Hope Notes - Issue 16

Stories of hope from around the world

ISSUE 16 THE OFFI CI AL PUBLI CATI ON OF FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY (FH) CANADA

When the

Water Came Down Burundi community strikes it big with a new clean water system • PAGE 17

What’s Ben been eating?

He’s got a pretty impressive palate! • PAGE 7

High Valley Music Artists Join FH On-the-rise Albertan band advocates for change • PAGE 23

Presidential Transition Ben Hoogendoorn passes the torch • PAGE 5

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23 ISSUE 16 FALL/WINTER 2014

Operation Irrigation Water is not just necessary for drinking and sanitation. It gets food on the table. PAGE 3

Ben Hoogendoorn’s Legacy: Leading Well

Celebrating Community Graduations Rinconada del Sol, Peru and San Roque, Philippines hit their ten year target. PAGE 14

Travel Journal

Looking back over the last nine years of the presidency. PAGE 5

“The trip I will never forget!” PAGE 15

International Foodie Extreme

Burundi community strikes it big with a new clean water system. PAGE 17

This president has a pretty impressive palate! PAGE 9

When the Water Came Down

A Promising Path

Over Coffee

Vancouver-based tech company and their partnership community in Burundi. PAGE 21

A sit-down with outgoing and incoming FH presidents. PAGE 11

It’s High Time for High Valley

Bernie Comes On Board Get to know the new FH president and his vision for “a fully transformed humanity”.

Alberta musicians partner with FH to make a difference. PAGE 23

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FROM THE PRESIDENT

Ben’s parting words as Pres

FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY (FH) CANADA’S SEASONAL PUBLICATION

Content and editorial contributions from Eryn Austin Bergen, Ashley Chapman, Ben Hoogendoorn, Joseph Ntakirutimana, Mark Petzold, Michael Prins, Carl Sheldon, Holly Ann Stewart, Jennifer Willock, Bernie Willock, Carissa Youssef and other valued FH staff and friends.

FH CANADA is a registered non-profit organization dedicated to providing long-term relief to those stuck in poverty through sustainable community development. As part of the global Food for the Hungry (FH) network, we currently work in ten countries around the world.

Through project development, child sponsorship, emergency relief and medical equipment distribution, FH Canada strives to meet the physical, spiritual, social and educational needs of each man, woman and child living in poverty.

This issue’s letter is difficult to write. Leaving is hard when you love what you do, but it comes down to this—I simply feel it’s time. Many years ago, I followed a call from God to serve with FH, and I believe now it is time for a new leader with different expertise to carry its mission forward.

I am confident in Bernie Willock, chosen by our Board of Directors, as I know he upholds the values that make FH Canada distinct. Still, the transition is bittersweet for me. What a blessing it has been to invest into this transformational ministry!

It’s been an extraordinary privilege to see so many lives from various nations and cultures changed through the power of a reconciled relationship with their Creator. Without a doubt, my fondest memories are of people with very little wealth or influence exemplifying the characteristics of Jesus in their daily lives. The generosity of the “poor” I’ve met over the years has changed me.

I’m extremely grateful for the faithful encouragement of Canadians like you. There has been an extravagant amount of prayer and financial support from individuals, businesses, foundations, churches, colleagues, and family members year after year. The power of relationship to transform lives amazes me, and my ultimate prayer is that you would truly experience relationship with God. Finally, I’d like to publicly thank my wife Willie for her unwavering support and encouragement. I could not have invested into FH with passion these past years without her. I am so looking forward to spending more time with her, my children and my incredible grandkids.

I have been profoundly blessed, Ben Hoogendoorn

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As a Certified Member of the Canadian Council for Christian Charities, FH Canada meets the stringent standards set by the CCCC for accountability and organizational integrity.

7.1% ADMINISTRATION AND RUNNING COSTS 11.1% INVESTED TO GENERATE FUTURE INCOME 81.8% BUILDING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

CHARITABLE REGISTRATION NUMBER: 132152893RR0001 FH CANADA 1 - 31741 Peardonville Road, Abbotsford, BC V2T 1L2 T 604.853.4262 TF 1.800.667.0605 F 604.853.4332 info@fhcanada.org www.fhcanada.org

ISSUE 16

Operation Irrigation

Water is not just necessary for drinking and sanitation.

It also plays a vital role in getting food on the table.

“Now we have improved vegetable seeds and fruit tree seedlings like banana, sugarcane, and mango.”

– KEMISSIE TESSEMA, BELO, ETHIOPIA

FHCANADA.ORG

Kemissie Tessema lives in Belo, Ethiopia. The 36-year-old is married with seven children, including one adopted daughter. The large family is doing well, and all the school-aged children are in school. But life has not been easy for Kemissie.

Her community has long faced chronic and pervasive poverty and severe food shortages. The area’s poor infrastructure and persistent crop and livestock diseases made daily survival a struggle.

Erratic rainfall led to low and inconsistent crop yields, and irrigation during dry seasons was nonexistent.

In 2011, Kemissie got involved with a program offered through FH and Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (formerly Canadian International Development Agency).

She joined an Irrigation Users Association in Belo

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“Our community had no experience using irrigation but depended only on the rain. If the rain failed our crops would fail.”

– KEMISSIE TESSEMA, BELO, ETHIOPIA

to work with other small-scale farmers to set up an irrigation system from a nearby river and learn new techniques for planting in the local climate.

“Our community had no experience using irrigation but depended only on the rain. If the rain failed our crops would fail and that forced us into starvation,” she says. “FH trained us to divert rivers to our farmland and introduced us to planting maize and vegetable and fruit trees using irrigation.”

Thank you

to all those who gave to our summer water campaign!

To date, caring Canadians like you have donated $84,663, and donations continue to “flood” in! Thanks to your generous gifts, families in our partner communities are seeing their gardens flourish, and their health and income improve.

If you haven’t given yet, don’t worry! You still have the opportunity to provide clean, accessible water to developing communities. Visit our Water Works page to watch an inspirational video about how access to water literally transforms lives, and donate today to make that transformation a reality for hundreds of families.

