2020was devastating for us. Where we had experienced 2 severe typhoons in 10 years,we had 4 major typhoons hit our area this year- with three of them passing directly over our site. This damaged most of our coconut trees, limiting our ability to run production. Additionally, due to COVID-19, the government severely limited production capacity and local trucking. We are so proud of our team who worked extra hard, long hours, and found creative solutions to continue producing with our high standards of quality while keeping our workers safe.
But the damage to homes and livelihood was overwhelming. Hundreds of homes - many just thatched "nipa huts" -were severely damaged or washed out to sea completely without any kind of insurance or safety net. Most live “hand to mouth," only having 2-4 weeks of cash stuffed away for emergencies.Families soon had a real fear of starvation.
Stephen Freed, our Founder & CEO, visited to assess the damages to homes and our coconut trees after one of the typhoons. While reviewing clipboard spreadsheets in the hot sun, the true impact became all too real when one of the farmers came and stood quite close - - "I have nothing", she cried. He began to acknowledge her when she stopped him short and came closer still -"I lost everything. Help me."The group stood silent looking at the two of them. She stepped closer to Stephen. "HELP me!" Filipinas don't do that. He had nothing to say, except the one thing ... "We will."
We quickly rolled up our sleeves to help. We sent out our skilled workers to repair/rebuild homes and organized food distributions. We helped farmers clear fallen trees, planted new saplings, and provided them with a few months of cash and food.
2020totalimpact:
196,572 lbs. of ricedistributed to 2,206 families
336 homes repairedafter typhoons
128 food boxesgiven to farmer families
2,500 coconut saplingsplanted
But the real heros are our loyal customers. Without you, none of this could have happened. Using our products allowed us to help this community through their most vulnerable and desperate times.
So from the entire Dignity staff...
"Salamat Po (a sincere "Thank You" in Tagalog) for supporting our community and breaking the chains of poverty & modern-day slavery."
117 billion. This is the estimate of people who lived since the beginning of time. That’s a lot! Imagine the history, the events, and stories all these people could tell. And with the wealth of knowledge that has been passed on from generation to generation, it’s quite puzzling how history still tends to repeat itself - especially with oppression and injustice. Though in different forms, it is found in every era.
In an effort to be a good Dad, I made my kids eat oatmeal when they were little. I was so proud of myself - but it didn’t last long. Once they discovered other breakfast foods, it was over. I wanted to dig in my heels, but the problem is oatmeal is bland and boring. Even the mascot is an old man with a wig! Pretty soon, even the mention of oatmeal and my kids think they are being punished.
I used to think that Hawkeye was a terrible Avenger. How is this guy with no superpowers going to last one minute against a villain with super human abilities, let alone help fight. Thanks to the new series, he has come to be my favorite because I can relate to him. No flying, no super speed, and no super strength. He's simply a guy who mastered skills to solve the world’s problems (yes, and he has a few cool trick arrows).
