nepal Fellowship staff, 21 March 2019 How clean water has transformed a village in Nepal In the Surkhet district of Nepal lies the village of Gadi. The village was one of the least developed in the area, so the community struggled to… Read More By Diane Holt, 07 March 2019 Chickens and conversation help women unite in divided DRC community A group of women from Goma in DRC lived in a divided community. They suffered from poverty and marginalisation, and there was a climate of mistrust… Read More By Emma Brown, 28 February 2019 How crickets are jump-starting community change in Cambodia Fresh hope has sprung from an unexpected source in rural Cambodia – cricket farming. While following an exciting church and community initiative,… Read More By Kouassi Konan, 21 December 2018 Fruitful training brings hope and joy to cocoa farmers in Ivory Coast Award-winning British chocolatier Will Torrent will be pleased to know that chocolate consumption around the world is on the rise. The latest figures… Read More By Fwangmun Oscar Danladi, 31 October 2018 Restoring hope to displaced farming communities in Nigeria The Global Forum on Church and Poverty inspired me to begin to see Nigeria in the light of Jubilee. This, in turn, prompted me to start to fully… Read More By Asha Kurien , 11 October 2018 Is your government prepared to protect you from a typhoon or earthquake? The tsunami in Sulawesi in Indonesia, Super Typhoon Mangkhut in the Philippines, Hurricane Florence in the USA, and the floods in Kerala, India, have… Read More By Lucy Pieterse, 06 September 2018 ‘We are young. We have the power to change our community.’ A young man in Bangladesh is raising up tomorrow’s leaders on a diet of homegrown food and business skills. Read More By Peter Shaw, 30 August 2018 Bee Happy – now the church is buzzing The 2015 earthquakes devastated communities across Nepal. As well as the sad loss of life, the quake destroyed infrastructure and livelihoods in many… Read More By Lauren Kejeh, 15 August 2018 ‘We were here before the disaster, we were here during the disaster and we are here after the disaster.’ The power of the church The quote in our title is from a pastor in Honduras, speaking after Hurricane Mitch in 1998. He points out that while others… Read More By Richard Lister, 02 August 2018 Grain gains – teff flatbread business grows out of self-help groups in Ethiopia I peer into darkness. I’m trying to see who is in this hut and what is going on, but there’s lots of smoke obscuring my view. Gradually, I make out… Read More By Nick Wyke, 11 April 2018 How cows are catalysts for hope in Rwanda How do you start to bring together survivors of genocide with those who perpetrated the violence? Even for the most sensitive and diplomatic of… Read More By Cheryl Bannatyne, 21 March 2018 Rising up to inspire other women in DRC ‘It was decided because I was the eldest girl, I would not go to school like my brothers,’ says Birungi. ‘Instead I should stay at home to look after… Read More By Cally Magalhães, 15 February 2018 How drama is ‘breaking the chains’ for boys from Brazil In Brazil, children go to prison from the age of 12. Tragically, most of them are back in prison within a month of being released. After many years… Read More By Sirivuth Ann, 25 January 2018 Five steps to help prisoners make a fresh start on the outside When prisoners are released at the end of their sentence, starting a new life outside the prison gates can be incredibly challenging. Many… Read More By Sas Conradie, 11 January 2018 Radical changes make farmer Ben an inspiration to young Africans I must admit, I was quite tired. That is after spending five hours on the road in a minibus from Nairobi to Kericho in Kenya. I then had a few… Read More By Claire Hancock, 16 November 2017 7 common reasons why some businesses fail Just having a good idea and motivation is no guarantee of success. Here are a seven of the most common reasons why businesses can fail: Read More By Bob Hansford, 02 November 2017 6 top tips to protect livelihoods from disasters Disasters affect nearly all aspects of life, but particularly livelihoods. Sometimes the damage done to people’s ability to earn an income is a… Read More By Claire Hancock, 10 October 2017 9 key steps to a successful business Everyone deserves the opportunity to earn a livelihood, provide for their family and support their communities. Jobs and economic