Agricultural Missions, Inc. (AMI), an 80 year
old ecumenical organization, has long-term partnerships in Haiti whose
capacity to respond to this earthquake disaster is in need of
reinforcement at this critical time. While search and rescue operations
are being undertaken, grassroots peoples' organizations are truly at the
epicenter of the recovery of Haitian society. We are ready to help channel
funds to those grassroots organizations, to strengthen their capacity to
work on recovery, starting ASAP!
Our experience in places like Sri Lanka after the tsunami disaster has
shown how critical it is to reinforce capacity among grassroots
organizations who are able not only to provide the most effective and
strategic material help in impacted communities, including the restoration
of peoples' livelihoods through proven economic development activities,
but who can also support and organize advocacy efforts on behalf of the
most vulnerable people, when governmental and corporate players seek to
take advantage of the situation to develop plans and actions that increase
injustice and marginalization. This predatory aftermath has been witnessed
following disasters from Mitch to Katrina and beyond, and there is little
reason to believe Haiti will be different.
Please send your tax deductible donations as checks made out to
Agricultural Missions, Inc. (AMI) with "Haiti Recovery" written in the
memo line, and mail to Agricultural Missions, 475 Riverside Drive, Room
725, New York, NY 10115. If possible, please email Stephen Bartlett (sbartlett@ag-missions.org)
that such support is on the way. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!!
We are deeply committed to supporting the Haitian people through their
grassroots organizations!!
If you also choose to support the efforts of our ecumenical partners who
have the expertise to undertake first response "disaster relief," we would
refer you to Church World Service (www.churchworldservice.org),
Presbyterian Church U.S.A. Disaster Assistance (http://www.pcusa.org/pda/,
the United Methodist Church Committee on Relief (UMCOR) http://www.umcor.org
or Lutheran World Relief (http://www.lwr.org/)
REPORT ON AGRICULTURAL
MISSIONS 2009 STUDY SESSION
This year's Agricultural Missions study
session was on the theme: Food and Ecological Crisis: Rebuilding Food
Economies in Haiti and Where you Live. It took place in Papay, the Central
Plateau of Haiti March 9-13, 2009 at the Training Center of the Peasant
Movement of Papay (MPP). The training center is a campus capable of
receiving relatively large groups with adequate though basic facilities. MPP
is the largest peasant movement in Haiti comprising numerous associations,
cooperatives, and grassroots community groups. It is a member of the Via
Campesina movement and Chavannes Jean Baptiste, our host and director of MPP,
is on the International Coordinating Council of the Via Campesina
representing the Caribbean Region.
by Marta
Benavides, Agricultural Missions Board Vice-president
Executive Director
of the International Institute for the Cooperation Amongst People (IICP)
Last
year, the World Social Forum (WSF) issued a challenge to celebrate the WSF
by bringing it about on January 26, 2008 in each country instead of at one
location. After verifying that no one planned to bring it about in our
country, our movement Siglo XXIII- IICP organized the El Salvador Social
Forum, a great one day socio--cultural celebration on January19,
which brought together 300 national and international people and 48
different workshops about peace and justice and the environment. It was a
very celebratory day, with a very enlightening educational and cultural
opening, and closing. We issued a challenge for other groups, movements
etc. to carry out programs on the WSF day, January 26. Our movement
carried out three events in three different states and three other
movements did too.
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