Revive 1000 Haiti Gardens After Hurricane Matthew

Hello Haiti supporters!

We've had a busy few months following up on our initial shipments to Haiti, negotiating new requests for seed and support, and networking with Haitian partners on the ground in preparation for the SPI Haitian Partnership Network stakeholder meeting. Although the greatest need is still for providing high quality seeds to replace the gardens and seed resources that were destroyed by Hurricane Matthew, we're also working with partners to take steps steps toward rebuilding the community systems that were disrupted by Matthew.

Since our last update, we've shipped 4,700 packets of seed to four partners. Something I really like about our partnerships is knowing that seeds usually reach more farmers and families than those who are supported by our immediate partner. For instance, two partners recently reported that their shipments were subsequently shared with other organizations — seven organizations from one partner and five local schools from another. Having partners on the ground and invested in the community allows our seed to reach people we could not have reached on our own. This is only one of the reasons we love our partners!

Our partner Lynette received 1,000 packets of seed and writes, "We focused on rebuilding a nursery and adding security to the area where our trees and community vegetable gardens are cultivated. We also helped prepare space for more gardens at private homes. The seeds will be dispersed among about 35 families to start. We also gave nutritional education, seeds and training to the administration staff at 5 local schools. Hopefully students will receive vegetables from the school gardens."

Martha received 600 packets. She shares, "The seeds were all given out to be planted by the local residents. The picture of the man in orange receiving the seeds is the agriculture teacher at the high school, who is teaching his students to garden. The children at the orphanage are excited to plant their seeds and take care of their garden. All of the residents who received the seeds are excited about the opportunity to raise their own food. Our [church team] is thankful for your gift of the seeds. It allowed us an opportunity to be of service to the people we worked with in a new and productive way. My hope is to continue our garden building work in the future."

Your support makes a world of difference by providing Haitian farmers, children, students, and families with access to resources that they likely wouldn't have access to otherwise. I hope you feel encouraged knowing how far one shipment of seeds can go — I know we are.

Thank you!