opportunities are a… Read More By Beth Huckstep, 04 October 2017 ‘A self-help group has helped to make my family’s poverty history’ Life for Regatu and her family in a village near the city of Adama, in Central Ethiopia, was once comfortable when her husband used to work in a… Read More 12 September 2017 A journey towards wholeness: ‘The best 10 weeks of my life so far’ Youth unemployment is a huge problem in Nigeria. Half of the country’s population is under the age of 30, and the public sector cannot absorb the… Read More By Shaakira Muhammad, 15 August 2017 Power to the people: how one woman brought light to her community When Betty invested her self-help group loan in a solar panel she did more than just connect her village to electricity — she connected them to each… Read More 01 August 2017 Setting up shop with a little self-help from my friends In Afghanistan, women and girls often have few opportunities to work or develop a livelihood. Self-help groups bring together local women who meet on… Read More By Mkhululi Sihlola , 11 May 2017 A prophet’s reward: ‘Six chickens and Elisha revived my dream to sew again’ For most of her life Mrs Thembani Masilela hadn’t given much thought to chickens. As a woman who grew up in rural areas she was brought up to ensure… Read More Load More Posts
By Desalegn Demissie, 25 July 2019 Sustainable farming helps family face climate change in Ethiopia In recent years, climate change has meant Abebech* and her husband have faced some hard times. They are farmers in the village of Offa Esho Kebele in… Read More
By Lahai Amara, 03 July 2019 Church programme brings harmony into the home Kadiatu Mansaray and her husband, Sarrah Mansaray, were known to community members as the couple who always argued with each other. They lived in the… Read More
By Tearfund Learn, 27 June 2019 Q&A with Ashraf Mall, Country Director, Tearfund Pakistan Ashraf has worked for Tearfund for more than ten years. He steps down next month to take up a role with the Pakistan Partner Initiative working with… Read More
By Marah Danielle, 13 June 2019 In Brazil, the water finally flows Moises Frausino da Silva has faced many droughts in his lifetime and lived much of his life with a lack of water. He is a father of 11 children and… Read More
By EFICOR, 30 May 2019 Enterprising couple are an inspiration to villagers in India Both Kandhi Gound and his wife, Rukman, have been living with disabilities since birth. They live with their son in a village in central India and… Read More
By Sini Maria Heikkilä, Jackson Wachira and Alex Mwaura, 17 May 2019 Can markets help build resilience of pastoralists against drought? In Kenya, pastoralists’ communities live in some of the harshest environments and their livelihoods have been severely hit by recurring droughts. Read More
By Tearfund Pakistan and Pak Mission Society, 29 March 2019 Meet the married E-guards who play a key role in cleaning up their community Mumtaz and Beenish are in their sixties. In fact, they are not quite sure of their exact ages. But they are sure about their love for their community… Read More
By International Nepal Fellowship staff, 21 March 2019 How clean water has transformed a village in Nepal In the Surkhet district of Nepal lies the village of Gadi. The village was one of the least developed in the area, so the community struggled to… Read More
By Diane Holt, 07 March 2019 Chickens and conversation help women unite in divided DRC community A group of women from Goma in DRC lived in a divided community. They suffered from poverty and marginalisation, and there was a climate of mistrust… Read More
By Emma Brown, 28 February 2019 How crickets are jump-starting community change in Cambodia Fresh hope has sprung from an unexpected source in rural Cambodia – cricket farming. While following an exciting church and community initiative,… Read More
By Kouassi Konan, 21 December 2018 Fruitful training brings hope and joy to cocoa farmers in Ivory Coast Award-winning British chocolatier Will Torrent will be pleased to know that chocolate consumption around the world is on the rise. The latest figures… Read More
By Fwangmun Oscar Danladi, 31 October 2018 Restoring hope to displaced farming communities in Nigeria The Global Forum on Church and Poverty inspired me to begin to see Nigeria in the light of Jubilee. This, in turn, prompted me to start to fully… Read More