Her particular association has 20 members—ten of them women—and it’s empowering them to produce their own food to both provide for their families and sell at the market. Thanks to improved irrigation, Kemissie’s family has a predictable income and supply of nutritious food. She can now dream of a better life for her children she never thought would be possible.

“I have six daughters and one son. I have hope that all my children will finish their higher education and get a better life. Especially my daughters—I dream that they will become officers in different government offices!”

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Visit fhcanada.org/water to see a Thank You message from Sasiga, Ethiopia.

ISSUE 16

Ben Hoogendoorn’s Legacy: Leading Well

BY ASHLEY CHAPMAN

Looking back over the last nine years of his presidency

When you ask Ben Hoogendoorn what stands out for him from his time at Food for the Hungry (FH) Canada, you won’t hear stories about his climbing the ladder from a manager to a director to President. You also won’t hear about his memorable international adventures with donkey rides in Afghanistan, dancing in Rwanda, and dining in Cambodia (see page 8)—at least not at first.

As you talk to Ben, the focus quickly turns to his time as a child sponsor, and it’s clear how much he values each individual child he has supported and encouraged—both from a distance through letters and in person as he travelled to different FH Canada partner communities.

Ben and his wife Willie sponsored their first child in Cambodia in 1997. That year, Ben travelled to Southeast Asia where he met Vansy and saw the community development work of FH Canada firsthand. At the time of the trip, Ben owned a farm equipment dealership in Vernon, B.C., (a company he bought with partners in 1977, and later became the sole proprietor in 1987). He was so moved by the transformation in Cambodia and the families he was meeting that he decided to personally sponsor a child for every employee at his shop.

Seventeen years later, Ben and Willie have sponsored a total of 21 children.

While many of the sponsored children have since graduated out of FH’s development programs, the Hoogendoorns still currently support ten children, including 12-year-old

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ations, and later used this experience—and his two-plus decades as a business owner—when he became president in 2005.

The timing couldn’t have been better.

Ben and 12-year-old Ingabire share a special bond since Ben took it upon himself to ensure her ongoing care.

Ingabire. She and Ben met at a feeding centre in Burundi seven years ago. At a young age Inabire had fallen into a cooking fire, leaving her face disfigured by severe burns, and her parents had abandoned her. Despite the suffering, Ben remembers, she was smiling.

Unable to get the little girl out of his mind, Ben ultimately helped get reconstructive surgery for Ingabire through a non-profit that specializes in complex medical cases. FH Burundi country director Evariste Habiyambere remembers the way Ben’s heart opened to the child and her abandonment.

“He was quick to compassionately respond to their needs with financial commitments and was there for the family with words of encouragement and assurance that staff from FH Canada were praying for them,” says Evariste. Ingabire is now in the care of the nuns at the St. Thersea au L’Enfant Jesu in Kirundi, Burundi and Ben has been able to stay in touch.

While it’s truly Ben’s personal investment in the work that has impacted so many, he has also been transformative to the organization itself. He started in International Oper-

“The organization had experienced a lot of growth with donors and at the field level, and it was really in need of stability, structure and systems,” says -T R E VO R T H R O N E SS Lindsay Brucks, director of FH Canada’s International Medical Equipment Distribution (IMED) program. “I think God stirred his heart to go from owning his own business to working here full time.”

“Ben was totally selfless in his care for the needy and also totally committed in his formation of FH as a business model.”

As an organization strongly defined by its vision, mission and values, FH Canada needed a candidate with strong business acumen but also an understanding of the “why” behind the work. Trevor Throness, a business coach and friend of Ben, believes the right person was selected for the job.

“Ben was totally selfless in his care for the needy and also totally committed in his formation of FH as a business model,” he says. “Ben brought the right people to the table and put them in the right seats. He also put accountability structures in place to ensure that FH was sustainable and efficient.”

Once the Canadian office was running more smoothly, Ben began consulting with local field staff to find ways of serving them better. This became something that Ben was known for; every decision he made was filtered through the question—how will this affect the field?

1997

1998

FEBRUARY 1997 Visits his first sponsored child in Cambodia, and sponsors a child on behalf of every employee at his shop.

SPRING 1998 Ben begins leading trips annually for FH as an advocate

2001

Ben doing what he loves most— connectingwithlocalfamiliesandfarmers.

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OCTOBER 2001 Ben tackles management of International Operations at FH.

1996 SEPTEMBER 1996 Ben’s first trip with FH to Southeast Asia.

Milestones through Ben’s time at FH

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While FH Canada has always emphasized sustainable development, it was the next few years of Ben’s leadership that made FH Canada what it is today.

In his time as Manager and then Director of International Operations, Ben realized that development should be more about long-term relationships that focus on training and empowerment and less about large-scale, one-off projects.

In 2004, the first formal partnership was formed between a Canadian church and a developing community—Lambrick Park Church in Victoria, B.C. and Bereda Belo in Sasiga, Ethiopia. Ten years later, the two are still partners and looking forward to the community’s graduation. The long-term partnership model has grown significantly and now includes churches, businesses, and community groups.

2004 also brought the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia, and with it, coordinated world-wide relief efforts. Ben committed to forming strong Non-Government Organization (NGO) partnerships and also ensured that plans were in place to guarantee that the relief work would transition from rehabilitation to redevelopment. This emphasis on partnerships—and on the safeguards against creating long-term dependency— have lasted through FH Canada’s subsequent relief missions in Haiti, Japan, the Horn of Africa, and the Philippines.

On a wider scale, Ben also helped transform the on-theground development processes that make FH Canada well known for its holistic approach to poverty alleviation. Instead of focusing exclusively on clean water access or working to improve education, Ben saw the importance of supporting at least three or four different programs in each field—depending on their needs and resources—but never just one or two.

This meant that development work integrated aspects such as health, agriculture, income generation, water access, child sponsorship, leadership training, microfinance, and education into a community-authored plan for self-sustainability.

And it wasn’t only the programming that changed. Ben remembers talking with a co-worker about the pitfalls of the charitable funding model—the difficulties of budgeting without knowing how many donations will come in, the lull in giving over the summer months, and the spike in December—when he realized that FH Canada was “I am convinced doing the same thing to that the fruit of his the international field presence at FH will offices.

