The severe drought that has driven millions of men, women and children in the Horn of Africa on a desperate search for food and water is without a doubt the most tragic humanitarian crisis in the world today and a stark reminder of how fragile our food supply can become when growing conditions are severely impacted.
Even when water is plentiful and summer days are warm and sunny, producing an abundant vegetable garden from a few packets of seeds or a tree laden with fruit from a fragile little seedling requires patience, perseverance and faith that one's efforts will bear fruit. These are the qualities that have sustained families living in the West Bank, feeding themselves and their children from small home gardens. Because of your ongoing commitment to our mission, six rural communities there have benefitted from an IOCC program that provides tools, seedlings and training to produce sustainable sources of food for 150 isolated families.
These qualities are also producing a better way of life for people in the post-war Balkans. Through your support, IOCC and its partners are building on many years of experience in agriculture development to help farmers in Montenegro, Kosovo and Albania cultivate a culture of cooperation with the exchange of ideas and information about improved farming practices.
The need for a balanced use of natural resources was direly needed in Haiti, where severe deforestation practices over the years had stripped the forests bare and led to widespread erosion and landslides. IOCC channeled your support towards efforts to work with the remote mountain farming communities to bring the forests back to life and preserve vital watersheds needed to keep soil fertile and the land stable.
Through agricultural development, IOCC is planting seeds of hope and sustainability for families around the world and sharing the bounty of God's blessings upon us with others.
Yours in Christ,
Constantine M. Triantafilou
Executive Director & CEO
