Hope Notes Issue 17

Stories of hope from around the world

ISSUE 17 THE OFFI CI AL PUBLI CATI ON OF FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY (FH) CANADA

Guatemala in Focus

PAGE 16

A Photo Exhibit to End Malnutrition

Dreaming Beyond Survival PAGE 9 High Valley Visits Sponsored Children in Burundi

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18 ISSUE 17 SPRING/SUMMER 2015

Kabarore: Out of the Ashes

Supporter Spotlight: Stan Potts

A war-torn community begins to rise. PAGE 3

How a family from Caronport, SK changed Christmas. PAGE 14

Kayanza: Eight Years In Kabarore’s neighbour strides toward graduation. PAGE 7

Dreaming Beyond Survival High Valley visits sponsored children in Burundi. PAGE 9

Where We Work & How We Work The nitty-gritty of community transformation. PAGE 12

Gift Guide Update From Breakfast Clubs to Dairy Cows, Gift Guide items are helping families world-wide. PAGE 14

Guatemala in Focus A photo exhibition to end malnutrition. PAGE 16

The Danger Of A Single Story Returning to Haiti changed her perspective. PAGE 19

In Haiti, I Saw Hope

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

Content and editorial contributions from Monique Aparacio, Eryn Austin Bergen, Fraser Valley Gleaners, Melissa Giles, Mark Janzen, Freddy Murphy, Mark Petzold, Stan Potts, Michael Prins, Bernie Willock, Carissa Youssef and other valued FH staff and friends.

Layout by Carl Sheldon.

Mark sees firsthand that FH walks its talk. PAGE 21

Recipe: Haitian Accra Try this malanga root appetizer. PAGE 22

Helping Without Hurting One-day conference coming to Calgary. PAGE 23

FROM THE PRESIDENT

On the following pages you will read about Kayanza, Burundi — a community striving toward their graduation in 2017. They are bearing witness to hope as their neighbours in the community of Kabarore embark on a similar journey toward sustainability. The people of Kabarore believe they too can overcome decades of brokenness, achieving wholeness and freedom from poverty. Your partnership with us allows these dreams to become reality.

In February I visited our partner communities in Cambodia and Bangladesh and returned home filled with hope. Like you, I catch the latest reports from conflict areas and often have a sense of overwhelming despair at our collective human condition. But I have witnessed firsthand the stories of moms and dads who are courageously overcoming daunting obstacles and deep-seated inertia to grow fully sustainable communities in some of Southeast Asia’s most impoverished villages.

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 nine 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.

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.

Your support through Child Sponsorship, purchases from our Gift Guide, and special financial donations allows our team to act as an ambassador of hope on your behalf. On my recent trip to Asia, I sensed your prayers for all of us called to this transforming work. For these many gifts, I am deeply grateful - thank you!

5.3% ADMINISTRATION AND RUNNING COSTS 14.1% INVESTED TO GENERATE FUTURE INCOME 80.6% BUILDING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES

I am happy to report that relationships are being reconciled, restored, and renewed. The light of hope is breaking forth like the dawn.

In faith, with hope,

CHARITABLE REGISTRATION NUMBER: 132152893RR0001

Bernie Willock Bernie visits with a women’s Savings and Loans Group in Bangladesh.

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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 17

Kabarore: Out of the Ashes

BY ERYN AUSTIN BERGEN PHOTOS BY MARK PETZOLD & MIKE PRINS

A war-torn community in Burundi begins to rise.

Meet the Communities of Kabarore, Burundi The people of Kabarore, Burundi are very much like you and me. They want to live peaceable lives and care for their neighbours. They want to send their children to school, earn a fair wage, eat healthy food, live in secure homes, and have hope for the future.

FH Burundi and Kabarore have embarked on a 10 year partnership with the goal of becoming a self-sustaining community.

FHCANADA.ORG

Unlike you and me, however, the people of Kabarore have suffered dramatic losses as a result of the 12 year ethnic-based civil war that raged across Burundi from 1993-2005 with uncanny parallels to the Rwandan genocide. Just two and a half hours

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(132km) north of the capital city, Bujumbura, Kabarore was one of the hardest hit regions of Burundi. The prevalence and depth of poverty people experience here is a direct result of that devastating conflict.

But recently, there have been glimmers of hope that signal the dawning of a new season for this cluster of communities tucked snugly into the rural mountainside.

From 2008 - 2011, Food for the Hungry (FH) Burundi initiated an environment protection project in Kabarore. The steep hillsides pose a daunting challenge to food security because of extreme soil erosion. FH taught local farmers how to create

“radical terraces” and increase the spread of soil-retaining grasses. As a result, coffee farmers saw rising yields from two kilos per square foot to seven kilos per square foot! The money earned from the sale of increased cash crops, and the ability to harvest more food crops, enabled project participants to go from eating one meal a day to two meals a day — it doubled their food intake!

