Combating Climate Change with Agroecology

Dear Donors,

Every year, almost 300,000 babies are born with a form of Sickle Cell Disease. The majority are in Sub Saharan Africa with a very high rate of childhood mortality. Even in the absence of medication, health education has been demonstrated to be effective in reducing mortality in young children. A  pilot program in Benin has shown that with good nutriton and health interventions, it is possible to reduce mortality among African children to the same level as other children. Moringa with its powerhouse nutrition, and protein higher than soybean meal is an important health interventions that will provide nessesary nutrients that are missing in the diets of the children in these areas plagued by poverty. 

Partnering with Dr. Marie Ojiambo, we will be launching our Sickle Cell Anemia Initiative this month by holding a Kick it with Kenya, public health awareness soccer tournament. Our goal is to support families who are dealing with a sick and dying child through support groups. Our first Sickle Cell Strong Muhuru Bay Chapter will be planting two acres of moringa trees as a means to nourish those affected by Sickle Cell Disease as well as the children who are suffering from malnutrition. 

The women in Muhuru Bay who have children with Sickle Cell Anemia will be maintaining the trees, powdering the leaves and selling some of the harvest to help support their families. 

We are excited to marry three of our initiatives with an integrated, holistic program approach.

Thank you,

Shana

Links:

• Sickle Cell in Africa
• Kick it with Kenya - public health soccer tournament
• Moringa Tree Project

Dear Donors,

We are just so happy that we are working with the Kar Geno Women's Group in Siaya, Kenya. Kar Geno translated from the local language, Luo, means Center for Hope, it was formed to empower women and youth through self-help initiatives. These women meet on the tenth of every month to discuss arising challenges and community issues and to explore and share ideas. They run several activities from handcrafts made from water hyacinth, to girl child education empowerment, farming, and the Moringa project. These resourceful women also do table banking which is a funding strategy where members meet once every month, place their savings, loan repayments and other contributions on the table and then borrow immediately either as long term or short term loans.

We marvel at the resourcefulness that they took with the moringa tree project and therefore were able to successfully deliver dried moringa for feeding programs and to increase the nutrition for the children in this village that struggles with poverty. They not only grew the trees but were diligent about learning how to make powdered moringa and efficiently and effectively providing us with moringa tree powdered so we can provide to feeding programs in the poorest regions in Kenya. 

We would love to expand this project even more not only to support the work of Kar Geno but to help those children who struggle with malnutrition. If not caught early, children will not have the same intellectual and growth capacity which is often tragic. Our goal is to spread the work of Kar Geno by purchasing their excess powdered moringa, and to grow more trees where malnutrition is widespread. 

Thank you for you generosity.

Shana Greene

Dear Donor,

We are happy to announce that the Kar Geno Women's Group "Center for Hope" had a bumper crop of moringa in Kenya this year. They have harvested and dried the leaves to provide nutrition for children in poverty. We are so impressed with the women's hard work and determination to work together as a coop. They laboriously picked, dried and ground the leaves with a mortor and pestle to provide a first rate protein as a supplement that can be added to the food of children with malnutrition.

So, why is this a dilemma? You have supported the planting of moringa trees because its of its tremendous value. With this bumper crop, we are experiencing a harvest that we will need help in distributing to those with the most need. 

We believe in sustainability with all of our projects which most importantly means for the farmers to become self sufficient. This is where we ask for your help in buying moringa from the women's groups.  There is no question that children who are chronically malnurished do not have the same opportunity to develop to their fullest.  Believing in the immense potential of all peoplewill lead to self sufficiency through each and every child provided with the nutrition to grow and thrive.

If you would like to contribute to an ongoing subscription or perhaps  another one time donation, we will make sure that the women continue to be encouraged to grow the moringa and the children who need the nutrition will have access to it.  

Thank you,

Shana Greene

Dear Donor,

As you might notice from recent reports that we have only been working in Kenya. We were approached by an NGO in Northern Ghana where there is terrible malnutrition and yet moringa would grow well. There is still the issue of water, but we know that once established the trees are drought resistant. If we set up bucket drip irrigation, we could keep the trees going beyond the season of greater water needs. To expand into an area where the poverty is palpable, and malnutrition is devastating to the children, is something we are committed to accomplishing. You as a donor contribute to just that and we can't thank you more for your ongoing support!.

We are happy to announce the partnership of VV's moringa project with The Center for Gifted and Talented Youth. These young people have written a book that was published by the United Nations Foundation. All of the proceeds from the sale of the book goes into buying seeds. We are very happy to share in our progress and what their donation is making. We have sent the seeds to Northern Ghana so the youth group will understand their direct impact. We'll post photos when the project is underway. 

Just like your donation and the donations you provided in the past, every time we receive a donation, we are excited to pass it on to ensure that the projects in Kenya and Ghana are sustained and doing well.

 Thank you for your donation!

Best regards,

Shana

Dear Donors,

We are excited to announce a new moringa project for Community Initiatives for Rural Development (CIFORD) in Kenya. As huge fans of the miracle moringa - a nutritional powerhouse, we try to set up in areas where there is malnutrition and where the Moringa tree can add to the livelihood of the community. 

This community program is rooted in agriculture, however, the dry region requires that the seedlings have sufficient care in their first few months. The best way to ensure their survival is to provide children with the task of making sure they survive to grow into trees. We recently provided 150 seedlings and tree management trainings to school children of Kamanoto Junio Academy in the dry region of Tigania West. These saplings will eventually be nursed by local women's enterprises who will be able to benefit from the tree yields. 

We will buy the dried moringa to provide to a feeding program for 400 preschool children.

Thank you for your support.

Regards,

Shana.

.