Hello, My name is Maria Auxiliadora Alvarez.  I am 45 years old and am married to Alfredo Lezcano. We live in the Nueva Alianza Community in Nicaragua with one of our children (the other three are grown and live in other communities).

Thanks to many generous donors, we exceeded our 2010 year-end goal for online fundraising!  These funds will directly guarantee that 168 families are able to successfully complete our five-phase program. Nicaraguan farmer Mario Hurtado Méndez and his family will now be able to move onto Phase 3: Advanced Crop Diversification & Introduction to Business.  He was eager to share with you his heartfelt gratitude for this support.

My name is Julia Cucul, and I am living in the village of Dolores in Belize. My family and I are very happy to see the work that has been ongoing with Sustainable Harvest International in our village.

Before joining SHI program I was in a woman’s group and we were given a lot of false promises by a lot of different organizations, but nothing came to pass. I asked to do some small projects but we could not get any assistance.

I was promised by other NGOs that they would help with gardening, but most only made one visit and then never showed up again. It happened that SHI reach the village of Dolores one day, and we all thought that it was just another pipe dream. It wasn’t so… SHI came and stayed and is doing a lot of wonderful work here in my little village.

Thanks to SHI, Panamanian farmer José Aníbal Valdés and his family now count on three nutritious meals each day. José, 54, and his wife, Catalina, live with their eight children and one granddaughter in the community of El Entradero in Panama.  In addition to farming, José also worked as a bus driver for his family’s sustenance; but there were many days that he earned only enough for his family’s supper.

In his own words:  "When I used agrochemicals, I did not know that I could be poisoning the environment…  At that time, I did not know that right on my own land I had materials to make organic compost and natural pest controls; nobody had ever told me about those things.  I just worked according to our customs and traditions.  I visited my neighbor and there I met the Field Trainer, Diomedes Arrocha, and the micro-business promoter from SHI-Panama.  My neighbor was already working with them and selling some crops that he had harvested from a small parcel near his house.  With SHI’s help, he was earning more money than I earned at my job during a week.

SHI participant farmer José Antonio Lopez (photo, right) was born and raised in the community of Carrizalito, Honduras. He is 44 years old and lives with his wife, Maria Luisa Cabrera, of 24 years and they have five children together. While José only made it through second grade, and his wife through fifth grade, they are proud that their older children have finished primary school and their oldest daughter has become a teacher. 
 

Sixta Alonzo, age 56, lives with her mother Maria Anacleta in Panama and began working with SHI five years ago. She has spent this time reforesting, cultivating her own plots of coffee, corn, plantains, yuca, and ñame (another root vegetable). The generosity of our supporters continues to allow Sixta and her mother to improve their health while restoring the environment for future generations.

 

Fathers’ dreams for their children often surround what athletics or interests they will share, what college they might attend, the career they will embark upon after graduation, and the happiness they will find later in life. But in the developing world, a father’s dreams for his children are often overshadowed by the struggle to meet his family’s most basic, immediate needs.

Video generously filmed and produced by Myriad Media, a Raleigh Video Production firm.

We hope you'll consider sharing this inspiring documentary with your friends, family and community. Please post the link on Facebook, tweet about it on Twitter, leave a comment below, or even host a DVD screening party! Fill out the form on the right and we will mail you a packet with a DVD, promotional materials, SHI brochures and other goodies! If you are hosting a public event, download & print the blank DVD Party poster, fill in all the details of your event and hang them around town.

Thank you for spreading awareness about SHI!