This experience helped the people and leaders of Kabarore to see that change is possible, and that they already possess many resources needed to transform their circumstance. Now, they just need someone to walk alongside them to give that initial boost of training and encouragement.

That’s why, this year, FH Burundi and Kabarore have embarked on a 10 year partnership with the goal of becoming a self-sustaining community. To accomplish this, FH staff together with Kabarore leaders put together a development plan that encompasses every area of life. Child Sponsorship support is a critical piece to the success of this bold undertaking, and many challenges still lie ahead.

Daunting Challenges Job opportunities remain limited in Kabarore. Most people are subsistence farmers, generating only enough food for themselves but still struggling to make ends meet. Many poor families survive by selling their labour as casual workers, paid at just $1 a day. In addition to material poverty, social and political life is also strained. The people of Kabarore belong to three different ethnic groups — Hutu, Tutsi, Batwa — that have been in fierce conflict for decades. Regional political instability has meant short-term vision for both religious and local leaders — caring for the long term needs of children is not on their radar.

And the children do, indeed, have unmet needs. Though parents in Kabarore, like parents in Canada, long to see their children thrive, they are hindered by poverty. Prevented from offering their kids basic nutrition, health care, and education, parents could really use a helping hand.

Poverty and hunger at the household level push many children to child labour. Those that do attend school have to crowd into classrooms that host up to 80 students at a time, with a noticeable lack of desks and textbooks. Teachers are few and often have little training, support, or motivation. Frequent illnesses and dirty classrooms (due to a lack of clean water at

The people of Kabarore have suffered dramatic losses as a result of the 12 year ethnicbased civil war that raged across Burundi.

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ISSUE 17

schools) contribute to an unhealthy learning environment. All these conditions understandably result in low school attendance, low performance, and high dropout rates.

With these daunting challenges in mind, it can be hard to imagine a way out of poverty for Kabarore. But, with the helping hand of FH Burundi supported by Canadian Child Sponsors, there is an imminent glow of hope on the horizon of Kabarore that grows brighter every day — hope not only for children, but for their entire community.

Embracing Changes In partnership with FH, parents will be invited to join Savings and Loans Groups where they can learn financial literacy, create small businesses, and accumulate capital. Through agricultural training, farmers will receive superior seeds, learn more effective growing techniques, and join supportive co-ops. With the increased income and financial stability gained in this process, parents will be able to afford to feed their children a more nutritious diet, buy them medicine when they get sick, and pay their school fees year after year. FH will work with Kabarore to build new classrooms and equip them with appropriate teaching aids.

Families will receive encouraging home visits from FH staff.

Through Cascade Groups, women will be empowered to take ownership of their communities’ health by learning and teaching basic hygiene, sanitation, and disease prevention to their neighbours who, in turn, will train more groups of women with the same health lessons. And to safe-guard all these efforts, FH

FHCANADA.ORG

The Communities in Kabarore: Buvumo Buyumpu Gisagara Jene

Kibati Rorero Ryamukona Yandaro

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will help train local community and church leaders to support and protect their communities, especially in the area of environment protection.

harvests, feed their families, and have surplus left over.

Imagine healthy homes with access to clean water and an improved health system.

Imagine a Kabarore where both women and men engage in Savings and Loans Groups, run small businesses, and manage their own finances. Imagine families where husbands and wives commit to their children and help their neighbours along.

All this flourishing will be nurtured by a global community of Child Sponsors who give money, time, encouragement, visits, and prayer to the children and families of Kabarore.

So what can Kabarore families expect their lives to be like ten years from now?

As they peer over the fence at neighbouring Kayanza (where FH has been at work for eight years), they are getting a pretty good picture of how dramatically daily life could change. Together, we are re-imagining a future that looks very different from their past.

The Future Re-imagined Imagine with us a Kabarore where parents dream big for their kids, reap abundant

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Imagine a Kabarore where schools are equipped to provide a quality education to all children, and parents are positioned to fully support their children’s education — for both girls and boys. Imagine a Kabarore where every child knows and feels that they are loved and valued by God and their community.

Together, we are re-imagining a future that looks very different from their past.

Sound like a pipe-dream in light of where they are now?

Difficult, maybe, but we still think it’s a dream worth pursuing, a dream worth achieving. Kabarore may be a community shrouded in the ashes of past civil war and present poverty, but out of the ashes, they are rising.

ISSUE 17

Kabarore Walking alongside families means being a part of the community.

