Brazil Gardens Program changes lives with the help of The Dominion Woman’s Club

Brazil Gardens Program changes lives with the help of The Dominion Woman’s Club

The donation from the Dominion Woman’s Club provides start-up materials home gardens for many families. It is only fitting that INMED Partnerships for Children and INMED Brasil would train a local woman to lead this effort and help to transform her life. Here is her story, recounted directly from an INMED Brasil staff member.

After becoming a gardener for the program, a mother from Dias D’avila, in the state of Bahia, Brazil, was able to enter a profession of her own and begin earning a monthly income.

GFWC Dominion Woman's Club (www.dominionwomansclub.org) is a club intended for women, over the age of 18, interested in serving the needs of and enhancing the communities of Fauquier County and Prince William County. It is a member of the GFWC Virginia State Federations, which in turn is a member of the General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC), an international volunteer organization with members in every state in the United States and 20 countries.

Our organization's mission is to improve our community by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service. We encourage our clubwomen to improve their skills, expand their rights and apply their abilities and special sensitivity to the problems of our community, our nation and our world.

Our motto is "Unity in Diversity". We seek diversity in our club women, so that we might all benefit from their varied experiences, unique perspectives and diverse interests in reaching out to our community. We acknowledge and celebrate the strengths and talents of each individual member, knowing we can accomplish most when we work as one.

Dominion Woman's Club members have the choice to select from a wide range of projects in the arts, conservation, education, home life, international affairs, and public affairs. We believe everyone has something to offer and gratefully accept whatever time and support an individual is able to contribute.

Currently, the Dominion Woman's Club provides various levels of support for numerous local, national and international charities. Some of the charities/organizations that are actively supported are the Fauquier Family Shelter. ACTS Turning Points Domestic Violence Shelter, The Fisher House/Walter Reed, INMED Partnership for Children, Friends of Homeless Animals, American Red Cross, and Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Breast Cancer Foundation.

Solange Pires, 44 years old, was able to change her life thanks to the Horta Brasil (Brazil gardens) program, developed in Dias D’avila, Bahia, in a partnership among INMED Brasil, Monsanto and the Dominion Woman’s Club. The mother of 11 children and their sole support, Solange was able to learn a profession and begin earning a source of income for the whole family: she learned how to build and maintain gardens that feed families in her community. Solange is now proud to say that she is a gardener trained by the Horta Brasil (BrazilGardens) program. Solange is the head of the family, as are nearly 30% of Brazilian women.

The story of this mother started in São Paulo, the capital of Brazil, where she was born. At nine years old, she moved to Bahia. She never had a definite profession. She sold used clothes, cleaned houses and had other odd jobs to support her family. Solange’s eldest child is 28 years old, the youngest is 4.

Solange’s life started to change when her children told her there was going to be a training in their school about gardening and nutrition (school Madre Diamantina in the Genaro neighborhood). This school participates in the Horta Brasil program and 5 of her children attend this school.

She wasn’t very excited at first but after her children insisted, she decided to go forward with the attempt to learn about something that could help the family. She says that many times there wasn’t any food in the house and the family had to go to bed in an empty stomach.

She participated in the training and was very excited. She started to build a garden in her own backyard and also helped in the development of the school garden. Soon, she was selling cilantro and other fresh produce around her neighborhood. In the following year, 2007, when she took one of her children to the school Anita Rodrigues (another school that participates in the Horta Brasil program), she learned that they needed a gardener. She promptly offered herself for the job and started to work. It has been a year since she started working in the garden, and it looks wonderful. Every month she receives aid from INMED Brasil (as does every gardener of the program), which helps the family tremendously.

Solidarity - Solange, however, wasn’t content with the school garden only. She started to build other gardens in the Bosque neighborhood, where she lives. The community got interested and a lot of people learned with her how to grow vegetables and fresh food. In a region as poor as the one Solange’s community, to have fresh food is a luxury. With the help of her eldest children, she started to expand her services. Now, with support for materials from the Dominion Woman’s Club, she can start more family gardens.

A teacher from the school was also interested. She invited Solange to improve a garden in her house, which was abandoned. Today, they split the profit of the sales of the fresh produce they harvest. With all these services and the initial push from INMED, the family’s financial situation has improved.

Solange’s work has called the attention of the municipal government. The Education Department in Dias D’avila plans to hire her to implement gardens in the schools that still don’t have any.

With intensive work and dedication, Solange has shown that it is possible to find solutions and improve the quality of life. Her concerns now are to help the community, sharing her knowledge. There are 344 children in the region living in a state of total poverty. Solange didn’t forget them – and neither has the Dominion Woman’s Club.