The Church of the Brethren’s Global Food Crisis Fund (GFCF) has given
several grants recently, including an allocation of $60,000 to PAG in
Honduras, and $40,000 to an agriculture project of the Rural Development
Program of Ekklesiyar Yan’uwa a Nigeria (EYN--the Church of the
Brethren in Nigeria). Also receiving grants of smaller amounts were a
Brethren group in the Congo, and a Friends church in Rwanda.
Honduras
The $60,000 grant to Proyecto Aldea Global in Tegucigalpa, Honduras,
supports work with the Lenca people in animal raising projects over two
years. Funds will support animal purchases, staff and training costs,
materials, and transportation. Church of the Brethren member Chet Thomas
works with PAG in Honduras.
PAG estimates about 60 families per year will be served. “The first
five families in each community are selected based on their poverty
situation, needs, but they must be known as responsible persons who have
a small piece of land to build their pig pens, chicken coops, fish
pond, or maybe have a place to place their bee hives. Then there are a
second set of families selected and they are trained and are responsible
to the first set of families and on it goes,” explained the grant
request. “The challenge is that most poor families need some place to
start and when you are indigent, you have no land of your own or even
to build a house, so farming is out of the question. However we have
worked with similar families who have been able to plant a small but
renewable food supply on very small pieces of land.... More importantly
we can help them establish a small economic micro business that can
provide a sustainable income.”
PAG’s goals for the funds are three-fold: production of year-round
food for the families who take part, improvement of families’
nutritional intake, and improvement of families’ abilities to have a
small business and improve their economic income.
Nigeria
The $40,000 grant to EYN will fund a two-year poultry, fish, and pig
raising project, which will in turn allow the Rural Development Program
to continue funding the supply of agricultural inputs such as veterinary
medicines, improved varieties of seeds, and fertilizers to local
farmers in over 80 communities. These items are purchased in bulk and
resold at a fair price to rural farmers, who would otherwise not have
access to them. The grant request explains that in Dec. 2012, EYN
leadership pulled together a panel of experts from across the
denomination to plan for ways to raise funds, identify strengths and
weaknesses of the current program, and develop a strategic plan for
bringing new direction to the programs of RDP. The animal raising
projects are designed to be a significant income generator and would be
established on land owned by EYN near its headquarters. The church also
will seek donations and loans from EYN members toward the cost of the
projects.
“At this time of great instability and violence, EYN leaders wish to
expand their agricultural services to their neighbors--demonstrating
hope and love when all around there is hate and fear,” said GFCF manager
Jeff Boshart.
Rwanda
An Evangelical Friends church in Rwanda has received a grant of
$5,000 for the ETOMR (Evangelistic and Outreach Ministries of Rwanda)
program to train Pygmy families in agriculture. The grant request
explains that the Pygmies (Batwa) are 1 percent of the population of
Rwanda and normally live by hunting in forests. However many forests
have been cleared or are being used as national reserves. ETOMR will
offer training in modern farming skills and resources such as seeds to
help Pygmy families establish farms and become self-supporting.
Congo
Eglise des Freres de Congo, a self-identified Brethren group, also is
receiving a grant of $5,000 for similar work. The Brethren group also
is working with Pygmy people in the Congo to help them develop skills
and resources for agriculture through a project called Shalom Ministry
and Reconciliation in Development (SHAMIREDE). The project hopes to
improve the lives of 100 families through teaching techniques and
methods of sowing different crops such as cassava and bananas. The funds
also will purchase seeds and the necessary tools and agricultural
equipment.
Find the latest Global Food Crisis Fund newsletter at www.brethren.org/gfcf/stories.
Source: 4/18/2013 Newsline
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