Latest round of GFI grants support agricultural training and farming in Africa, clean water in Haiti

The Global Food Initiative (GFI) has given its latest round of grants to support well drilling by the Haiti Medical Project, an agricultural training component for students at the Great Lakes Bible School in Rwanda, and “Farming God’s Way” in the Church of the Brethren in Burundi.

Find out more about this ministry at www.brethren.org/gfi.

Support these grants with your financial donations at https://churchofthebrethren.givingfuel.com/gfi.

Haiti: $5,000 supports Haiti Medical Project’s work to drill a well in an underserved community among congregations of l’Église des Frères d’Haïti (the Church of the Brethren in Haiti). Presently there are six potential communities that have limited access to pure water and the staff of Haiti Medical Project will determine the exact community based on security issues in Haiti at the time of drilling. The use of the well and water will be by the entire congregation and community. More than half of all Haitians do not have direct access to clean drinking water.

A video report from ASIGLEH (the Church of the Brethren in Venezuela) shares gratitude for a Global Food Initiative (GFI) grant received last year, and reports on how the funds have supported different kinds of work on the church’s farm over the first six months. The video and report are provided by Roger M. Padilla of the church leadership. He wrote, “Dears brother and sisters, we are grateful for your generous support for the Venezuelan mission. God bless you more!!” The video also can be found at https://youtu.be/YV1xkPgVLNs

Rwanda: $4,999.50 supports development of an agricultural training component for students at the Great Lakes Bible School, a Church of the Brethren school in Rwanda. The goal is for students’ theological and biblical education to be combined with practical knowledge in sustainable and low-resource farming practices that promote soil conservation and natural amendments. Students will raise sheep and grow tree tomatoes (tamarillos) on rented land. As students graduate, they will be gifted a sheep, and the school will assist in setting up home gardens. Harvest sales and seed saving will sustain the farming project.

Burundi: $4,906 supports Farming God’s Way in the Church of the Brethren in Burundi, where there are needs for improved food security, nutrition awareness, education about conservation agricultural practices, farming tools, seeds, and inputs. This grant will support training for farmers in Farming God’s Way, a holistic model of farming that combines faith and creation care with regenerative agricultural practices. Small-scale farmers will learn techniques that use fewer scarce resources, conserve water, and protect and improve soils without costly chemical inputs. Farming God’s Way practices include a no-plow technique, cover crops for soil protection, biodiverse crop selection, and soil amendments through compost and animal manure. Funds from this grant will provide two community trainings for a total of 80 people, in two communities that have Church of the Brethren congregations that have not previously received any training.

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