Here is what FH staff have researched and witnessed: COMMUNITY PROFILE

POPULATION: NUMBER OF FAMILIES: NATIONAL ETHNIC DISTRIBUTION: MOST SPOKEN LANGUAGES: RELIGION: EMPLOYMENT:

22,235 4,599 85% Hutu, 14% Tutsi, 1% Batwa 1. Kirundi 2. French 3. English 65% Catholic, 34% Protestant, 1% Muslim 94.3% of population are subsistence farmers

AVERAGE DAILY INCOME:

2000 Burundi francs ($1 CAD)

CONDITION OF SCHOOLS:

cramped classrooms, ill-equipped teachers, insufficient supplies, unsanitary and unsafe learning environment

HEALTH STATUS: NEAREST HOSPITAL: MOST COMMON MODE OF TRANSPORTATION: % OF POPULATION USING UNPROTECTED WATER SOURCE: % OF POPULATION WITH BATHROOM AT HOME: % OF POPULATION LIVING IN MUD BRICK HOUSES:

children suffer chronic malnutrition 35 kilometers on foot 30% 5% 86%

Kayanza: Eight Years In

BY CARISSA YOUSSEF & ERYN AUSTIN BERGEN

Kabarore’s Neighbour Strides Toward Graduation When Food for the Hungry (FH) began working with Kayanza, Burundi in 2007, the region was in bad shape. A nearby neighbour to Kabarore, they too suffered because of the protracted civil war in Burundi (1993-2005) in which much of their cropland and livestock were destroyed. Since the majority of the population relied on subsistence farming, this devastation made it extremely difficult for parents to provide for their families.

As a result, children in all five Kayanza communities were severely malnourished and a significant number of them ate only one meal a day, rarely enjoying fruits and vegetables. Most households used contaminated water and lacked knowledge of basic sanitation, resulting in frequent illnesses. Unfortunately, local health care was limited and many health facilities were non-operational or understaffed.

Access to education was also a major challenge. Classrooms

FHCANADA.ORG

The Communities in Kayanza: Buraniro I Musema Buraniro II Shemati Mufumya 7

were too small to accommodate the number of school-aged children and teachers were ill-equipped and discouraged. Educational materials were so sparse that up to five children had to share one textbook. In addition, 50% of the adults were illiterate, creating a culture in which formal education was misunderstood and undervalued.

This is a dismal picture of a community stuck in poverty — a community on the edge of survival.

But that was eight years ago. Today, the picture looks dramatically different.

While it has been an upward journey, Kayanza has embraced the climb with determination and enthusiasm. Kayanza is now looking forward to graduating from FH programing in 2017 and is well on the way to becoming a self-sustaining group of communities.

When you compare Kayanza eight years ago and Kabarore today, the similarities are striking. We are confident that, with the help of Child Sponsorship, Kabarore will begin to make the same strides toward sustainability and arrive at their own graduation a thriving community.

With the help of Child Sponsorship funding, FH Burundi and Kayanza community leaders created a development plan to transform every area of life. Here’s a snapshot of what happened next:

D AT E

Challenges

2007

Insufficient Income for families

Response

Challenges

active Establishseadn15 Saving oudpsLoans Gr

Malnutrition

Family gardens and health education

D AT E

Results

2015 in only 8 yrs!

9,579,623 BIF ($6,993 CAD) saved!

Over 90% of ple eat two meals a daypeo , over 22% eat three meals a day

s and Lack of education New cladsssrofoom new desks, Alm for school-aged hundre for te ost 100% of schoolachers training aged children child Drinking and using dirty water

New wells and clean-water points

Poor sanitation

Dig latrines and install tippy-taps, teach hand-washing

Devastation of livestock population 8

Gift-Guide animals support animal husbandry programs

ren attend school

100% access to potable water for three communities 95% of population has access to fair or good latrines Over 90% of all fa milies own a livestock anim al ISSUE 17

Dreaming Beyond Survival High Valley Visits Sponsored Children in Burundi

BY ERYN AUSTIN BERGEN

Brad and Curtis Rempel of High Valley took a life-changing trip to Kabarore, Burundi in October 2014. They returned to Canada with an intensified passion for making a difference. Here’s what they had to say about the County Line Tour, Kabarore, Child Sponsorship, and how country music fans are changing the world.

Q: You recently completed your first headlining tour across Canada — how was it?

CURTIS: The County Line Tour was absolutely amazing! Winkler, Steinbach, and Fort Mac were sold out shows. We also exceeded our Child Sponsorship goal — that was an expectation but also a surprise at the same time.

Q: Tell me more about that — how long have you promoted Child Sponsorship?

BRAD: Ever since [we’ve] been involved in music! I remember, as a young teenager, going to concerts and seeing other bands promote the idea of Child Sponsorship — that’s where I really heard about it. We didn’t really have TV growing up and stuff, so I never saw the commercials.

CURTIS: We’ve been giving fans the opportunity to sponsor children at our shows for probably 15 years.

Q: What’s your motivation to promote “doing good”? Why not just ride the wave of success and enjoy it?

less fortunate. I consider myself a very, very fortunate person.

