Erlinda is looking forward to a brighter future with her 14 piglets

When Typhoon Haiyan tore across the Philippines in November 2013, Erlinda was left without a means to earn her livelihood. As part of Handicap International’s livelihood project, she was given a sow in October 2014 and trained to manage this value resource. Since then, Erlinda has made a lot of progress and now has a brand new pigsty and 14 piglets.

Erlinda with her 14 piglets. The Philippines. | © Handicap International

Erlinda, heureuse avec ses porcelets Erlinda is a widow and lives alone with two of her seven children in Alang-Alang, Leyte province, in the Philippines. Like many people in her region, she was badly affected by Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013 - one of the most violent in history. The storm destroyed her home and left her and her children destitute.

Before the typhoon, Erlinda was a farmer and worked land that did not belong to her, with the help of one of her children. “As a widow, everything was harder. Life was already very difficult,” she explains. Now, Erlinda suffers from a disease which means she can no longer work in the fields. Rearing pigs is the ideal solution for her. “Before the typhoon, I had pigs, but they were washed away in the floods,” she explains.

In October 2014, Handicap International gave her a sow and a grant to build a sty. Erlinda was also trained by the organisation to take care of this hybrid breed of pigs, and to manage a budget and run a business.

“I took two training courses and I learned a lot of things, particularly how to manage my expenses,” says Erlinda. Like all project beneficiaries, she was also given a supplementary grant which she used, for example, to buy food for her pig.

Erlinda is very proud of her 14 piglets produced by the sow. They represent the hope of a new life for her. In fact, she intends to keep two to breed and will sell the others, enabling her to buy a male pig to expand her stock.

“I’m so grateful, because none of this would have been possible without help from Handicap International,” says Erlinda.

Date published: 24/07/15

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