Ben in Burundi with friend BobVanNoppen, pulled up to join the drumming troupe.

continue to have an impact for a long time to come.”

-BOB VANNOPPEN

“We’d give at the end of the year when our goals were met, and the field would have to cope with

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2008 SEPTEMBER 2008 FH grows during major western recession thanks to its faithful donors.

JULY 2007 Witnesses the graduation of Chhuk, Cambodia - the first Cambodian community to become selfsustaining. Today they are still thriving!

Ben becomes President of FH!

2007 SEPTEMBER 2005

FALL 2005 Ben commits FH to operating with no more than 10% government funding in order to protect communities’ needs over government priorities.

2005 DECEMBER 2004 FH responds to the Southeast Asia tsunami; Ben forms strong NGO partnerships and emphasizes developing exit strategies for relief situations.

WINTER 2004 FH establishes first-ever formal church partnership (Lambrick Park Church and Bereda Belo, Ethiopia) and formalizes FH’s Church Partnership model.

2004 JUNE 2004 Takes first trip to Ethiopia with his wife, Willie.

APRIL 2003 Ben becomes official Director of International Operations.

Coins the term “IMED” (International Medical Equipment Distribution).

2003

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Ben’s Heroes Sponsoring a child and his or her family is incredibly rewarding, but Ben would be the first to remind us it’s not about the reward—it’s about the relationship!

If you would like to help a child in need and encourage their family in their journey out of poverty, get connected with a sponsored child at www.fhcanada.org/child or talk to a member of our sponsorship team at 1-800-667-0605.

17 years of building meaningful relationships with sponsored children, their families, and their communities. It’s Ben’s international family.

Ben’s current sponsored children (TOP ROW FROM LEFT TO RIGHT) Digonto, Verena, Leonce, Juliet, Gloria, Bisikwa, Maria (MIDDLE ROW FROM LEFT TO RIGHT) Franckley, Chali, Lesly Vargas, Chapdeline

Ben’s past sponsored children Shahin, Sreitoch, Pet, Kaana, (BOTTOM ROW FROM LEFT TO RIGHT) Rachael’s Family, Elena, Antonio, Rose, Yenny, Mukeshimana and his mother.

Milestones through Ben’s time at FH

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2014 FALL 2014 Graduation in Ntwali, Rwanda marks 39th community graduated by FH Canada.

FALL 2011 FH re-formats Hunger Awareness Week into “Poverty Revolution Boot Camp.”

2011 FALL 2011 FH solidifies brand promise: to graduate communities in 10 years.

2010 JANUARY 2010 Ben spearheads FH response to the earthquake in Haiti, engaging significant partners like C&MA and ERDO.

SPRING 2009 FH introduces “Poverty Revolution” as a 5-year platform to educate Canadians on poverty and its solutions.

2009

ISSUE 16

what they got,” says Ben. “So instead, we started making our promises based on what communities were planning and gave in faith that God would provide.”

Soon, the fields were able to fund their development activities three years in advance; a level of stability that was revolutionary in helping communities graduate within 10 years. Things were going well in Canada, too. By engaging more churches and relying less on government grants, FH Canada was able to empower local churches in each international community to take an active role in their region’s transformation. And that’s what it’s always been about for Ben: transformation. Of the lives of children he’s sponsored, communities he’s walked with and business operations he’s left in excellent shape for his successor as president.

“You start out thinking you will change the world and instead you learn from the poor.”

International

Foodie

BEN HOOGENDOORN

BY MICHAEL PRINS

-BEN HOOGENDOORN

Ben’s friend, mentor, and former FH Canada Board Vice Chair Bob VanNoppen has watched Ben over the years and seen him both on the international field and in the Abbotsford, B.C. office. In each context, he says, he has served well.

“Ben’s presence brought people together in a spirit of cooperation to do what was right in the circumstances. Collaboration in the boardroom and the office and on the field became the common practice. I am convinced that the fruit of his presence at FH will continue to have an impact for a long time to come.”

Humble as he is, Ben may not see it quite the same way. But he does see how his 14 years with FH Canada changed him: “I’ve learned and been transformed the same way this organization has been,” he says. “You start out thinking you will change the world and instead you learn from the poor.”

That wasn’t chicken!

If you’re used to saying “it tastes just like chicken,” then you’re not stepping far enough outside of your culinary comfort zone, says outgoing FH Canada President Ben Hoogendoorn. From roasted tarantula to lizard and porcupine, Ben will try anything. Over the past 14 years, he’s gained quite the reputation among international staff for his cultural sensitivity and resulting culinary courage.

While travelling through the Middle East, Ben recalls one restaurant with a smirk, “The menu item was ‘Typhoid Ice Cream’ at the ‘Hep A Cafe’!”

A naming gimmick to attract travellers, the dish was simply homemade vanilla ice cream. But it certainly caught Ben’s attention.

On a similar excursion, Ben remembers being offered a special type of sweet yogurt. The creamy substance was kept out in the sun to dry and culture, which proved problematic during fly season.

BBQ Rat

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Deep Fried Crickets or Locusts

“Swarms of flies would rest on the yogurt and get stuck,” he recalls. “So before serving the yogurt, they’d wipe all the flies off, leaving their little legs stuck behind. The encrusted top of the yogurt looked like a brush!”

These are quite good. Crunchy, kind of sweet and savoury, high in protein, not a bad aftertaste—you just have to get over the fact that you are eating a bug. Westerners often think it’s creepy, but it’s a great source of protein for many families.

His travel companions didn’t have the stomach, so to not offend their host, Ben took one for the team that day.

“I ate their portions too.”

Of course, not all his gastronomic adventures have been food fiascos. He’s unexpectedly found some new dishes he loves, like his personal favourite: BBQ rat.

“It’s the best!” he says of the small rodents. “The meat doesn’t come from dirty sewer rats, but from field rats and bamboo rats—nice, healthy animals. It’s some of the best meat many developing communities have access to.”

