We (at St. Francis of Assisi Parish) finally launched a new social justice project (on June 13th) to help the ‘Seeds for Food’ program started by Belgian botanist and inventor Willem van Cotthem.
It has a simple premise – save the seeds of the fruits and vegetables that you eat every day, wash and dry them then mail them to the program office in Europe. Upon receipt in Belgium, the seeds will be sorted and sent to the UN refugee camps in SW Algeria where they will be planted in small home gardens so that the happy recipients can have more nutritious fresh produce to supplement their meager food rations.
It costs next to nothing to us yet enables poor people living in the harsh climate of the Sahara Desert a chance to improve their lives for the better!
It has been quite a success since we launched it two weeks ago. If you would like to replicate this project in your parish I would be happy to provide the materials for you!
Please visit the website for more information (http://seedsforfood.wordpress.com) or contact me for other materials.
Cheers,
Dan Lafrenière
Social justice activist, Anglophone Region
Diocese of St-Jean-Longueuil
