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Rainbow Humanitarianism
   

 

Haiti Urban Garden Project

After the profound impact of World War II on the American economy and nearly every other aspect of American life, the United States Agricultural Department urged all Americans to grow “victory gardens” to produce fresh fruits and vegetables for their kitchens.

Many Americans answered the call and soon victory gardens were being planted in backyards and on rooftops across the nation. By 1943, over 20 million victory gardens had been planted producing some eight million tons of food and nearly 50 percent of all fresh vegetables consumed in the U.S. RWF is funding a project in Haiti that hopes to have similar results, helping families living in the poorest slums of Gonaives fight against poverty and malnutrition by establishing and nurturing kitchen vegetable gardens.

RWF is once again partnering with CARE on this project. The Haiti Urban Garden Project seeks to improve the food supply and income-earning potential for struggling families in this devastated region of the country. Targeted households will use composted waste to grow small vegetable gardens. Located in backyards, on rooftops and even front porches, these gardens will yield fresh vegetables and fruits and surplus income for project participants. As a result, participating communities will have better diets, greater income resulting from the sale of vegetables and an improved environmental situation through more robust sanitation efforts. The project is also encouraging community members to devise innovative solutions to create cleaner and healthier neighborhoods. One example of this is how old tires previously discarded on roadsides are now given new life as containers for growing vegetables.

The project is based in Gonaives (and surrounding communities), an extremely impoverished part of Haiti populated by many families from rural areas who migrated there in search of a better life. The residents are still struggling to rebuild their lives following the lethal 2004 hurricane that left most of the city’s neighborhoods, particularly its low-lying slums, under water. An average family in Gonaives survives on less than a dollar a day, and the bulk of that goes to food.

In order to ensure the success of the gardens, technical training will be provided to the farmers and their family members. Topics will include planting techniques, compost preparation, green manure utilization, and tips for garden upkeep and maintenance. Cross-visits will be arranged between participating farmers, which will allow additional opportunities for hands-on learning and problem solving. Several hundred people are expected to benefit from this project.

 

Hunger

RWF is partnered with CARE to fund maternal and child health care programs in Haiti's Northwest Department. This project provides technical assistance to burses, health education materials, administrative asstistance and program development. The aim is to increase access to and use of health services by pregnant and lactating women, increase access to food for groups with special needs (e.g. tuberculosis and AIDS patients, orphans) and improve school-based health services.

In 2005 we partnered with CARE to help aid the survivors of the South East Asia tsunami. RWF raised nearly $250,000 to provide food, water, basic medical supplies and shelter. In 2004 we partnered with CARE in response to the devastation in Haiti caused by Hurricane Jeanne. RWF's Haiti Relief Fund was used primarily for food assistance, including services such as purchasing and distribution of food, nutritional supplementation, vitamins and related supplies.

About our partner: Founded in 1945, Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE) is one of the world's largest private international humanitarian organizations - in more than 60 countries - committed to helping families in poor communities improve their lives and achieve lasting victories over poverty. CARE's reach and mission have greatly evolved and expanded since its founding. The basic mission is to serve individuals and families in the poorest communities in the world.

 

Hunger in America

RWF is also commited to help end hunger in the USA. We are partnered with America's Second Harvest (ASH), the nation's food bank network, in this goal.

In 2005-2006 RWF raised $390,000 to help Hurricane Katrina evacuees. We partnered with ASH to provide food aid. Your donations provided meals and groceries to survivors and helped secure additional warehouse space to assist food banks in resuming and maintaining operations. Thank you for your generous donations and support.

To date RWF's Katrina relief campaign has donated $360,000 to ASH, $12,000 to the American Red Cross, $10,000 to MusicCares and several thousand dollars to various community-based organizations.

About our partner: America's Second Harvest's mission is to distribute food and grocery products through a nationwide certified member network, increase public awareness of domestic hunger and advocate for public policies that benefit America's hungry. ASH is the nation's largest charitable hunger-relief organization. ASH secures and distributes nearly two billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually.

