2013 fall sower

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FALL 2013

environmental solutions to Humanitarian problems

The Journey oF

TrAnsFormATionHow RuRal FaRmeRs aRe

HaRvesting CHange4

6

2

3

7

Features

Transformation

Leaders of Transformation

FaRmeRs in tHe DominiCan RepubliC plant tRees.

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7/29/2019 2013 Fall Sower


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Can you imagine what

it would be like to

have absolutely no-

thing productive to

do? For decades?

One night many years

ago, Father Jean

Wilrid Albert, a Haitian Episcopal priest

with whom we partnered when we frst be-

gan working in Haiti, joined a number o us

outside the feld ofce. As we sat in the dark,

he shared his joy at having a calling rom

Christ. “Imagine,” he said, “how you would

eel i you were sitting in a similar circle and

God Himsel told each o you about the im-

portant role that He had or you to play.”

“I’d be so excited!” Father Albert said with

emotion.

He then asked us to imagine what it would

be like to be told instead that God had noth-

ing or you to do. You couldn’t even take

care o your amily. You were worthless.

O course, God never says this to anyone.

It is a vicious lie told by a world that mea-

sures personal value only in terms o mon-

ey. On the other hand, a part o the goodnews Jesus brings is that we are all given

talents, and each o us has a role to play in

His kingdom.

God invites each o us to participate in what

He is doing in the world. We are not passive

bystanders, victims in a world headed or

destruction. Colossians 1:20 tells us Christ

is reconciling all things, and in 1 Corinthians

5:18 we learn that we, too, have been giv-

en this ministry o reconciliation. Jesus re-

minds us that even the weak, downtrodden,

and poor have an important role to play.

Around the world, the rural poor have been

told directly and indirectly that they have

nothing to contribute. This type o disem-

powerment is particularly acute in Burundi,

where thousands o repatriated reugees

are returning—many ater living in camps in

Tanzania where they subsisted on aid and

had no opportunity to work.

That is why much o our spiritual outreach

in Burundi centers on a curriculum called

“Theology o Work,” written by Lazare

Sebiteriko, our local director there. The

study has become the glue that holds ourBurundian program together. Until people

begin to understand their purpose and God-

given value, there is little enthusiasm or en-

vironmental restoration, small business cre-

ation, or even arming.

Lazare is a trained theologian and the study

has considerable depth, but I teased him

recently that it could all be boiled down to

the afrmation that God loves you and has

a purpose or you. What is not a joke is the

radical good news that this message carries

or someone who has been told they haveno purpose. It is a message with such res-

onance that churches all over Burundi and

as ar as eastern Democratic Republic o

Congo are asking to use this curriculum.

Scott Sabin

Executive Director

mR. JeRa Jules

FaRms in FonDs-

veRRettes, Haiti.

Director’s corner

tHe sower issue #101

Plant With Purpose, a Christian nonpro

organization, reverses deorestation an

poverty around the world by transorm

ing the lives o the rural poor.

ExEcutivE DirEctor:

Scott Sabin

[email protected]

DEvElopmEnt DirEctor: Doug Satre

[email protected]

markEting anD EvEnts:

Becky Rosaler

[email protected]

environmental solutions to Humanitarian proble

stay connEctED:

4903 Morena Blvd. Suite 1215

San Diego, CA 92117

Ph: 800.633.5319Email: [email protected]

Web: plantwithpurpose.org

Tw: @PlantWPurpose

Fb: acebook.com/PlantWithPurpose

email [email protected]

to learn How you can:

• Share your Plant With Purpose story

• Host an event

• Become a Plant With Purpose advoca

Leave a Legacy. Please consider inclu

ing Plant With Purpose in your wills

and bequests. Contact Doug Satre:

[email protected].

copyright © 2013 Plant With Purpose

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WWW.PLANTWITHPURPOSE.ORG

On October 12, 2013, the Plant With Purpose community will gather or an

international estival at the Paradise Point Resort in San Diego, overlooking

the beautiul Mission Bay.

Expect to be treated to a wonderul evening! The silent auction and cocktail

hour will take place outside on Paradise Terrace with live music provided

by Serenade and Strum. A sumptuous Latin-usion dinner accompanied by

Caliornia wine will please your palate. Plant With Purpose will be honoring

Project 7 and Kellogg Garden Products or their continued support. And, o

course, you’ll hear an inspiring update on what is happening around the

world rom executive director Scott Sabin and board chair Cathi Lundy.

Proceeds go TowArd emPowering The rurAL Poor ToimProve Their Lives And LAnd.

planting Hope gala oCtobeR 12, 2013

at 5:30 in tHe evening

breaking newshouse at our San Diego ofce. It was anhonor to spend time with these inspiring

men, who are leading the way or Plant With

Purpose’s programs in East Arica. Here,

Lazare and Benoit are pictured with Bill and

Susan Hoehn at a lunch reception gracious-

ly hosted by the Hoehns.

upcoming vision tripsI you have never visited one o Plant With

Purpose’s programs, we would love or

you to consider joining us on a Vision Trip.

