The Okada Foundation Inc says a number of community gardens has been established across the country, to help local residents grow their own food. The news comes a year after the body partnered with Kabisig ng Kalahi (KnK), a Philippines-based organisation addressing poverty-related issues.
“Meaningful progress was also reported in the joint effort to combat malnutrition and improve food security across the Philippines,” stated the Okada Foundation in a recent press release.
It said its collaboration with KnK, to establish a community-building platform in multiple districts, “empowered families to grow their own food and generate income”.
The foundation is the corporate social responsibility arm of the Okada Manila casino resort in the Philippine capital.
The announcement cited KnK founder and director Victoria Wieneke as saying: “I was so thankful for such a productive year. With the help of Okada Foundation, we were able to reach many communities and make a real difference in people’s lives.”
She added: “Even nearby communities began reaching out to us, hoping to participate.”
According to the update, the partnership was focused on two programmes: a Food Share Programme (FSP), and the Complementary Nutrition Programme.
The two programmes “seek to improve food access, promote nutrition, and support sustainable livelihoods,” said Okada Foundation.
Okada Foundation president James Lorenzana highlighted in prepared remarks the need to address hunger at the grassroots level.
“We recognised that food security was a fundamental issue we needed to prioritise,” he explained. “Working with them [KnK] reaffirmed Okada Foundation’s mission to tackle malnutrition and empower communities through sustainable solutions.”
The FSP involved the creation of community gardens and training for families in basic agriculture. The programme started in a district where 60 families received rice assistance and farming guidance. It was then expanded to six other districts.
Okada Foundation’s Mr Lorenzana expressed his hope that the programmes would continue to expand to more communities across the Philippines.
“The Okada Foundation aimed not only to give out aid, but to change lives by empowering the communities to work together in sustainably standing on their own,” he concluded.