World Hunger

Today, 40,000 people will die from causes related to hunger. Nearly a billion will not get enough to eat today and countless others will suffer from diseases related to malnutrition. It is hard for those of us living in the midst of such abundance to imagine such suffering. When we do think of hunger, images of famine and starvation come to mind. In reality, this is only a part of the problem. Global hunger encompasses both famine and malnutrition, the major component of hunger. Famine or starvation, the extreme and general scarcity of food can occur as the result of crop failure or destruction brought on by such causes as drought, flooding or pestilence. For example, severe flooding caused the 1970 Bangladeshi famine that took countless lives. However, the causes of famine are frequently more closely linked to violence, militarism and war such as the continuing strife in Afghanistan, Angola, Burma, Iraq, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan and elsewhere. During armed conflict, food production and marketing are disrupted. Food is seized or blockaded, planting and crop cycles are interrupted, supplies and equipment are destroyed. Starvation itself is being used more and more as a weapon, harming innocent civilians. Even during so-called peacetime, military spending takes priority over food production and social welfare. Poverty, however, is by far the foremost cause of hunger. Though the world produces more than enough food to feed everyone, hundreds of millions lack the purchasing power to afford adequate nutrition. Poverty's powerlessness deprives the poor of access to the political structure necessary to break the vicious cycle in which they are trapped.

Malnutrition, the chronic absence of essential proteins, micronutrients, fatty acids, and adequate caloric intake, affects 800 million people worldwide each day. It is directly linked to infant and childhood mortality, stunted growth, reduced intelligence and increased risk of infection. It is estimated that 250 million children suffer from stunted growth due to malnutrition. Nutritionally depleting diseases also play a major role in malnutrition worldwide, claiming the lives of five million children each year. Women and the elderly are also particularly vulnerable to malnutrition. Chronic hunger has multigenerational effects contributing to a spiral of human suffering. It is a thief that robs people of physical and mental health, education, economic security and the opportunity for a better life.

HUNGER IN AMERICA

When most people think of hunger they picture people struggling to survive in developing nations far from the shores of the United States. In a country that produces enough food to feed all of its people and much of the rest of the world, hunger seems unthinkable. Yet in the United States hunger is a reality for more than 23 million people. In the U.S., hunger primarily comes in the form of food insecurity, meaning that not enough food is available to consistently meet the basic needs of an individual or family.

In 2000 the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that 12 percent of all American households were food insecure. That same year the USDA reports that nearly 1 in 5 children went hungry. America’s Second Harvest, the nations largest network of food banks, reports that 26 million Americans received food from food banks in 2002. Children are the largest segment of our population suffering the devestating effects of hunger. According to the USDA, 13 million children live in households that do not have an adequate supply of food. The elderly are also particularly vulnerable to food insecurity. The USDA reports that 1.4 million households with elderly members experience food insecurity.

The consequences of hunger in America are staggering and far reaching. Children who do not receive adequate nourishment are impacted physically and intellectually. The insidious effects of hunger start early. Mothers who experience inadequate nutrition have higher infant mortality rates and give birth to babies with lower birth weights. These children suffer two to four times as many health problems as other children. During a child’s development the consequences of hunger, even minor malnutrition, can be devastating. Impaired physical growth, abnormal brain development, shorter attention spans, difficulty concentrating and more school absences can be just the beginning of a cycle of suffering and missed opportunities for these children. As these children grow up, this can lead to a lack of fulfillment of their potential, poor social integration, lower work productivity and poverty. The cost to individual lives and to U.S. society is enormous.

Among the elderly the consequences of inadequate food supply are many. Chronic health problems, increased degenerative disease, poor digestion, higher rates of infection and extended hospital stays are just a few of the health problems linked to hunger among the elderly. Elder food insecurity can also lead to depression, mental deterioration and hastened mortality.