Contact Doug Satre or more inormation:

[email protected].

mexico

otb 21-27, 2013

Burundi

may 4-13, 2014

hAiTi

may 5-11, 2014

dominicAn rePuBLic

J 21-Jly 5, 2014

our website gets a new look Have you checked out plantwithpurpose.org

recently? Spend some time on our newly

updated site and learn how Plant With Pur-

pose programs are moving rural commu-

nities “From Despair to Hope.” Find out de-

tails about “Where We Work,” and take the

next step to “Get Involved” in Plant With

Purpose’s lie-changing programs.

burunDi staFF visits san DiegoCountry director Lazare Sebiteriko and Bu-

rundian board member Benoit Muhimuzi

visited Southern Caliornia this summer.

They shared about their work at multiple

home receptions, churches, and an open

RSVP BY

pHone: 800.633.5319

web: www.plantwitHpurpose.org/gala

email: [email protected]

$110 per ticket / $850 per table oF 8

7/29/2019 2013 Fall Sower


4

Dieubon Joseh lives in he rural

couniy of toan, Haii, wih

his wife and six children. mr. Joseh

says ha since he arrival of plan

Wih purose, “my rofessional andsiriual life has changed.” the ools

and raining rovided by plan Wih

purose allowed hi o irove his

ree nursery, which resuled in in-

creased incoe.

Seedlings ormerly sold or about 25 Hai-

tian gourdes. Now, Mr. Joseph says, “I

sell seedlings at 50 gourdes [$1.25 USD],

and the success rate o seedlings in the

nursery is close to 100 percent.” This past

year he grew 5,000 seedlings that he

planted on his arm, shared with riends

and community members, and sold to a

nearby community.

Mr. Joseph sees Plant With Purpose as

“an institution that adopts all necessary

moral values that are integral to the de-

velopment o a person.” He oers this en-

couragement to Plant With Purpose: “We

are willing to pass through the complete

change that you propose!”

Mr. Joseph has experienced changes in

his circumstances because Plant With

Purpose invested in his community. Plant

With Purpose embraces a model o trans-

ormation or the entire person: physi-

cally, economically, and spiritually. Com-

munities are on a journey out o poverty.

And through empowerment, they’re ex-

periencing transormation.

Bryant Myers, proessor o transorma-

tional development at Fuller Theologi-

cal Seminary, writes in Walking With the

Poor , “The goals or this journey o trans-

ormation are to recover our true identity

as human beings created in the image o

God and to discover our true vocation as

productive stewards, aithully caring or

the world and all the people in it.” These

are accomplishments that Plant With Pur-

pose witnesses every day.

our true iDentityScott Sabin says, “The frst step in our

work is helping people understand their

own power and their value in the king-

dom [o God]. This is oundational. When

it comes to solving the problem o pover-

ty, the poor themselves are our most im-

portant allies. When it comes to issues o

“The goals for

This journey of

TransformaTion are

To recover our True

idenTiTy as human

beings creaTed in

The image of god

and To discover our

True vocaTion as producTive sTewards,

faiThfully caring for

The world and all The

people in iT.”

tHe Journey oF

transFormationHolistically investing in rural communities

Becky RosaleR, Marketing and Events Coordinator

women in tanzania taking

steps towaRD a bRigHteR

tomoRRow.

~ Bryant Myers

7/29/2019 2013 Fall Sower



rural environmental degradation, the ru-

ral poor have the skills, insight, and vest-

ed interest to solve these problems. One

o the most important things we can do

is empower the poor to realize and use

their God-given talents to change their

communities and restore their land.”

A shit in mindset takes places in rural

communities as sta members acilitate

community assessments and oer guid-

ance or solutions. It is then up to part-

nering armers like Mr. Joseph to carry

out the hard work. This work emphasizes

people’s true identities and what they

have to oer.

Tui Tongdi, director o Plant With Purpose

Thailand, shares the importance o part-

nering with hill tribe communities there:

“We have learned that to create sustain-

able development, participants must take

responsibility and ownership,” he says.

“We have been promoting the roles and

responsibilities o the local people.” Plant

With Purpose Thailand has been able to

step into an advisory role as local leaders

work through economic, environmental,

and social issues.

The door to true identity is being opened

in Thailand. Tongdi explains, “In most o

the villages we work with, the amilies

are not Christian. Even though we do

not preach, people start to see the love

o God. People know that we are Chris-

tians and love them. Some people ask

us why we keep loving them, and we tell

them that because God loves us, so we

love them.”

proDuctive stewarDs oF creation

Mr. Joseph’s seedlings play an important

part in Haiti’s progress out o poverty be-cause o the direct link between poverty

and the environment. Without healthy

land, the majority o rural arming ami-

lies cannot put ood on the table. As rural

arming amilies gain resources to change

the circumstances o their surroundings,

they also see a change in their well-being.