Quail & Quail Eggs “The quail was very tender and nicely roasted with lots of spice. There’s not much meat on these little wild birds, though. I ate it clean off the bones, while my hosts went a step further and ate the bones, too! The eggs can be eaten raw or soft-boiled and have a flavour that reminds me of duck eggs. They have a much stronger taste than the chicken eggs we’re used to.”

Sharing the unique cuisine of a culture is one of many ways Ben has built relationships with local families, leaders and international staff. So the next time you find yourself looking at a cultural delicacy that just might be looking right back at you, remember the wise words of a soft-spoken, practical traveller like Ben:

Bat Soup

“Hey, I didn’t die.”

Coconut Beetle Larvae

Slug Salad “It was pretty slimy, but I think they were at least boiled. Let’s leave it at that. It was not my favourite salad.“

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“In Southeast Asia we would often enter restaurants and see the live fare yet to be prepared.

One day I spotted some really big bats in a cage, and I admit my first thought was, I hope we’re not getting that for supper. I then sat down to ‘kongri,’ only to find out it was bat. The taste was fine—sort of like spam—but the thought of what I was eating got to me that time.”

“They brought out a live larvae as big as my thumb. It was then cooked in a frying pan until it stopped moving, and I was told to pop the whole thing in my mouth at once so it wouldn’t squirt everywhere. I wasn’t quite sure what wouldhappenonceitwasinmymouth!

But it was actually quite good; it tasted like coconuts since that’s all the little critter eats. And it turns out it was the first time they had a Caucasian person ask for seconds!”

ISSUE 16

Over Coffee

BY CARISSA YOUSSEF PHOTOS BY MARK PETZOLD

A Sit Down With Outgoing And Incoming FH Presidents After 14 years on staff with FH Canada, Ben Hoogendoorn is ending his long-time tenure as president. Carissa Youssef sat down with Ben and with incoming president Bernie Willock to learn more about the two leaders, their involvement with the organization, and what they see as the future of FH Canada. In the interest of full-disclosure, Bernie was well past his daily coffee intake (he disciplines himself to two cups a day!), but Ben, true to form, had a fresh cup in hand. found that FH Canada was working in Guatemala. I was going down to Guatemala so I contacted FH Canada about visiting the FH Guatemala staff and communities as part of my trip.

Together, Jen and I visited the FH partner communities in Nebaj and were impressed with what we saw.

CY: To start, why don’t you each tell me five words that could be used to describe you.

Ben: I’m passionate about things I believe in and about seeing others realize their God-given potential. I’m consistent, quite reflective, and disciplined in following through. Also, I’m loyal. Oh, that’s a lot more than five words.

Bernie: I was resonating with yours, Ben. Passionate about things I get involved with, so that transcends a lot of things. Enthusiastic, disciplined, determined, and innovative.

CY: How did you first get connected to FH Canada?

Bernie: My daughter Jen was looking for some field experience and was travelling to Guatemala because she had previously studied there. So she was starting to do some groundwork in the country while I was starting to look into NGOs in Guatemala from here at home. I did a web search and

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“I know I dream really big, but if you were to think five years from now, the number of communities we’ll be walking with and the diversity of the people who will be our partners—I think it will take our breath away.”

- BERNIE WILLOCK

I came back from Guatemala just a little jazzed up. I’ve always been about transformation: transformation in the business, transformation in the field. Mutual transformation was my business mantra. The development and partnership model hit on so many of my hot buttons, I just couldn’t believe it. Ben asked me how the trip went, and I replied “Ahh! It was so great!”

But, because of my experience with some NGOs and their inability to deliver on their brand promise, I was still skeptical when it came to NGOs and what they say they do versus what they actually do. After my positive experience in Nebaj, I thought, I really need to go to Africa. Turns out Ben was

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going that November and asked me if I wanted to come.

A lot of people told me I was crazy for giving up a good business and a good income, but I just didn’t feel that was the right place for me. It was not until I had totally closed that door a few years later that I got a call from FH, asking if I would engage on a staff level.

CY: What about you, Ben? How did you first get involved with FH? Ben: My love of other cultures and my sense of adventure took me to places that are very remote, where few westerners had been. My first trip is what changed my worldview, actually.

I went to Thailand and Cambodia with our youngest daughter in 1994 and the magnitude of global poverty was beyond what I had fully understood before. My whole sense of normal changed.

CY: And here we are, 14 years later.

Looking back, what stands out as something you’re most proud of—or most grateful for—from your time here?

Ben: The thing I’m most grateful for is the people. The staff team here, the people who prayed, the people who offered words of encouragement and the people who gave financially. Still, I would say it’s the people internationally who have changed my life the most.

I’ve consistently recognized so much of God’s character in people who are living in very difficult circumstances. I have probably learned more about God through walking with people we would consider poor than I have through church, school, and my personal study.

My story is quite similar to Bernie’s. I was on an international trip and met someone at a church who was working with Food for the Hungry in Asia. She introduced me to David Collins, who was Food for the Hungry Canada’s founding president, and within a month David had called and asked me to go on a Vision Trip with FH. So I came back to Asia with FH and saw how FH was very different in their approach to addressing poverty. It was not about material things, it was not about, “We have stuff and you don’t, so we will just give you some of ours to fix your problems.” It was about empowering people. It was about relationships and about developing the church and local leadership. It was all about worldview and this really resonated with me.

So like Bernie, I also came back kind of jazzed and wanted to learn more. I went through a week-long training program here with FH and then started taking teams—donors, pastors, church leaders and the like—to Asia. I did one or two trips a year and that really messed with my life. I had always been very, very involved with my career in business, so much so that it had almost cost me my life, my family—everything. My business was what gave me my identity, meaning and value, and all of a sudden my passion for it was starting to wane.

And I started to get an increase in passion for this new type of work.

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“I’ve consistently recognized so much of God’s character in people who are living in very difficult circumstances.

I have probably learned more about God though walking with people we would consider poor than I have through church, school, and my personal study.”

- BEN HOOGENDOORN

CY: Bernie, we’ll finish with you.

What’s next for FH Canada?

Bernie: Under Ben’s leadership, the FH Canada team has built a strong organization fiscally and relationally.

