In the face of unimaginable need, you can make a difference with Grow Hope Saskatchewan!
By Michael LeBlanc, Development and Peace – Caritas Canada Animator for Saskatchewan-Keewatin-Le Pas
[This June 2, 2023 edition of The Caragana online bulletin is re-published with permission.]
May is known as the month of Mary, our Blessed Mother. It’s also the time when we first put seeds in the ground in the hopes they will grow to feed us for another year. As May comes to a close, and our planting finishes, I am left to reflect with wonder on Mary’s words: that God has shown mercy, lifted up the lowly, and filled the hungry.
What a promise!
But this is exactly what is happening even today!
Around the world Catholic relief agencies are working to save and change lives. One organisation, Trocaire, built a lifesaving treatment centre for severely malnourished children and their mothers in Gedo, Somalia. It is this centre that we support, as Catholics, through a special fundraiser called Grow Hope Saskatchewan.
If you give $350 dollars, the price to grow an acre of food here in our province, as much as $3,000 may end up as relief for the hungry. (Also, if you give at least $350 by June 30, you will be entered into a draw for this wonderful, soon-to-be-finished, painting by the talented Jill Mitchell.!
Painting by Jill Mitchell.
What is this funny business? How can God turn one acre of food into so much?
If you already know about this project from the press release or recent radio interview and are wondering how to donate, feel free to click the button below or skip to the end!
If you want to know the answer of how your donation may be multiplied, this is due to the unique nature of the project. Read on!
First: Trocaire’s work is outstanding
A recent picture of Trocaire’s treatment centre in Somalia.
Trocaire works to save the lives of thousands of climate and conflict refugees through its malnutrition clinic in Somalia. The mission of this clinic is two-fold, to directly save the lives of young malnourished children through nutrient rich supplements and to provide support to the mothers (and fathers) of these children.
In addition, Trocaire works to provide training to local farmers in drought-resistant farming techniques known as conservation agriculture.
Second: Our Saskatchewan Farmers are outstanding
This is where you come in. You can help these farmers by “sponsoring” these acres. Growing food is expensive. Your donation of any amount will cover the cost of growing the food for sale, roughly priced at $350 an acre.
Donations of ANY AMOUNT are ALWAYS welcome!
For each acre sponsored, proceeds of $600 or more are expected from the sale of the various crops. This means that, based on market conditions, your donation may almost double by the end of the year. Now that’s an investment!
Related: Grow Hope Saskatchewan launches another crop year – LINK
By the way: Meet incredible our farming families! – LINK
Third: Government of Canada support
How does $600 become $3,000? Simply put, the Canadian government may match humanitarian aid donations by up to 4:1. It’s not quite as simple as hitting X 5 on a calculator, as grant proposals still have to be written (etc.), but it shows the promise that small contributions can become magnified (up to $25 million total) as we all move forward together!
The secret ingredient? YOU!
These long-term relationships, from volunteers, donors, and farmers in Saskatchewan all the way over to farmers, doctors, and young mothers in Somalia, are only possible through the consistent support and advocacy of everyday people like yourself. Money can’t buy the long term relationships we have in Saskatchewan, Canada OR Gedo, Somalia. Our success is entirely due to dedication and long term commitments.
So this year, stand up and be counted! Very generally, and based on available data, every $36 dollars this project receives, another person is helped. Please give generously.
Donate online: use this link to DONATE NOW
Donate via cheque: Send to Development and Peace, 1425 René-Lévesque Blvd. West, 3rd Floor, Montreal QC H3G 1T7 (Include written on Cheque: Grow Hope Saskatchewan)
Donate via telephone (make sure to mention donation is for Grow Hope SK): 1 888-234-8533
Grow Hope Saskatchewan is an Ecumenical Partnership between five Christian relief agencies and local promoters — see the other Christian agencies at work here and search their projects here.
Save the Date – Grow Hope Field Day at Bruno
Grow Hope Saskatchewan will hold a 2023 Field Day in conjunction with the Bruno Cherry Festival on Sunday, Aug. 13. There will be a booth set up to celebrate the growing season and provide opportunities to learn more about the work being done by abroad. In addition, there will be an opportunity to meet one of the Grow Hope farming families in the Bruno area and tour acres of land donated to help feed those in need around the world. Join the fun of the Bruno Cherry Festival in Bruno, SK., www.cherrysunday.ca and witness the solidarity of Grow Hope farmers, staff, volunteers, and donors teaming up to help raise money to feed hungry people in the Global South and to improve long-term food security.
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