By Asha Kurien , 11 October 2018 Is your government prepared to protect you from a typhoon or earthquake? The tsunami in Sulawesi in Indonesia, Super Typhoon Mangkhut in the Philippines, Hurricane Florence in the USA, and the floods in Kerala, India, have… Read More
By Lucy Pieterse, 06 September 2018 ‘We are young. We have the power to change our community.’ A young man in Bangladesh is raising up tomorrow’s leaders on a diet of homegrown food and business skills. Read More
By Peter Shaw, 30 August 2018 Bee Happy – now the church is buzzing The 2015 earthquakes devastated communities across Nepal. As well as the sad loss of life, the quake destroyed infrastructure and livelihoods in many… Read More
By Lauren Kejeh, 15 August 2018 ‘We were here before the disaster, we were here during the disaster and we are here after the disaster.’ The power of the church The quote in our title is from a pastor in Honduras, speaking after Hurricane Mitch in 1998. He points out that while others… Read More
By Richard Lister, 02 August 2018 Grain gains – teff flatbread business grows out of self-help groups in Ethiopia I peer into darkness. I’m trying to see who is in this hut and what is going on, but there’s lots of smoke obscuring my view. Gradually, I make out… Read More
By Nick Wyke, 11 April 2018 How cows are catalysts for hope in Rwanda How do you start to bring together survivors of genocide with those who perpetrated the violence? Even for the most sensitive and diplomatic of… Read More
By Cheryl Bannatyne, 21 March 2018 Rising up to inspire other women in DRC ‘It was decided because I was the eldest girl, I would not go to school like my brothers,’ says Birungi. ‘Instead I should stay at home to look after… Read More
By Cally Magalhães, 15 February 2018 How drama is ‘breaking the chains’ for boys from Brazil In Brazil, children go to prison from the age of 12. Tragically, most of them are back in prison within a month of being released. After many years… Read More
By Sirivuth Ann, 25 January 2018 Five steps to help prisoners make a fresh start on the outside When prisoners are released at the end of their sentence, starting a new life outside the prison gates can be incredibly challenging. Many… Read More
By Sas Conradie, 11 January 2018 Radical changes make farmer Ben an inspiration to young Africans I must admit, I was quite tired. That is after spending five hours on the road in a minibus from Nairobi to Kericho in Kenya. I then had a few… Read More
By Claire Hancock, 16 November 2017 7 common reasons why some businesses fail Just having a good idea and motivation is no guarantee of success. Here are a seven of the most common reasons why businesses can fail: Read More
By Bob Hansford, 02 November 2017 6 top tips to protect livelihoods from disasters Disasters affect nearly all aspects of life, but particularly livelihoods. Sometimes the damage done to people’s ability to earn an income is a… Read More
By Claire Hancock, 10 October 2017 9 key steps to a successful business Everyone deserves the opportunity to earn a livelihood, provide for their family and support their communities. Jobs and economic opportunities are a… Read More
By Beth Huckstep, 04 October 2017 ‘A self-help group has helped to make my family’s poverty history’ Life for Regatu and her family in a village near the city of Adama, in Central Ethiopia, was once comfortable when her husband used to work in a… Read More
12 September 2017 A journey towards wholeness: ‘The best 10 weeks of my life so far’ Youth unemployment is a huge problem in Nigeria. Half of the country’s population is under the age of 30, and the public sector cannot absorb the… Read More
By Shaakira Muhammad, 15 August 2017 Power to the people: how one woman brought light to her community When Betty invested her self-help group loan in a solar panel she did more than just connect her village to electricity — she connected them to each… Read More
01 August 2017 Setting up shop with a little self-help from my friends In Afghanistan, women and girls often have few opportunities to work or develop a livelihood. Self-help groups bring together local women who meet on… Read More
By Mkhululi Sihlola , 11 May 2017 A prophet’s reward: ‘Six chickens and Elisha revived my dream to sew again’ For most of her life Mrs Thembani Masilela hadn’t given much thought to chickens. As a woman who grew up in rural areas she was brought up to ensure… Read More