I really sense I’m coming into a team that truly understands who they are and how they all contribute to this journey of mutual transformation. I know I dream really big, but if we were to think five years from now, the number of communities we’ll be walking with and the diversity of the people who will be our partners—I think it will take our breath away.

So here I am. Still with some fear and trepidation, because I’m following in the footsteps of a man that I respect a great deal and I know the impact he has had on so many lives. In my view, Ben is truly an elder statesman and the more I am with him the more I am thinking, ”No, Lord, you’re kidding, right?” This is probably the biggest challenge the Lord has called me to yet—and trust me, there have been some big ones!

ISSUE 16

TheWillock family (Left to right: daughter Jennifer, Bernie, wife Marlene, son Ben)

Introducing BernieWillock Food for the Hungry welcomes its new President

We are thrilled to welcome Bernie Willock of Mill Bay, B.C. as the new president of FH Canada. Born and raised in Victoria, B.C. Bernie brings a wealth of both international and Canadian leadership experience to the role.

Since 2009, Bernie and his wife Marlene have been owners and operators of Pine Lodge Farm on the east coast of Vancouver Island. Bernie is also involved with Pine Lodge Contracting with his son, Ben. His daughter Jennifer works at FH Canada as a Donor Service Representative.

Bernie’s career has spanned forestry, pastoring, land development, and business ownership. He co-opened the first La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries in B.C. in 1999, and opened a second store in 2003. Bernie enjoyed growing his business to 40+ employees who shared in the profits. In 2011, he sold his share of the business to his La-Z-Boy management team.

His proudest achievement from this season was developing transformational partnerships with two Christian NGO’s focused on alleviating poverty in Haiti and Colombia.

Bernie loves spending time with family and engaging in almost any outdoor activity. He most enjoys mentoring young entrepreneurs who seek to build businesses that bear witness to the kingdom of God through creative economic and organizational models. His most recent opportunity, of course, is the call to serve as President and CEO of FH Canada.

“My hope and vision is to invite people from all walks of life to partner with us [FH] in this incredible work that seeks to establish fully sustainable, transformed communities through friendships that transcend cultural, national and economic barriers,” he says. “FH bears witness to the hope of the gospel...a fully transformed humanity.”

D ID YO U KN

Bernie enjoys a bike ride while taking in the Graduation celebrations in Bufukhula last November 2013.

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Bernie made the Canadian National Team for cycling and represented Canada from 1979 – 1982.

He participated in the World Championships, Pan Am Games, Commonwealth Games, and was selected to the 1980 Olympic team (Moscow boycott). He still loves to ride for fun and fitness!

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Sweet Goodbyes

BY CARISSA YOUSSEF

Two communities graduate from development partnerships with FH Canada Major accomplishments in

Rinconada del Sol, Peru • • • • • •

After years of determination and hard work, two communities—Rinconada del Sol, Peru and San Roque, Philippines— are graduating this year. With the faithful prayer and financial support of hundreds of Canadians, these two communities are celebrating a future that is very different from their past.

Rinconada del Sol was a squatter community that formed by necessity as people fled terrorist violence or sought better jobs. In July 2005 it partnered with FH to work on education, water access, infrastructure, business development, land rights, domestic violence prevention, and gender equality. Nine and a half years later, the Peruvian community is able to turn to other neighbouring communities to help them make similar progress.

San Roque partnered with FH Canada in 2008. The peri-urban community has long struggled with poverty, poor education and inadequate sanitation.

The region also deals with a staggering amount of natural disasters, with several large typhoons and super storms hitting the community in the last six years alone.

Since working with FH, community leaders have developed emergency preparedness strategies, stronger

educational partnerships, new income generation streams and a network for sanitation and health promotion.

In both communities, the churches, families and leaders have been empowered to carry forward their own changes so they can continue to make progress long after FH leaves. As with other communities FH has partnered with in the past, it’s always exciting and encouraging to hear how communities are doing five or ten years after the official partnership is over.

Major accomplishments in

With the graduations in Rinconada del Sol and San Roque, FH Canada has now helped 39 communities reach selfsustainability. Since 1994, FH Canada’s mission has been to end poverty, one community at a time. And when this happens, we celebrate!

•

On behalf of the families we’ve partnered with in Peru and the Philippines, we want to extend our deepest thanks to each Canadian family, church, and business that contributed to the poverty-free future of these communities. Your generous investment has changed thousands of lives.

Would you like to walk alongside a family or community towards graduation?

You as a child sponsor, or your church or business as a formal community partner, can help!

Send us a personal message at sponsorship@fhcanada.org or partnership@fhcanada.org.

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•

60% of secondary school graduates have gone on to technical school or university.

The local church has become a central player in the community’s development.

Every home now has electricity.

The community now has access to clean, easily accessible water.

A sanitation and sewer system were installed With income generation training, most families now have formal employment.

While the community started as a squatter settlement, they now all own their land and have the property title! This has major implications for their legal rights.

San Roque, Philippines • • • •

•

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Early intervention for malnourishment is now part of maternal care and the school system.

The once-high secondary school dropout rate has virtually disappeared.

Seminars and health fairs have given families the skills to prevent most common illnesses.

Oral hygiene training and dental sessions have transformed families’ understanding of oral health and sanitation.

A tutoring partnership was established between a nearby university and the local primary school.

Several emergency preparedness plans are in place with a network of trained community members and provision sites.

Child well-being and violence prevention are now being prioritized.

What does it mean when we say a community “graduates”?

When FH Canada partners with a community, the goal is to foster self-sustainability, not dependency; that’s why we’ve made a promise to help communities “graduate” within 10 years.

The first step of any partnership is to work alongside local leaders to create a 10-year development plan based on the community’s unique assets and opportunities.

The end point of the development plan is when FH is able to step back because the community is thriving on its own. Local leaders and community members refer to this as “graduation,” and it’s always a great excuse to celebrate!

From the travel journal of Holly Anne Stewart.

