Seeds of Hope: Elias’s Story
Elias never considered himself a leader in his home of Los Feliu, a small community in the Dominican Republic.
However, that changed dramatically, and it all started with a garden.
For many years, Elias worked as a truck driver transporting waste and other cargo from “bateys,” small settlements built around the country’s vast number of sugar mills.
Despite being over 65 years old and having worked hard to raise his three children, Elias still hasn’t received his state pension. He hasn’t even been notified if he’ll receive it. During this season of waiting, he’s discovered something that has changed everything: gardening.
Ever since the initial Mission: Hope meetings with community leaders in Los Feliu, Elias has been actively involved and enthusiastic about the projects. From the jump, he made it abundantly clear that he was willing to collaborate with our team and advocate for the improvement of his community.
Since then, Elias has been an agent of positive change by actively participating in our F.A.I.T.H. Gardens project. With Mission: Hope seeds and training in best practices, Elias’s garden is now flush with sugar beets, spinach, coriander, tomatoes, cabbage, sweet peppers, ginger, plantains, eggplant, and several fruits.
“Elias sees his garden as an opportunity to serve his community. He has shared seedlings with more than a dozen families from two different communities.”
However, Elias isn’t focused solely on providing food for his family. He sees his garden as an opportunity to serve his community. Elias has shared seedlings with more than a dozen families from two different communities—Los Felius and Guachupita.
Plus, through the project’s field school, he’s taught others his farming techniques and developed different types of organic repellents and fertilizers that he and his neighbors can use. He also serves as a leader of a local committee that oversees the distribution of the seedlings in his community.
In all of it, Elias sees God as the ultimate giver and provider.
“God is the one who gives the water and fertilizes the land so that it is productive,” said Elias. “As long as I can work, I will continue to share with my neighbors what my garden produces.”
Long term, Elias has plans and aspirations of expanding his garden to benefit more people in his community. We're confident that his life and service will continue to bear fruit for years to come.
Help us continue to equip more local leaders like Elias to be agents of positive change in their communities by joining Compass, our community of monthly givers dedicated to helping us bring holistic, life-changing impact to families in remote villages across the globe.