HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-08-22, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 2019.
Normans share Haitian Foodgrains Bank experience
On Aug. 4 Doug Norman, with
help from wife, Barb, led the
morning service at Londesborough
United Church. Doug travelled to
Haiti in December, 2018 with the
Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB)
to learn firsthand about the bank’s
work in that country. Specifically the
group was interested in how CFGB
was helping or could help with
hunger and food security issues and
the situation for women and
children. Doug’s talk was full of
interesting information about Haiti
and CFGB and their work.
Haiti is the poorest country in the
western hemisphere. The small
nation shares an island with the
Dominican Republic. Many Haitian
men cross the border into the
Dominican Republic to find work,
leaving the women and children to
fend for themselves under dire
circumstances. The average wage in
Haiti is the equivalent of a toonie a
day. This fact leads to malnutrition,
diarrheal diseases and depression.
Sometimes families sacrifice food
and their health in order to send their
children to school. Education is not
free and the literacy rate is about 60
per cent and as low as 14 per cent for
Haitian women in remote areas.
Getting to school involves walking
many miles each day along very
poor roads.
As Doug remarked to the children
when he showed a picture of a
classroom, the schools have no
walls, very few desks, no lights, no
computers, no smartboards, etc., all
things Canadian children take for
granted.
In order to improve the situation
for their families, some schools have
gardens maintained by the children.
They learn good gardening/farming
methods, which foods provide the
best nutrition, and how to share. The
children take produce home from
the garden to their families. Some
schools give the children old tires in
which to plant a garden at home –
another way to feed their students.
As CFGB states: the availability and
access to food is fundamental to life
itself.
The United Church of Canada and
four other Christian organizations
through the CFGB work with
Partners for Local Development in
Haiti. CFGB believes it is God's
desire that no person in the world
should go hungry. The availability of
food is fundamental to life itself. In
Haiti and around the world CFGB
works with farmers to increase their
yields through sustainable
agricultural practices, to promote
nutritional education, and to help
with supplies of clean water. To
those needs the group Doug
travelled with visited several
ongoing projects.
Haiti has a low income
agricultural industry. For example,
small pieces of land are given to
farmers for tree and crop production.
Before colonization by Europeans,
Haiti was heavily forested. Now less
than three per cent of the land is
forested as the trees have been cut
down for the charcoal. And this has
led to erosion. Farmers are being
taught how to reforest land with an
eye to the future.
Another problem for Haitians is
the fact that good supplies of rain
come only in February and March.
Ergo the small household basins go
dry much of the year. This means
walks of great distances to
community wells or cisterns.
Doug’s group visited the site of a
new community water cistern. This
cistern, dug by hand, with financial
assistance from CFGB, holds
500,000 gallons of water Similar
water cisterns are planned for 14
other communities.
The lack of technology, along with
inaccessible roads and lack of
transportation, is keeping farmers in
Haiti from prospering and getting
their products to market. The CFGB
group visited an area where folks are
hoping their new machinery for
making cassava cakes will improve
nutrition and income for workers.
Cassava cakes are made from the
root of the cassava tree. The cakes
are cooked over charcoal and are
about the size of a pancake.
Statistics show that one in 14
children under the age of five dies
from malnutrition in Haiti still today.
Another facility visited by the group
was involved in the production of
peanut butter. Peanut butter is taken
into remote areas by health providers
to treat malnourished children. This
is a difficult project as getting to the
children in need because of
the isolation in remote areas is
hard.
A type of residential school is
being built which will train farmers
in better farming methods, food
security, sanitary and health matters
and the better treatment and
protection of women and children.
Partners in training in Haiti is also
training locals to go out into the
communities to deliver life-saving
medications.
Doug suggested Canadians help
by encouraging grow projects in
their communities and donating
monies to CFGB. The Canadian
government matches the dollars
donated 4:1, which means your $1
donation becomes $5 for CFGB. It is
their belief that all the fruits of
creation might be equally shared by
all peoples in the world.
Members of CFGB are guided by
these values – compassion, equality,
human dignity, justice, peace, right
to food and right of responsibility.
Your donations help the work of
CFGB around the world on these
values. Doug asked the congregation
to consider how they might help
Canadian Food Grains Bank.
Scriptures passages that morning
were Deut. 26:1-3, 9-12 and
2 Cor. 8: 1-15.
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PEOPLE AROUND
LONDESBORO
Clearing the way
Volunteers combed the Goderich to Guelph (G2G) Rail Trail between Auburn and Blyth on
Saturday, cleaning out the path to make it easier to maintain in the future. Nearly 20
volunteers, armed with pruning equipment, chainsaws and wheelbarrows, made their way
west from Auburn. Above, from left, Gerry Wheeler, Chris Moore and Liz Oberduin started
near Sandhill Line early Saturday morning on the project. (Denny Scott photo)