THE TRIP I WILL NEVER FORGET

TEAM FROM ELK LAKE BAPTIST CHURCH AND CATES HILL CHAPEL MAKE FIRST TRIP TO NEBAJ

OUR COMBINED TEAM FROM ELK LAKE BAPTIST CHURCH AND CATES HILL CHAPEL.

Hairpinturns,ruts,strayboulders,straydogs,motorcycles, people - the dirt road to Hortencia Dos was crazy. I felt like we had been driving for way longer than an hour and a halfandwasstunnedbythelushgreenthatappearedwhen themountainforestopenedintothemostamazingvista.Tall mountainsencircledatinyvillagenestleddeepinthevalley: Hortencia Dos (“Hydrangea Two”).

Thecommunityleaderswereawaitingourarrivalinaroom connectedtothecommunity’smedicalclinic.Inhonourofour visit they had covered the entire floor with pine needles. It smelledwonderful.Florencio,oneoftheleaders,pulledouta penandrulerandwalkedmeandtheteamthroughahistory of the village.

THESE ARE THE ROADS THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN PASSES WE HAD TO ENJOY!

THEIR GARDENS WERE BURSTING! SEEDS AND TRAINING THROUGH FH HAVE LITERALLY TAKEN ROOT!

FHCANADA.ORG

Before 1980, everyone had fled to the hills to save themselves during the Civil War. Three years later theyhad the courage to return and start over. They began to build houses; they were literally starting from scratch. Even the windingmountainroadwearrivedon,Ilearned,wasrebuiltby the men of Hortencia Dos. Later, with FH’s encouragement fueling the community’s incredibleworkethicandefforts,severalbigprojectswere completed. These families have every right to be proud of theiraccomplishments.Onethatstoodouttomewashow theirfarmingexpertisehasgrownsoincredibly(fromcorn as the only crop to a mix of broccoli, cauliflower, beans and peppers)andhowtheirchronicmalnutritionratehasdropped dramatically. Amazing!

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MEETING LEADER MOTHERS FROM VILLA HORTENCIA II.

I had the opportunity to travel with one of the leader mothers on avisitwithayoungmotherwhoseeight-month-oldhadn’tgainedany weight in two months. I watched as the leader mother graciously walked her thru some of the changes she could make. As relief flooded the young mother’s face, I stood by quietly and prayed.

more about Want to readexperience in Holly-Anne’s Check out her Guatemala?e Food for the story on th anada blog: Hungry C .org/blog www.fhcanada

Later, our team moved on to Rio Azul - after another memorable series of hair-raising turns and breath taking jungle vistas!

Rio Azul is considered by many to be a model of sustainable development.Theyhaveamainstreetfullofhomesandbusinesses, greenhousesburstingwithtomatoes,andaschoolthat’scurrently trainingseveralinternteachers. They’vecomealongwayinonlya few short years.

The leaders were excited to show us the water storage tanks built in partnership with Friends Church,theirCanadianpartner.Today,thosetanks provide a constant supply of clean water to all the homes of the community, a definite first in the region.Twoyearsaftertheprojectwascompleted, thesystemisimmaculatelymaintainedandisthe pride of the community.

Over the course of this trip, I saw clearly how walkingalongsidecommunitiesallowsfamiliesa chance to dream where once they only thought aboutsurvival.FHandtheirpartnercommunities truly walk hand-in-hand,daybyday. I have been transformed from a tag-along to an advocate.

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ISSUE 16

When the

Water Came Down On May 28, about 1,500 people crowded around a small spout at the heart of the Mufumya community.

They had been working for this moment for the past year, and dreaming of it long before that. Everyone was singing excitedly as traditionally dressed Burundian drummers brought a whole new meaning to the term “drum roll.” The anticipation was palpable as the overwhelming crowd waited on the power of—gravity.

Standing in the middle of the throng were Mufumya’s community leaders and a special guest—Wade Paton from Sherwood Park, Alberta. As associate pastor of their partner community back in Canada, the community of Mufumya had chosen him to take the first sip of water from their Gravity Water System. (See page 19.)

FHCANADA.ORG

BY ASHLEY CHAPMAN AND MICHAEL PRINS

A community in Burundi strikes it big with a new clean water system The drum roll got faster and louder as a wide white ribbon was cut: the last barrier between the community and clean water. A red cup was filled with cool, clear water and handed to Wade. He took a sip and the community erupted in cheers.

*** In 2012, Wade was still pretty new to his associate pastor role at Sherwood Park Alliance Church (SPAC).

Part of his job was overseeing all of the church’s justice and compassion initiatives, and he quickly learned of the congregation’s growing ties with the community of Mufumya in Burundi.

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“No amount of 30 minute fundraising campaigns on TV could prepare this sheltered farm boy from the prairies for what I experienced that week.”

-DENNIS STEINWAND, SH ERWO O D PAR K ALLIAN CE CH U R CH

A crowd gathers at Mfunda Hill to witnessthededicationofthespring.

the church and the community. It became instantly clear that one of the big remaining priorities for Mufumya’s leaders was an overhaul of their water system.

Church member Dennis Steinwand clearly remembers the early days of the partnership. Because of his agricultural background, he was one of the SPAC congregants asked to travel to Mufumya to explore the possibility of a “Community to Community” relationship. For the first time in his life, he would see extreme poverty and come face-to-face with the astounding reality of global inequality.

“No amount of 30 minute fundraising campaigns on TV could prepare this sheltered farm boy from the prairies for what I experienced that week,” he says. “I felt hopeless, but others around me could see the potential for what God could do through us if we gave him a chance.”

The relationship between SPAC and Mufumya officially began in 2009. Within two and a half years they had already completed three major projects together: terracing hillside farmland, constructing latrines, and upgrading the community’s school facilities. The question in 2012 was, What’s next?

Pastor Wade remembers looking through a document he calls the “transformation agreement” that FH helped create to link

“Clean water is a no brainer for community development,” Wade explains. “If you have an unclean water source the entire system of development is polluted from the start.”

The community of Mufumya is part of Butaganzwa district, a region with a population of about 22,900 people. Of the 315 water sources in the district, only 17 were functioning well enough for use. The closest water point for the people of Mufumya was 1 ½ kilometres away, so water was rarely used for hygiene or sanitation. Like most of the springs in Butaganzwa, it was relatively low-lying, meaning there was little water during the non-rainy season and a lot of maintenance needed during the downpours.

