It was International Women’s Day yesterday. When women are educated, healthy and appreciated, we all prosper. So, let’s take a moment to appreciate and celebrate women.

Last Thursday after setting up two vertical gardens in Pulang Lupa, I made my way down to the kubo (house) where the mothers meet with our staff every Tuesday and Thursday morning. Lyn-Lyn promptly informed me that one of the mothers had made jello and macaroni salad for us. I confess that I only ate the salad as I’m not a jello fan, but it was great. Especially as I’d worked up an appetite while hauling soil for the gardens. Thinking about how our roles were reversed makes me smile. We are usually the ones that prepare and take food to Pulang Lupa, not the other way round. Yet, here was a mother who had taken the time, effort and financial sacrifice to show her appreciation for us. All I could say at the time was, “Masarap!” (“Delicious!”) Looking back, I am more appreciative.

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International Women’s Day Photos

We work hard for our clients. We put a lot of time and effort into making our curriculums for the women, teenagers and children interesting, informative and engaging. We prepare food that is nutritious and tasty. We provide reproductive health services to all the women and ensure that they stay healthy, especially during pregnancies. We set up gardens to allow families to grow more nutritious food more easily, with less water. We strategize to make sure that we will be there for our communities in many years to come. So yes, it’s nice to be appreciated and to be reminded that the women we serve are happy to have these services.

So yesterday we showed our appreciation of them and the huge sacrifices they make to care for their families and community. We gifted each woman with a flower and a card and spent time telling each woman individual reasons why we appreciate her. Check out the photos.

We appreciate you too. Without your support, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do. If you’d like to show your appreciation, please click here. We hope that this Women’s Week we can all spend some time appreciating the women in our lives and letting them know.