Asia & India





China


Helping Chinese Farmers Become More Efficient

Yuhua Guan raises pigs in a village in China, and through a technical training program focused on planting and breeding and infrastructural upgrades, she has not only significantly increased the income she earns from the livestock, but also improved her village’s living environment.

With a $200,000 two-year grant from the Monsanto Fund, the China Women Development Foundation launched a Poverty Alleviation-Oriented Technical Assistance and Community Development project, which works to improve the overall condition of the rural community by providing training and education, as well as an environmentally responsible and economical energy source.

From what she learned in the training courses, Yuhua was able to decrease her water usage, recycle waste to generate energy, reduce the spread of disease, and ensure the safety of meat products produced on her farm.

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India


Eliminating Child Labor in India

Through a program aimed at reducing child labor, one young woman in the Andhra Pradesh Province of India went from laboring in the fields — work that interfered with her education — to studying nursing and operating a home-based seamstress business that employs other family members.

With $575,320 from the Monsanto Fund, the Australian Foundation for the Peoples of Asia, in partnership with the Voluntary Organization of Rural Development Society, an India-based non-governmental organization, supported a residential-based bridge school to help transition children from work in the fields to formal schooling or obtaining a skill.

Children from 100 villages have benefited from the program. In addition to promoting awareness to farmers to avoid employing children, the facilities for the students were vastly improved and the kitchen, dining area and dormitories were totally renovated.

A significant number of the villages targeted for the program are now acknowledged as Child Labour Free by the Child Labour Department of Andhra Pradesh.




Enhancing Literacy for Students in Bangalore

Efforts to enhance literacy for more than 750 students studying at 30 schools in rural Bangalore have given children the opportunity to receive high-level education. This opportunity would not have been available without the Monsanto Fund’s partnership with the Sikshana Foundation.

The project enabled 17 students from the schools to travel on a train for the first time to go to Delhi for a one week academic competition. This competition expanded the students’ general knowledge as well as developed their competitive spirit.

Through this partnership, Bangalore students have also been encouraged to take ownership through reading programs. A local book fair was held where five students and a teacher from each of the 30 schools were able to select books for their school libraries. One school in Nandi even allowed students to clean out a store room and develop the space into an open library. The room now has more than 500 books and newspapers that are always available to the students for reading.




Ensuring Food Security in Indian Communities

Because of the expense, Valu Ben Rajput used to feed her family vegetables only on special occasions. Now, the 35-year-old resident of Ravechi Nagar, Rapar Block of Kutch district in Gujarat, India, has learned to grow a kitchen garden that not only provides vegetables for her family, but also enough for some of her neighbors.

Valu attended kitchen gardening training as part of a project implemented by the United Way of Mumbai, funded with $380,000 from the Monsanto Fund. The project involves creating food security at the household and community level in the cotton-growing belt of Ranga Reddy Block in Andhra Pradesh, the earthquake-affected Rapar District in Gujarat, and Yavatmal in Maharashtra.

Most of the farmers in this three-state area cultivate cash crops, such as cotton, and typically have little or no money to purchase fruits and vegetables. Thus, the main objective of the project is to train the communities in sound agricultural practices and methods of cultivation via homestead gardens, as well as to provide education on health, hygiene and nutrition.

Like Valu, more than 50 percent of the project beneficiaries have cultivated kitchen gardens and now have balanced diets that include vegetables in their daily meals, thereby improving their overall nutrition and health.

The people of the village also have become aware of the importance of developing and helping their own village become self-sufficient. The United Way of Mumbai food security project has impacted approximately 5,000 households.

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Indonesia


Lending a Helping Hand after Mount Merapi Erupted

Mount Merapi, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, erupted over Indonesia on Nov. 8, 2010. This eruption affected more than 4 million Indonesians’ lives -- destroying 2,919 homes and 217 schools, and covering several areas of local commerce with ashes.

The eruption of Mount Merapi led Monsanto Indonesia and the Monsanto Fund to offer a helping hand in lifting the spirits of the people impacted by the eruption.

Monsanto Indonesia employees got involved by distributing school supplies and farm equipment to the victims of the volcano. The school supplies helped maintain students’ learning, and the farm equipment helped rebuild the farms destroyed by volcanic ash.

Thanks in part to the effort of Monsanto employees, farmers in Yogyakarta have returned back to their farming activities, helping to renew their economy. Students are also equipped with the tools they need to continue pursuing their future. Monsanto Indonesia, with the help of the Monsanto Fund, has touched the hearts and improved the lives of the people of Mount Merapi.




Working Together to Open the Door for Students to Learn

The reconstruction of a school in Sumberwono Village in Indonesia not only opened the doors for students to learn, but also engaged a community and fostered trust among Monsanto, a non-governmental agency partner and members of the community.

With $60,000 from the Monsanto Fund, volunteers from Habitat for Humanity Indonesia and Monsanto rebuilt the Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Darul Falah school, which had fallen into significant disrepair and been declared unsafe.

Throughout the rebuilding process — which included major renovations, making the school earthquake-resilient and the purchase of equipment — Monsanto and Habitat for Humanity initiated regular conversations with members of the community, often incorporating their ideas and suggestions. The open dialogue and transparency resulted in community support for the project.

Now the school’s headmaster anticipates that the look of the renovated school may attract more students.

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Thailand


Making Information Available to Help Develop a Community

Access to information is a vital part of a child’s quality education, but that access also can help families learn skills to improve their income and quality of life.

That’s why the Foundation for Rehabilitation and Development of Children and Family (FORDEC) implemented the Tribal Library for Sustainable Future Project with $60,000 from the Monsanto Fund.

The project involved renovating and refurbishing eight libraries in hilly and impoverished communities near Bangkok, Thailand, with up-to-date textbooks on agriculture, science and technology, and providing computer equipment and Internet access. The program also included building one new library.

In addition to providing a better education for students, FORDEC expects the libraries will offer information that will enable families — most of which make their living from agriculture and selling edible plants found in nearby forests — to learn skills that will result in better-quality agricultural products, thereby increasing their income.

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Monsanto Fund is focused on investing in the following areas:

  • China
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Israel
  • Jordan
  • Philippines
  • Syria
  • Vietnam