Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season, a time of celebration and abundance, a time of family and food. It is a season of plenty for the “haves” of the world, a time of continued deprivation for the “have-nots.”
Imagine sitting down to dinner on Thanksgiving and not having anything to feed your children. Imagine that this happens several nights a week. This is a reality for 815 million people around the world. Each day 30,000 children die from hunger-related causes. Food fulfills one of the most basic human needs, yet millions of people are chronically undernourished.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
In Ghana, Mariama struggled to feed her six children by tending to her small plot of land in a region plagued by persistent drought.
Thanks to a program run by Episcopal Relief and Development in partnership with the Diocese of Tamale and the Anglican Diocesan Development and Relief Organization, Mariama was trained in dry season vegetable gardening and given capital of $100 to join a farming cooperative.
The group cultivated two acres of vegetable gardens and manufactured a popular local drink that was sold at market alongside their vegetables. Within one year, the cooperative earned a profit of over $3,000 and was able to expand their farming activities.
“Before the program we could hardly feed ourselves and our families,” Mariama explains. “Now we can feed, clothe and educate our children and still have some money with which to expand our business.”
Hunger is the most extreme form of poverty. With hunger there can be no hope. By empowering people like Mariama to break the cycle of poverty and enjoy a life of dignity and plenty you can create hope. During this season of abundance, you can provide the tools so that the hungry can feed themselves.
Together we can:
• Offer seeds and tools so communities can grow better crops, improve nutrition and increase their yield in areas where poverty limits resources and access to food;
• Provide training and opportunities for people to create and operate small businesses and expand their sources of income; and
• Supply families with healthy animals for food and income.
Alleviating hunger saves lives and transforms communities. Please join us in our work as we share our bounty and celebrate the true meaning of Thanksgiving.
Thank you for your generous support. Yes, I want to help people to feed themselves.
$ 80 provides a goat for one family.
$135 provides a flock of chicken to one family.
$180 provides a family one drought-resistant seeds and farming tools.
$550 provides a family with a cow.
$_______ to be used where most needed.
Please visit our Gift for Life online store:
(http://erd.servicenetwork.com/Store/CatalogList.asp)
for more ideas on ways that you can bless others during Thanksgiving and throughout the Christmas holiday.