As a result, dysentery and parasites were just part of life in Mufumya. Wade saw this first-hand in September 2012 when a small group from SPAC was visiting their Burundian partners.

The community gathered at the end of the trip and Wade was asked to share a few words. Before he knew it, he was committing to do everything in SPAC’s strength to help Mufumya get the water they so desperately needed. Applause and cheers erupted. His SPAC team quietly affirmed his commitment; they were in this for the long haul.

HOW IT WORKS: GRAVITY WATER SYSTEM When the spring was discovered in the Mufumya area, it presented an ideal situation for a Gravity Water System.

The natural force of gravity does all the work. The crystal clear water bubbling at nearly 2000m above sea level is captured at the source and protected from contamination in an initial tank or reservoir. Buried pipe then carries and collects the water to other holding tanks. The built-up pressure is more than enough to take the water from one tank to the next, providing a steady flow from the various taps along the way. Specially trained community volunteers have formed a water management committee to monitor and maintain the system.

Water starts here

ELEVATION

Mfunda Hill

Mufumya Hill

Bumba Hill

2,179 residents 428 households

3,120 residents 653 households

2,668 residents 344 households

1980m ELEVATION

Capped spring/ resevoir

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10m3 holding tank

1808m

ELEVATION

1796m 3 20m16 ISSUE holding tank

Buildingaholdingtank For the next few months, two different stories played out. In Sherwood Park (Edmonton), the travel team brought back greetings and updates to a congregation that had almost hit the three-year partnership mark with Mufumya. Updated pictures and stories were shared between sponsored children and sponsors, and news of the community’s continued progress in education, sanitation, and agriculture was celebrated. The water situation was explained in detail and the church rallied around this latest goal.

most part it was the smaller donations that quickly added up.

They reached the funding goal within two months.

That Christmas Eve, an astonishing $60,000 offering was collected for the water system.

Construction began a few months later to cap the spring, dig trenches for the pipe and build five water tanks along the pipe’s descending course — three in Mufumya, and one each in smaller Nyarusozi and Bumba. The tanks serve as a central source for a number of taps in the area.

Meanwhile in Burundi, plans were made for the most cost-effective and sustainable water solution. Given that almost 300 water points in the district were broken and abandoned, local leaders and FH Burundi staff had a clear view of what was and wasn’t a fit for their area. They decided to harness gravity in their plan by building an 12 kilometre pipeline from the hillside spring in Cahafi down to the three communities in Butaganzwa with the worst water access — Mufumya, Nyarusozi, and Bumba.

On November 12, 2013, about 150 people gathered in Cahafi around the simple spring that would bring water to thousands.

Evariste Habiyambere from FH Burundi and outgoing FH Canada president Ben Hoogendoorn were among those invited to say a few words at the project’s official dedication ceremony.

A specialist was hired to help with the technical implementation and a skilled engineer was tasked with supervising the project.

FH Canada gave SPAC the finalized project proposal in June 2013 and the church was quick to confirm their commitment — despite a further $150,000 that would need to be raised. Best practices dictated that construction wouldn’t start until 80 per cent of the funds came in, so FH Canada saw this as a longterm project. Not fully considered, perhaps, was the power of relationship and the sense of urgency it added.

It was a summer of kids’ lemonade stands, bake sales and birthday parties with donations instead of presents. Among the adults, many would set aside small donations instead of paying for days out with their families or friends. There were some incredibly large and generous gifts, but for the

President Ben of FH Canada, Pastor Juvenile of Mufumya, and Ghad of FH Burundi lay the first bricks to the springs new containment tank at a special dedication ceremony, November 2013.

FHCANADA.ORG

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Further labour was divided, with community members in Mufumya responsible for digging four of the 12 kilometres of trench.

Wade says that the success of this project—and all the projects to date—has been the community ownership from the planning stages to implementation.

“We don’t come as the experts, nor would we dare come in with backhoes,” he explains. “We could have sent in the machinery, but it wouldn’t help in the long term. We do what we can do, leave the rest up to the community, and then cheer them along and see it through.”

When FH Burundi Country Director Evariste thinks back to the community Dennis first encountered five years ago, he clearly sees the power of encouragement at play. “It was a mindset change that was crucial,” he says of their water initiative. “The people of Mufumya did

not have the confidence that they could do this on their own.”

Getting clean water to Mufumya wasn’t just a matter of physical infrastructure.

Sustainability required two other components of the project, planned by local leaders and FH Burundi staff: a water association and community-wide health and hygiene training.

The community-led water association was tasked with managing and maintaining the system to comply with all of the government’s water guidelines. Local technicians were trained and equipped to monitor all the operations. Because it was women who previously bore the burden of collecting water, they now make up most of the trained association members who ensure the continued success of the system. And keeping in step with the desire to empower families to make the most of their water, FH will continue to

facilitate health and sanitation training seminars throughout Mufumya.

*** This June, as clean water finally flowed into Mufumya, it marked more than just a physical transformation.

“You could see it as just water coming out of a pipe, but that’s only two per cent of the deal,” says Wade. “It has inspired hope in a community and now they are taking on the next pieces in their transformational development plan.

“I had one leader tell me, ‘As skeptical as we once were, we’ve already started on the next four pieces of the transformational plan. You don’t need to send us money, and like before you don’t need to do it for us— but you are going to stand as witnesses to the power of God is this little village.’”

Dennis was also able to return to Mufumya to see the launch of the water system. As one of the initial members of the SPAC community to connect with the leaders and families in the community five years ago, he has a unique vantage point on the partnership.

He says it’s the “community to community relationship” that cemented his desire to get involved. Five years, four major funding initiatives, and several hundred child sponsorships later, it’s clear that SPAC cares deeply about the people of Mufumya.

(Top) Over 1500 people attend the opening ceremony of the new water system. Fresh clean water means a great deal to a developing community - it’s worth celebrating! (Bottom) Mufumya community leaders and Pastor Wade of Sherwood Park Alliance Church share the first few swigs of fresh water from the newly installed taps.

