By Kristall Laursen, Global Giving Network Manager
Growing up poor in the Philippines, Hope Hervilla took a job on a banana plantation when she was a young girl. She made a mere $2 a day. It was backbreaking labor, but she was happy to be working when so many could not. As she got older, she saw the disparity of wealth and that no matter how hard her father worked, he could not change his family’s socio-economic status. She began to feel like she had to play a role in improving her community and her country.
Hope, now an activist and community leader in her native Philippines, recently visited Global Greengrants’ Boulder offices and spoke to an audience of environmental and women’s rights allies at the Alliance Center for Sustainable Colorado in Denver. She shared how Global Greengrants’ support gave her the resources to make a difference.
When environmental disasters struck the Philippines, like the Guimaras oil spill in 2006 and Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, she was called upon by her friends and neighbors to organize for supplies and support from the government. Though it can be dangerous to advocate on the side of the people, Hope draws strength from her own hope that her daughter will grow up in a world that is better than her own.
“I just cannot close my eyes, and cover my ears to all the injustices and the inhuman treatment [of] my community, [of] my people.”
Global Greengrants Fund supported Hope’s organization, Save Our Lives, SOS! – Panay and Guimaras, with four grants in 2007, 2011, and 2014. She used the funds to organize individuals affected by the environmental disasters and highlight government negligence in response to the tragedies. Listen to Hope talk about her experience.
Would you like to help activists like Hope empower their communities? Please make a gift to Global Greengrants Fund. Click here to join the Global Giving Network and receive opportunities to meet grantees like Hope Hervilla and advisors from around the world.