Not sure what we do, or if it works? This edition includes feedback from the last 12 months
Message from the Chair
A new Rotary year has just begun. A new opportunity to make a difference.
“Serve to change lives” is the Rotary international theme for this year. A great theme for Rotarians who are “People of Action.” We know there is so much to do in the world to change the lives of so many people; – the hungry, the dispossessed, the refugees, those who have lost work because of COVID, people who have to walk miles for water each day, the homeless and so many more.
Our committee know we cannot help all of these people, but we know we can make a difference to those who live with malnutrition and food insecurity.
There are many wonderful groups who are helping to feed people. But that is a short term fix, which is why we use the Food Plants International database to prepare educational materials to help families, mainly women, to grow and prepare nutritious food for their families, which will enable them to have food security.
I HAVE A DREAM that for every water well or sky hydrant we place in communities, a garden is begun by the community in which it is placed. This will enable the community to have water and food security. For example – Your club could value add to your application for a Global Grant by adding us to your application, especially if you are placing it beside a school.
I know many clubs are still meeting by Zoom. We would love to speak to your club, district, or community group about our Action Group. All you have to do us ask.
Best wishes to you all for the New Year ahead. I know you will “serve to change lives “
Yours in Rotary
PDG Una Hobday OAM, PHF
Chair – Food Plant Solutions Rotary Action Group
FPS and ECHO Collaborate
ECHO and FPS recently agreed, through a Letter of Intent, to expand their mutual efforts to promote each other’s’ resources aimed at solving the challenges of hunger and nutrition among the world’s food insecure. In particular, ECHO will continue improvements to the integration and presentation of FPS resources on ECHOcommunity.org and the ECHOcommunity mobile app. ECHO will seek, especially, to create an environment making FPS resources more ‘discoverable’ on the internet, expanding their use.
ECHO will accomplish this by extending the ECHOcommunity descriptions of the FPS publications to open up more extensive indexing within ECHOcommunity’s search and in the various internet search engines. We will also ‘tag’ individual publications to associate them with other similar publications and collections of publications within ECHOcommunity so that related resources can lead searchers to FPS indirectly.
ECHOcommunity has recently added Downloadable Books as a feature available on the website and the app, allowing users to key in on valuable resources they can read offline. FPS publications are a key component of that collection, again, to make them more discoverable.
We at ECHO are excited about this partnership because the work of FPS compliments much of what we are about. Providing free information about useful plants and techniques to solve problems of world hunger and nutrition is at the heart of who we are.
Can Coffee Make a Difference?
Many of us enjoy a good coffee, which when out, can cost up to $5. Imagine if by forgoing one coffee a week, you could put that month of savings ($20) towards improving a life. Would it be worth having one less coffee? I’m sure all of us would emphatically say “Yes”.
Here’s your chance to do just that.
Click on this link One Less Coffee and make a monthly donation of $20 to Food Plant Solutions (there’s a box to tick that makes it a regular monthly donation). Every dollar donated will go directly to servicing the requests we receive, for our life-changing educational materials.
Three Tenors Minus Two!
In May, our very own Food Plant Solutions Committee member, Esley Dunham, with the support of his Rotary Club (Deovnport North) held a fundraising evening for Food Plant Solutions. Titled ‘Three Tenors Minus Two’, the night featured an evening of fine food, incredible entertainment by the very talented Julian Dunham and a fundraising auction.
Local identities and business generoursly provided items for the auction and our sincere thanks goes to:
| Patricia Kirkaldy | Ghost Rock Wines |
| Hellyers Road Distillery | Trudi Jones – Roberts Real Estate |
| The Old Woolstore | Eagles Nest Retreat |
| Argosy Bottleo |
Year of Feedback
Not sure what we do, or if it works? Please don’t take our word for it, here’s feedback we’ve received in the last 12 months. FEEDBACK
FPS & Uganda – An Opportunity for Clubs to Make a Difference
Recently two Ugandan’s dedicated to improving the lives of people in their community, translated our publication ‘Potentially Important Food Plants of Uganda’ into Lhukonzo and this is now available to be downloaded from our website – https://foodplantsolutions.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Potentially-Important-Food-Plants-of-Uganda-V8-Translated.pdf
Kirere and Kalisya (translators) said the following upon receiving the re-formatted, translated publication.
“We are so thankful for this information and I find the projects of Food Plant Solutions are of great importance to our people.”
And:
“Indeed Kasese is most affected area of malnutrition. Before I participated in translation, I was one of those affected but because of this guide, I have changed my way of eating.”
We are hoping that Rotary Clubs within Uganda and abroad will get on board with these two inspirational people and assist us in providing further educational materials (in quantity) for their community.
Please contact us at info@foodplantsolutions.org
A Brief Guide for Solomon Islands
A donation from the Rotary Club of Deloraine, plus a District Designated Funds Grant has allowed Food Plant Solutions to create a Brief Guide for the Solomon Islands, sending to them over 3,000 hard copies, to program partner Kastom Gaden Associsation.
Kastom Gaden Association have said “We had received the books and had continue distributing them to the Ministries, groups, institutions , organizations etc. Moses has distributed some to the Government ministries a week ago at Heritage park at a workshop facilitated by FAO & Ministry of Agriculture .
We at KGA are continuing distributing the books . Yesterday , one of our staff brought with her to Gizo in the western province of Solomon couple of copies to distribute them there. We keep records of who receives & number of the books distributed. We have asked our staff to take copies of the book with them wherever they are travelling in various parts of the country . Next week we’ll be having a workshop here at Kastomgaden with participants form Rural training centres and so we’ll be sharing copies of the books for them to take them back to their respective schools in the 3 province, Malaita,Western and Guadalcanal.”
As this shows, our Brief Guides, (which can be created for any country or region) are being well received in Solomon Islands. Contact us for more information on our Brief Guides info@foodplantsolutions.org, or visit our website to see ones that are ready for use. https://foodplantsolutions.org/programs/briefguides/
