Keeping almost 5 million trees standing in Peru and Papua New Guinea is an incredible achievement in itself, but our partnership with the charity has accomplished much more.
To coincide with International Day of Charity on September 5, we look at five accomplishments of our partnership with Cool Earth.
Boosting health facilities
In the infancy of our partnership back in 2009, villagers in the Asháninka Partnership, Peru, lived hours away from the nearest hospital. This remoteness meant that access to healthcare was one of the biggest threats to the community.
Since then, the opening of four new medical outposts within an hour’s reach of 72% of the population has had a positive impact on the health of villagers. Benefits included the provision of mosquito nests, access to antivenom and basic medication. Investments in wells and water filtration methods also granted families clean, safe water.
Developing livelihoods
We aim to have a lasting effect on future forest generations. As such, our partnership enables locals to develop alternative livelihood opportunities.
Investment plus the appointment of specialist consultants and technicians means cacao and coffee crop yields have improved. This allowed income to increase by 40% for many villages.
In Papua New Guinea, Brother donated three new home sewing machines to the JODAN sewing group in the village of Gadaisu. Since then the group has excelled.
The female cooperative now produces dresses, skirts and Meri blouses, a traditional dress for Papua New Guinea women.
Success looks set to continue, too. The group has ambitious plans to register JODAN as a business, open a bank account and become a self-sufficient village enterprise.
