Kalinda’s husband, Anton, stood in the night air, just outside the house. It was the end of a long day at work, capped by a family dinner. The children were in bed, and Anton and Kalinda prepared for their nightly respite.
Enjoying one last moment under the starry sky, Anton suddenly felt faint. He crumpled to the ground, his life extinguished by cardiac arrest.
Kalinda was devastated. She grieved for her beloved husband. Heartache gave way to fear. Without her husband – the sole bread winner of their poor family – how were she and her children possibly going to survive?
Life insurance and a savings account were things this poor family couldn’t even think about. They only had the means for day-to-day living. While Anton had managed to provide for their food and children’s schooling, these two basic commodities were now at risk.
Food security in short supply
Kalinda soon found herself in the same situation that many impoverished families around the world are in. Often having to choose between food or education, families are left to trade in their children’s futures just to make it through today. Without education, the children of these families become shackled by the poverty they grew up in. Kalinda, unwilling to sacrifice her children’s future, desperately sought employment.
Most poor single parents like Kalinda work as daily laborers and augment their meager income by growing their own food for survival. This practice, known as subsistence farming, is a cost-effective way for poor families to secure a daily meal. It costs very little money but requires tools and time. Kalinda had land around her home, but she could never hope to save enough for the tools required to get started with subsistence farming.