Do you ever wonder about importance
of others, weather they are close or far away, in your own life? I do. In
globalized world the concept of closeness has been spiced up that the ones we
appreciate the most and whose existence has highest value in our lives could be
thousands of kilometers away. In the context of climate change that is one of
the most important priorities in the world today, we all live together in a
system called Mother Earth, and indeed each and every dot of the system has an
influence to the other. When we are helping others, we are helping ourselves.
Velika Plana, just as many other
towns in Serbia, has a wide diaspora, that connects it to the world. It also
happens that many Velikoplanians are married with people from other nations,
cultures, races. It happens that one of the sons in law of Velika Plana is of
Haitian origin. But that was just the first link of Velika Plana and Haiti that
has opened up a discussion that made us realize the similarities of our two
cultures, and even see the potential for beneficial collaboration between us.
Unfortunately, Haiti has recently
suffered a devastating natural disaster in form of a hurricane this time, while
not having recuperated from the last even more destructive disaster of
earthquake in 2010. It hurts our soul to know that.
We have to admit that Serbia is a country
that needs development, things are not perfect here. However, Haiti is in a
state of need for help for development seriously profoundly. We are small and
sometimes weak ourselves, but it is one of the great honors of our people to
always be there for the others in need.
Three years ago I was in Herrsching,
Germany, in a seminar organized by German Ministry of Agriculture. This is
where I met people who came from Haiti, on behalf of the organization Fondelcopah (Fondation
dominico-haitien pour le développement et de lutte contre la pauvreté) who have
been my friends ever since. It is these people whom we have identified to carry
on the project of Gardens in schools in Haiti, that is the envisaged purpose of
the fundraising breakfast.
Project of school gardens is common activity
of Slow Food internationally, specifically in Africa. We want to encourage development
of vegetable gardens in Haiti, in order to provide food directly in the local
school community, but also with the aim to teach young generations how to grow
their own food and use this knowledge throughout life for food security and
poverty alleviation.
« Give man a fish, you feed him for one
day; teach him to fish and you feed him for life. »
Sincerely,
Ivana Radić Jean
Leader of Slow Food Convivium Velika Plana
Нема коментара:
Постави коментар