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But that’s not the end of the story, and this is what’s so humbling for Dennis. “I don’t know if I can state it strongly enough,” he says, “we matter to them, too.”

ISSUE 16

A promising path A Vancouver-based tech company walks with a community in Burundi

BY ASHLEY CHAPMAN PHOTOS BY MIKE PRINS

Elastic Path president Gord Janzen first visited Burundi in 2009 on a trip with FH Canada. Over the next few years, he and his company would continue learning more about FH and the work being done in Burundi.

students would strain to study by candle light, fire, or maybe even by a kerosene lamp. Grade 10 student Renovat has improved his grades since gaining the new study space, and his family has gained back some extra money.

By 2012, the leadership and staff at the Vancouver-based software company officially came on board as community partners for a series of projects in the developing country. They’re used to working with some of the biggest brands in the world, powering commerce experiences for Google, Virgin Media, and Sony. Now they’re helping to power a whole different kind of experience.

“With the solar panel, the money that my parents were using to buy petrol for the lamp is used to meet other family needs,”he says.

This year, the company funded a set of solar panels for the primary school in Mufumya, Burundi. The panels are used to power overhead classroom lights so that both primary and secondary students in the community are able to study in the evening once it gets dark. The panels also provide a source of on-going revenue through a cell-phone charging service.

The ability to study in a well-lit classroom is revolutionary for the young people in Mufumya—and their families. Previously,

According to Gord, this type of work is all a part of the company’s ethos. “At Elastic Path,” he explains, “we foster a culture that gives back to local and global communities through our pocketbooks and our actions. Our employees, including senior executives, actively participate in our social responsibility initiatives.”

CANADIAN PARTNER:

Elastic Path LOCATION:

Vancouver, BC TYPE OF BUSINESS:

E-commerce software company COUNTRY PARTNER:

Burundi

PARTNERS SINCE:

2012

AREAS OF FOCUS:

Farmer co-ops, green energy and technology, education and clean water access CURRENT PROJECT GOAL:

$50,000 for a second set of solar panels and two water holding tanks

FHCANADA.ORG

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The company hopes to have a team of employees visit their partners in Burundi. A long-term goal is to eventually raise enough money for an entire new school in the future. They’re also evaluating how their expertise can help improve some of the technology used in the field by local FH staff.

With fun and innovative fundraising events like their recent “Raise the Roof Rockaoke” they’re well on their way to achieving their partnership goals. The August concert capitalized on some friendly rivalry as employees from some of Vancouver’s

best tech companies nominated each other to compete in a karaoke competition.

The event was in support of their current project: raising funds for a second set of four solar panels and two water holding tanks. They are already more than halfway to their goal of $50,000.

Even though the sun shines on the community of Mufumya most days of the year, it never sets later than about 6:30 pm. This didn’t leave students like Gerard much daylight for studying, so he would always do his homework under the dim, flickering shadows of a kerosene lamp. When his family couldn’t afford kerosene, he studied by the light of the kitchen fire.

Powering potential Solar-powered lights in Mufumya, Burundi are giving students a chance at a brighter future

“It was so hard,” says Gerard, a grade six student. “I was getting tired quickly, and then had to wake up very early in the morning to review my notes.

This past February, through the partnership with Elastic Path, community members installed a set of solar panels in the roof of the Mufumya primary school to power overhead lights. The classroom is now used by about 40 primary and secondary students from the community who come to the welllit space to study in the evenings.

Within a month, Gerard’s GPA had improved by 10 percentage points, and he had climbed to 15th in his class of 72 students. “I expect to improve my performance as I continue to use the solar panel light,” he says.

(Top right corner) A local barber is renting power and has set up shop.

(Bottom) Community members can charge their cell phones for a small fee.

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“At Elastic Path, we foster a culture that gives back to local and global communities through our pocketbooks and our actions.”

- GORD JANZEN

ISSUE 16

this e n i g a m I on drawifnrgidge! your

When you choose to walk alongside a family through child sponsorship, you get to share in the unique joys and privileges of being an “auntie” or “uncle” to a child in a developing community who could benefit from a little extra support.

Embarking on this incredible journey also means offering hard-working parents the assurance that their child’s school fees will be paid, medical expenses taken care of, and futures brightened. You are empowering those parents with the support they need to focus their energy on building up the knowledge and resources their community needs to thrive.

Sponsor me!

Partner with parents today by choosing child sponsorship and get your “niece” or “nephew’s” drawing on that fridge!

www.fhcanada.org/child

Meet

High Valley is a Canadian country music duo from La Crete, Alberta. Brothers Brad and Curtis Rempel are known for creating their own brand of country music infused with “family, farming, and faith.”

The group’s musical success started with their first album, Broken Borders, which was named Album of the Year at the 2007 GMA Canada Covenant Awards.

Since then, they’ve been given a Juno nod and won six more Covenant awards, including Country Song of the Year, Artist of the Year, and Group of the Year.

FH’s newest child sponsorship advocate With three solid albums, a steady North American touring schedule, and a recent gig at the Calgary Stampede opening for Shania Twain, the brothers continue to delight fans with their small-town charm and strong, soaring harmonies.

The group has always desired to use their music to make a difference around the world, and this is finally becoming a reality through their partnership with Food for the Hungry Canada.

COMING SOON!

For a concert coming to your area see Highvalleymusic.com/shows

Food for the Hungry loves connecting churches with incredible musicians.

Would you like to connect your congregation or community with great music and an opportunity to make global impact? FH is partnered with a great group of talented artists including High Valley, Jon Bryant, Jon Neufeld, Kari Jobe, Toby Mac, Starfield and The Wiebes.

If you would like to host an artist as a guest worship leader, or bring in an entire band for a concert, let us know! Contact artists@fhcanada.org.

FHCANADA.ORG

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Tired of the holiday balancing act?

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The choice is yours!

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1 - 31741 Peardonville Road Abbotsford, BC V2T 1L2 1.800.667.0605 info@fhcanada.org fhcanada.org povertyrevolution.org

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