I’m blessed to be able to do what I do for a living and I’ve got a family — a wife and a son. I don’t think I can just sit around and “be thankful”; I think it’s up to people like myself to share with the less fortunate and I believe strongly Child Sponsorship is a way to do that.

Q: There are a lot of ways to help people; why did you choose to advocate for Child Sponsorship, specifically?

BRAD: [Well] it seem[s] amazing that you could actually have a personal relationship with a child and, beyond that, actually support them.

“It was unreal to see how content the people are in poor situations. That was pretty inspirational to us.” CURTIS

CURTIS: I believe that God has blessed me so much, and I believe that fortunate people are responsible for helping out the

FHCANADA.ORG

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“These are smart kids and they’d learn a lot — just like any other kid in the world. They deserve a chance.” CURTIS Q: How do you think your fans responded? Are country music people into Child Sponsorship?

CURTIS: It [the response] was unreal! I mean, there were people every night sponsoring kids and coming up to us [to talk about it]. It was pretty awesome, pretty special. Fans were excited about it. We also hit our goal — we got over 300 kids sponsored!

Q: You met many of those 300 kids when you traveled to Kabarore, Burundi before you started your County Line Tour.

What was it like to see where they lived?

CURTIS: It was my first time in Africa, [so] I had expectations, I was expecting to see a lot of poor people, and I did. But we interviewed a lot of them and got to know them and their stories, and found out what their dreams were.

The hearts of the people there, the thankfulness, just the smiles on their faces when they’ve got nothing compared to anybody over here — it was unreal to see how content the people are in poor situations. That was pretty inspirational to us.

Q: What kinds of dreams did you get to hear about when you interviewed kids?

CURTIS: Well, the shocking thing to me was that none of them could see past their current situation. They were all just like, “My dream is to teach my younger sister how to farm so that she can survive.” Their dream is survival.

BRAD: It is pretty depressing — the lack of dreams that the kids have. Whenever you ask them what their favourite thing to do is they’ll say something like, “fetching water” or “helping with chores,” [but] I want the kids to dream a lot bigger than that.

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It’s sad for me as a dad — I mean, if you asked my son what his favourite thing to do was and he said “helping do chores”, that would be pretty depressing.

CURTIS: That’s as far as most of them dream; that’s their reality.

It was a big eye-opener for me.

Q: How do you hope to change their opportunities and their dreams through Child Sponsorship?

CURTIS: I just kind of learned how important education is and how, if individuals in Burundi knew what was available for them, then they could dream.

BRAD: This is a big goal, but my main goal would be to look back in 15 years — 10 years even — and find a couple success stories of kids in the FH Child Sponsorship program that are now in college, that have graduated from college, that are able to get some sort of job, just something to see light at the end of the tunnel. My dream is that, someday, the whole village is filled with dreamers and that the dreams are actually realistic.

Q: What do you think is one realistic dream that a child in Kabarore could have with the help of Child Sponsorship?

BRAD: I think a child could have a dream of working a job dealing with businesses — actually having a computer job or, you know, a marketing job or a business management job. The moment you learn not only the English language but, more importantly, the French language out there instead of just your own village dialect, you are a very, very valuable person in the workforce.

If their parents didn’t need them to quit school to work at home

ISSUE 17

[to survive], if we could keep them in school and support them, I think these are smart kids and they’d learn a lot — just like any other kid in the world.

They deserve a chance.

Q: Do you think your fans will walk with you through these 10 years to help children in Kabarore learn to dream?

CURTIS: We’ve got country music fans all across Canada supporting those kids and their friends and their brothers and sisters. It’s just amazing — we’ve got kind of our own village out there in Burundi, and we’re just honoured to be a part of that, for sure.

BRAD: We’ve been excited to partner with FH for a long time, but more excited than ever about actually having a village that we could kind of feel like was our responsibility.

Currently 1,059 children are sponsored in Burundi. In Kaborore, 253 children are still waiting for a sponsor.

Q: Clearly, your fans love you and have a lot of respect for you guys. If a fan came to you and said that they wanted to change the world, what would you tell them to do?

Child Sponsorship Without your support, dreams could not flourish. Sponsor a child in Burundi today and join the High Valley community.

fhcanada.org/sponsorship

FHCANADA.ORG

CURTIS: If you want to change the world then, how do you say it? One step at a time. You are just one individual, but one individual can impact another individual significantly. There are so many people in our situation, as we all work together we could change the world.

You’re not just changing one child when you sponsor a child, you’re affecting their families and their communities.

BRAD: I would say start with one person. That’s it.

