helen weld public health: 3rd Annual GHI Thanksgiving

3^rd Annual GHI Thanksgiving

"We Are Each Other's Harvest". . .

Despite some rain and ensuing mud, GHI's 3rd annual Thanksgiving celebrations were very successful. My ongoing innate propensity for lists and timelines paid off in terms of helping coordinate this massive event. Most of all, with the incredible GHI team providing hard work and an amazing community spirit with hefty doses of fun and love, we managed to feed about 1500 people!

Thanks to Brett Howley, GHI's Communications Fellow, for writing the following press release which captures the essence and feeling of the event so well.

Rwandans and Americans Gather on Gardens for Health Farm

to Celebrate Thanksgiving in Rural Rwandan Village

Bounty Gleaned from Locally Produced and Sourced Fields and Gardens

KIGALI, RWANDA, Nov. 9, 2012

More than 1400 people gathered on Gardens for Health International (GHI)’s community farm in the Gasabo district of Kigali, Rwanda to celebrate and give thanks for the seasonal harvest. Amplifying the celebration’s theme, “we are each other’s harvest,” the feast brought together local families enrolled in GHI’s agriculture and health program, neighbors of the farm, local community leaders, and members of the Rwandan government with whom GHI partners.

In a speech to the assembled crowd, Gardens for Health’s Country Director, Julie Carney, focused on the importance of celebrating the community’s greatest resource – each other. “Thanksgiving is an American holiday. But the spirit of Thanksgiving crosses borders, cultures and histories. The themes of reconciliation, celebration, sharing, eating, and loving are universal. I come from the United States, which some say is the land of a lot of food, while here in Rwanda we fight malnutrition. But there are many commonalities between us. We are collectively faced with the challenges of food and health. In this, we are together.”

“We share our challenges, but we also share the conviction that, together, we can build a healthier, brighter future,” Carney told the crowd. “When GHI conceptualized the idea of a Rwandan-American Thanksgiving in 2009, we felt our community had so much to be thankful for, so much to celebrate together. Three years later, our community has grown bigger and stronger, giving us even more of a reason to join together for this day of thanksgiving.”

The annual celebration is an opportunity for GHI to put its values of community, health, and sustainability into practice and onto a plate. It is a chance for people from all walks of life to come together to celebrate each other as one community. Mothers enrolled in the program, who number among Rwanda’s most vulnerable population, sit alongside well-to-do district officials, while GHI staff members circulated heaping plates of fresh food.

Sustainable agriculture is at the heart of the event—from vegetables grown on site, to goats and turkeys raised here in Rwanda, to contributions from the guests themselves. The Thanksgiving menu exemplified the farm-to-table ethos that GHI embodies: organic, whole foods that come straight from GHI’s backyard. Friends, neighbors, mothers, and even children pitched in to prepare a mix of traditional Rwandan dishes and Thanksgiving favorites, blending cultures and uniting around the power of food. Rounding out the feast with entertainment, resident health educators acted out skits on family planning and mental health and local mothers performed traditional dances, making the day a true community effort.

May everyone's Thanksgiving be full of goodness and celebration.

For more photos check this link:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151163247063634.449313.74617343633&type=1

Love from Rwanda,

Helen