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Where We Work

LEGEND POPULATION

BELOW POVERTY LINE

LANGUAGES

AVG ANNUAL INCOME (USD)

RELIGIONS

CHILDREN SPONSORED

35.2 million English, French Christianity 9.4%

CA N A DA

$52,200†

Abbotsford Saskatoon

3,775

15.5 million Spanish 60%, Amerindian (23 languages!) 40% Christianity, Mayan (indigenous) 53.7% $3,340

541

10.3 million

G UAT E M A L A

HAITI

Xonca Rio Azul Villa Hortenzia II

Mategouasse Cachiman

French, Creole Christianity, Voodoo 58.5% $810

30.4 million

219

24.5% $520

LATIN AMERICA

Christianity

$6,270

English, Luganda Christianity, Islam

395

Spanish (84%), Quechua (13%)

23.9%

37.6 million

PE R U Nueva Imagen Santa Barbara Rinconada Del Sol

1,155 7

707

Children sponsored

Partnered communities in 3 countries

11.8 million Kinyarwanda, French Christianity 44.9% $630

404

How We Work: The Nitty-Gritty of Community Food for the Hungry uses a development model called Child Focused Community Transformation (CFCT). This is a fancy way of saying we believe that the best measure of any community’s health is the condition of their most vulnerable demographic — their children!

But you can’t move a whole community from stuck to thriving by centering all your activities on children. Parents and leaders need a hand, too! They have to first build their own capacity before they can move the community onto a path toward sustainability, before they are able to truly care for the most vulnerable.

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For this reason, CFCT touches every area of life by focusing on four “sectors”. These sectors are rooted in a Biblical worldview that unrelentingly asserts the inherent dignity and equality of all individuals as created in the image of God. That’s why you’ll see, threaded through each sector, the values of gender equality, protection, and environmental stewardship.

At first glance, the sectors may look like four separate categories, but in reality they are intricately connected, overlapping and weaving together to form a vibrant tapestry of thriving community — a community where the most vulnerable are lovingly supported, and children are healthy, vivacious, and hopeful.

EDUCATION Creating safe and sanitary learning environments at home and at school.

School fees School uniforms School supplies Building & equipping classrooms Marriage counseling Parenting counseling

ISSUE 17

Together we are walking with 57 partner communities in 9 countries worldwide.

It’s about thriving communities.

156.6 million

AFRICA

2,944 34

Bengali

Children sponsored

Islam

Partnered communities in 4 countries

31.5%

BANGL ADESH

CA M B O D I A

$1010

Char Borobila Mymensingh

Beoung Malea, Chan Hiea, Sakada,Tep Chey, Tropeang Russei, Tuek Lich, Lumtong Thmai, Ou Angrae, Ou Kokir Kondal, Ou Kokir Korum, Phum Thmei,Toul Prasat, Toul Treas, Trapeang Taov

449

15.1 million Khmer Buddhism 17.7% $950

94.1 million

E T H I O PI A

U G A N DA

Dangalli Gongo, Fayine Tarano, Gallo, Gammane, Haro Guidna, Nano, Sanbatdure, Oda, Warra Kura, Bikiltu Shonkora, Baredo Belo, Handhura Balo, Hora Wata, Kersa Mojo, Lalisa Bareda, Mada Jalala, Milki Gudina, Oda Gudina

Nashisa Marare

RWA N DA Ntwali Busekera

BURUNDI Buvumo, Buyumpu, Jene, Gisagara, Kibati, Rorero, Ryamukona, Yandaro, Buraniro I, Buraniro II, Mufumya, Musema, Shembati

Oromo (34%), Amharic (29%) Ethiopian Orthodox, Islam 29.6% $470

287

ASIA

736 16

Children sponsored

Partnered communities in 2 countries

774

10.2 million Kirundi, French Christianity 66.9% $260

*Statistics Canada. †% below the poverty line reflects an international economic standard. FH believes poverty to be much more complicated than this.

Statistics were compiled from data.worldbank.org/country and www.cia.gov/library/publications/ the-world-factbook. Statistics are as current as possible, most often with the years 2010 to 2014.

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Transformation HEALTH

LIVELIHOODS

Improving early childhood and maternal health, as well as reducing child malnutrition.

Equipping parents with income generating skills to provide for their families.

Nutrition Cascade Groups (health education) Sanitation Disease prevention Vegetable gardens Mosquito nets Clean water

Savings and Loans Groups Agriculture Pastoralism Small business management Accounting Adult literacy

FHCANADA.ORG

DISASTER RISK REDUCTION Improving environmental practices and developing leaders to mitigate the impact of disasters on the community.

Leadership development Emergency planning Reforestation Terracing Fuel efficient stoves

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Gifts for Change

BURUNDI

GIFT GUIDE E UPDAT

Burundi co-op farmer nearly lost in that forest of multiplying beans!

Wphpaetned Fruit & Veggie Seeds ha ll to a those

)

gifts?! ‘

An agricultural co-op in Burundi is experiencing more than average high yields from their Gift Guide Fruit and Veggie Seeds. In 2011, the cooperative planted 10 kilos of climbing bean seeds and harvested 25 kilos of beans. The following year, they again planted 10 kilos of seeds, but this time harvested 78 kilos of beans. In

2013, the association repeated the same input as the previous two years, and received a tenfold return! Last year, 2014, they planted 10 kilos of seed and could barely contain their excitement as they measured the bean crop. The cooperative harvested 358 kilos of beans...from the same piece of land!

SUPPORTER SPOTLIGHT

Stan Potts HOW A FAMILY FROM CARONPORT, SK CHANGED CHRISTMAS

Meet Stan Potts of Caronport, Saskatchewan!

Stan may live in a small prairie town, but he and his family are making a big impact on the other side of the world. Engaged in local charitable initiatives and global mission, Stan tells how his youngest daughter, Barbara, “got their goat” with the FH Gift Guide.

“My youngest daughter, Barbara, went on a summer mission trip with Teen Missions International (TMI) when she was just 12.

We really didn’t have the means to pay it all — it seemed like almost an impossible task for a twelve year old girl. We did lots of different fundraisers, one of the most successful was the goat raffle — a lot of fun!

“Barbara did manage to raise her support and she went on that mission trip. She came 14 home a changed girl, and her experience

Dolores and Stan Potts

had a profound impact on the whole family.

“Barbara announced that she didn’t want any Christmas gifts for herself but she wanted us to use any money that we’d spend on her on “living gifts.” It sounds simple enough, but as you might imagine, it caused us all to sit back and re-evaluate.

“She came home a changed girl, and her experience had a profound impact on the whole family.” STAN “As much as we say that Christ is “the reason for the season” and as much as we even think that the things we do to celebrate are all centered on Christ, when Barbara asked us to do that it was really tough — it caused a lot of debate among us. We

couldn’t, of course, just do it for Barbara and continue with the regular regime for the rest of the family; we had to be all in.

“At that time I think we were subscribed to the Western Producer, and I’m pretty sure we received the FH Gift Guide with it. We receive gift guides from other organizations as well, and there are so many charities now that offer the same. I’ve never stipulated for my children who they “shop” with, but for myself, I did all the research I could on FH and I really like the matching programs when they are appropriate.

“I don’t believe that Christmas is the only time of year that we should be thinking about how we can give, but that is how our tradition of giving from the FH Gift Guide started. I ISSUE 17 hope it is a tradition that we will continue.”

Gardening Tools

RWANDA

As a result of the agricultural training they received with their handy set of Gardening Tools, 100% of families in five villages in Lumtong, Cambodia are now food secure.

No one’s going to bed hungry tonight!

CAMBODIA

Viateur proudly poses with his cow.

GUATEMALA

Breakfast Club The San Juan Chamelco Municipal Mayor was delighted to receive your help for their primary school food program: “We thank FH for their unconditional support to the most vulnerable groups of San Juan Chamelco, and recognize and value the integral work of FH.”

Dairy Cow Twagizumukiza Viateur is married with three children and until recently the family was battling malnutrition. Since receiving a dairy cow, however, the family’s health has drastically improved as their diet now includes milk! They also use the cow manure to enrich their land and grow yummy veggies for better food. When the cow calves, they’ll be able to sell it for much needed family income.

They’re milking this gift for all she’s worth!

HAITI

Accounting Kit Accounting Kit Thanks to the Accounting Kit given by generous Canadians, Jumosthene‘s Savings and Loans Group was able to help him secure a field. “I remember one day I was in a very difficult situation where I need 3000 gourdes ($80 CAD) to pay my land registration and I asked someone for a loan. The person told me ‘You’ll get the money by tomorrow!’ but I never got the money from that person. But two month ago I had a similar situation — by the grace of God, with my Savings and Loans Group, it was so easy to solve my problem.” JUMOSTHENE FELMY

FHCANADA.ORG

“I remember one day I was in a very difficult situation where I need 3000 gourdes ($80 CND) to pay my land registration and I asked someone for a loan. The person told me “You’ll get the money by tomorrow!” but I never got the money from that person. But two month ago I had a similar situation — by the grace of God, with my Savings and Loans Group, it was so easy to solve my problem.” JUMOSTHENE FELMYJumosthene (centre) is a

successful farmer thanks to his Savings and Loans Group.

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Guatemala in Focus 16

BY M O N I Q U E A PA R AC I O PHOTOS BY FREDDY MURPHY

A photo exhibit to end malnutrition ISSUE 17

Guatemalan families, particularly young children, are suffering the tragic consequences of a problem that continues to worsen. Each day, approximately 1,000 children are born in Guatemala and more than half are going to suffer the effects of malnutrition their entire lives. FH advocate, Monique Aparacio, addresses this pressing need in the following photo essay. It is a passionate call to action by someone desperately in love with the people of her country.

Malnutrition is crippling our nation. If this issue is not addressed, our future as a nation is at risk.

Through my work with Food for the Hungry (FH) Guatemala, I have been investigating why we have the highest incidence of chronic malnutrition in Latin America and what we can do about it. As I’ve traveled to some of the poorest communities in the country, I’ve met many families struggling to provide a healthy future for their children.

“Malnutrition is crippling our nation. If this issue is not addressed, our future as a nation is at risk.” MONIQUE

In the community of Xonca, I sat down with Don Pedro and his four adorable children –a boy and three girls. When I asked about his newborn, Don Pedro responded with great sadness that he had to send his youngest daughter to live with his sister because his wife died in childbirth. I felt a lump form in my throat as I observed Maria, his tenyear-old, taking on the role of mother as she prepared roasted corn for their family’s dinner.

Maria and her younger siblings are just a few of the 800,000 children who suffer from malnutrition. Their rough, dry skin, peeling cheeks, and cracked lips are just some of the visible symptoms of chronic malnutrition.

Children often also suffer unbearable pain caused by intestinal bacteria, diarrhea, and parasites, followed by dehydration and weight loss.

Submerging myself in this cause, I have found there’s no turning back. This situation breaks my heart. All I can do is try to change it and ask you to help.

We must focus on ending chronic malnutrition among children. A few years ago we at FH Guatemala achieved school FHCANADA.ORG

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“I’m proud to say that, in the past two years, we have lowered the malnutrition rate by 4% in 45 communities.”

MONIQUE

attendance rates upwards of 98%, but found that children were still failing their grades and repeating years.

As we walked alongside families, we realized chronic malnutrition was causing a poor capacity for children to memorize and retain information. Since addressing this problem, I’m proud to say that, in the past two years, we have lowered the malnutrition rate by 4% in 45 communities.

We can do something today for the future of Guatemala. I want to invite you to be part of the change. Together we can end chronic malnutrition and poverty.

Serve Up the Soup!

FH is excited to invite you to literally feed the hungry!

This spring, we’re getting together with Fraser Valley Gleaners to connect local Canadian soup with undernourished children in Burundi, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and South Africa.

Read details at fhcanada.org/soup and watch your mailboxes for more on how you can join the fight against malnutrition.

fhcanada.org/soup 18

Children waiting for sponsors ISSUE need meals.

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The Danger of a Single Story Melissa Giles, Training Manager at FH Canada, took a trip to Haiti in the fall 2014 to conduct a training session for local staff. What she discovered while there changed her entire perspective on the country.

One of my favourite TED talks is by Chimamande Ngozi entitled: “The Danger of a Single Story.”

Ngozi is a brilliant author and storyteller. In this talk, she powerfully highlights that all of us, regardless of race or geography, can fall into the trap of universalizing a single narrative about a people and a culture. The reality is, however, that we’re all made up of many layers. Focusing on a single story diminishes who we are to something simplistic and damaging.

Of all the countries I have visited, the danger to tell a single story about Haiti is highest.

Take a moment and think about the narratives we share about Haiti. Do we define it by the Earthquake of 2010? The corruption and instability in government? The high levels of crime? The many orphanages?

In reality, Haiti, like every other nation, is a very complex place.

While my perspective is still limited, I’m enjoying how this particular story is unfolding, adding new chapters to my book of understanding. When I was visiting Cachiman, a community near the Dominican border supported by FH Canada and partners, I found my appreciation for rural Haitian families deepening.

“Focusing on a single story diminishes who we are to something simplistic and damaging.”

FHCANADA.ORG

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The story I will now tell about Haiti has changed.

Instead of devastation, I see resilience, perseverance, hard work, and determination. Instead of orphans, I see a father harvesting and selling his home-grown leeks so he can provide for his children.

Instead of crime, I see a proud school director highlighting the education taking place in his new school building. Instead of starvation, I see triumph on a lead farmer’s face as he shows off the farmer training school and explains

Ronald and Sonia working on a keyhole garden.

“Instead of devastation, I see resilience, perseverance, hard work, and determination.”

Como proudly shows off her Scotch Bonnet Peppers.

Ronald explains how the FH nursery works.

to me the proper way to grow carrots, spinach, and other vegetables. Instead of merely consumers, I see that people have moved to being producers.

Food for the Hungry is about the business of transformation — of lives, communities, and stories. They are committed to walking out that transformation alongside rural farmers, health care trainers, educators, Savings and Loans Group members, and so many others in Haiti.

Headmaster and Pastor François smiles proudly in the community school built in partnership with FH.

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But FH is also committed to transforming the “single story” about poverty that we often tell in North America — committed to walk alongside us, the materially wealthy, in the unraveling of that story into a complex, multi-dimensional, dynamic, and breath-taking paradigm.

ISSUE 17

Pastor Louis and leaders of the Savings and Loans Group explain how they use their accounting kit.

Community team builds new keyhole garden.

“In Haiti, I saw hope.”

FROM THE TRAVEL JOURNAL OF MARK JANZEN

There was hope in the smiling faces of the children. There was hope in the leaders of the community. There was hope in the flourishing gardens. Despite the thirsty soil, relentless heat, and obvious material poverty, there was a palpable hope for a bright future.

I spent a week in Cachiman on an FH vision trip. A group of my friends – known as Westcoast Friends – have supported this community for more than a year now and it was an opportunity to see what is happening in Haiti and learn about the plans for its future.

Travelling with my wife, Lisa, and sister, Jill, as well as a group of three others from Edmonton’s St. John the Evangelist Anglican Church, we got a firsthand look at what FH is doing on the ground while hearing firsthand from people in the community.

In a nutshell, FH is doing exactly what FH says it is doing.

It’s about building relationships and walking alongside the leaders of the community to help it forge towards a sustainable future. This is most certainly happening in Cachiman.

First, we met Pastor Louis. This man is not only an influential pastor, but he is also one of Cachiman’s lead farmers – helping teach other people valuable farming techniques – and is a key member of one of the community’s Savings and Loans Groups.

His faith in God and belief that God will provide was truly inspirational. One morning, we found him tilling a dry dirt patch near his church. Under the blazing Haitian sun, Pastor Louis boldly believed that God would one day provide a water source which would allow this plot of land to flourish as a garden. Between a few weeds, a small pipe poked out of the ground a couple of hundred metres away.

Pastor Louis didn’t know how he was going to turn that into a viable water source, but he was going to pray, knowing that God would provide. In Canada, we might fix this problem with a quick trip to Canadian Tire. In Cachiman, Pastor Louis prayed.

FHCANADA.ORG

A local farmer shows a cassava plant, a staple for Cachiman families.

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On one particular afternoon in Cachiman, we got the chance to visit the children who were sponsored by members of our group. It was an unforg ettable experience and it was a chance to foster what we anticipate will be long-la sting relationships.

However, perhaps what I was most impressed with was the work of Alfredo. As the point person for the sponsored children in Cachiman, Alfred o has embraced the idea of relationship.

He seemed to know every child in the community and every child definitely knew him. The children loved when he was around and he was a person they could trust. He was a man truly following Jesus’ example of loving the children and there’s no doubt that he was making a special impact in so many lives.

It was abundantly clear that building relationships is at the very centre of FH’s ethos.

Later in the trip, we also got the chance to meet both the Comm unity Development Committee (CDC) and one of the savings groups. Neither were sitting by watching FH work, but rather taking ownership of Cachiman’s betterm ent.

The CDC was leading initiatives and sparking plans in which to further improve the community. The savings group was developing a loan system that would allow members to take out loans for business ventures or special projects.

But while the goals of both of these groups were practical in nature, the coming together of members was yet another opportunity for them to build relationships and a chance to further get to know their neighbours.

It was abundantly clear that building relationships is at the very centre of FH’s ethos. After just a week in Cachiman, it was difficult to say goodbye. Instead, we said, see HAITIAN ACCRA you later. Indeed, we will be back.

Check out this favourite INSTRUCTIONS Haitian dish that can be a or er etiz 1. Chop off the ends of the malanga root and peel off the eaten as an app side dish. But be warned-—brown, coarse skin. Using gloves, scrub under running until it’s mostly white and smooth. Finely grate preparing malanga root is water into a large bowl, letting the natural moisture turn it into k! wor l sica phy d har a wet paste.

INGREDIENTS 13 malanga roots (taro) ½ green pepper, chopped 1 green onion (white part only) 4 garlic cloves 1 small bunch of parsley 3 hot Scotch bonnet peppers 1 ½ chicken bouillon cubes vegetable oil for frying salt (to taste) hot sauce (to taste) onion, parsley, and green and red pepper (for garnish)

2. Use a mortar and pestle to create a second paste from the green pepper, green onion, garlic, parsley, hot peppers, and chicken bouillon cubes. Mix with the malanga paste and add salt and hot sauce to taste.

3. Preheat stove to medium-high. Pour ½ — 1” of vegetable oil into a frying pan and heat until a drop of the malanga mixture bubbles. (It’s too hot if it’s spitting.)

4. Use a spatula to scoop ½x`” wide strips of the mixture and place into the pan until full. Fry for 3 — 4 minutes until the bottoms are golden brown. Flip until both sides are browned and then set on some paper towel.

5. Garnish with onion, parsley, and green and red pepper.

Serves 20 people.

Malanga root?? a.k.a. taro root (at local grocer) 22

FH staff, Ronald, shows us the Cachiman fruit.

Mark’s sister, Jill, meets her sponsored child, Otancia, and her family.

ISSUE 17

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