Guy Paraison, country director in Haiti,

shares, “Socially, people and commu-

nities are being transormed. They talk

more about environmental issues, and

their vocabulary has changed. They talk

about soil conservation, reorestation,

organization, grating, and compost-

ing, which are very new words.” Not

only are these words being integrated

into conversations, but communities

are also implementing these new tech-

niques. Farmers are considering tree

planting and sustainable agriculture as

long-term investments.

Plant With Purpose Tanzania just fnished

planting 1.4 million trees within this last

year alone. The tree planting eorts were

inspired by the “Redemptive Agriculture”

Bible study. This Creation Care study ex-

plores the ways that God asks us to care

or the earth and the people in it. The

study led to soil conservation work and

tree planting. What’s more, partnering

armers worked to mobilize other groups.

Tree planting competitions took place be-

tween 84 churches, 43 primary schools, 26

secondary schools, and even 2 mosques.

Richard Mihna, Plant With Purpose Tanza-

nia’s country director, shares, “The great-

est change we have seen this past year is

the increased participation in tree plant-

ing and organic vegetable production.”

As productive stewards caring or the

world, Plant With Purpose programs in

both Thailand and Mexico have observed

that wildlie is returning to reorested

areas. Plant With Purpose Thailand has

encouraged a wildlie preservation pro-

gram, and they report, “In the river and

orest areas, we can see more fsh, birds,

and wild animals.”

caring For peopleTransormation is taking place as people

like Mr. Joseph become fnancially se-

cure. In communities like Toman, Haiti,

where money is sparse, savings-led

microfnance through Village Savings

and Loan Associations (VSLAs) seemed

impossible. Today there are more than

7,000 individuals who are actively saving

through 312 Plant With Purpose VSLAs

internationally.

Plant With Purpose Dominican Republic’s

country director, Carlos Disla, shares, “Agreat change that has occurred in the Do-

minican Republic is the enthusiastic adop-

tion o a savings culture in rural commu-

nities.” VSLA participants in Thailand also

share, “We see that the saving groups are

good because we can save money and

take loans with low interest. It’s not just

about the money but also about having

ellowship and better relationships.”

smiles in Haiti anD tHailanD

expRess Hope.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

7/29/2019 2013 Fall Sower


6

Loans that are accessed through VSLAs al-

low or improvements in living conditions,

which means improvements to health. The

use o technologies like uel-ecient stoves

and eco-latrines are protecting the health o

amilies in partnering communities accord-

ing to Luis Castellanos, Plant With Purpose

Mexico’s country director.

Truly caring or people means caring or the

whole person—physically and spiritually.

Lazare Sebitereko, Plant With Purpose Bu-

rundi’s country director, witnesses empow-

erment as he leads people through the “The-

ology o Work” seminar in Burundi, which

has led to action. Mhina shares, “We have

seen transormation in Tanzania as churches

are reporting increased beneciary partici-

pation in church activities and increases intithes and oerings in communities. The

reason or this is that our communities have

increased their income.”

contagious transFormationWhen transormational development is

accomplished, it is hard to contain. Plant

With Purpose sees this vision or a dier-

ent way o lie spreading. Disla comments,

“These innovative armers in the Domini-

can Republic hope to encourage others

to move orward in the care o their land,

recovery o the environment, and the im-

provement o their living conditions.”

Plant With Purpose Mexico has been push-

ing orward on expanding the program

rom Oaxaca to the state o Chiapas. “Lo-

cal pastors and leaders have expressed

their interest and motivation to promote a

process o transormational development

in their region,” conveys Castellanos.

Holistic transormation is spreading: per-

son to person, armer to armer, commu-

nity to community, and country to country

as those involved in Plant With Purpose’sprograms embrace their true identity in

Christ and work to bring God’s kingdom to

earth as it is in heaven.

Fg fal.

Family gardens, agroor-

estry plots, and sustain-

able arming methods help

parents put nutritious ood

on the table.

rtg la.

Trees act as a natural lter.

As hillsides are planted,

watersheds once again

fow with clean water.

Trees improve soil condi-

tions and prevent topsoil

rom eroding, making

arming more successul.

itg ft.

Savings-and-loan groups

give amilies a way to cre-

ate a nancial saety net as

well as invest in children’s

education, develop small

businesses, and improvearms.

dlpg b.

Strategic approaches to

market opportunities and

business development, are

providing brighter utures.

expg th l f J.

Outreach programs through

local churches help amilies

understand God’s love and

grace in a tangible way and

grow spiritually.

mblzg th hh.

Programs that encourage

the church to meet practi-

cal needs in the commu-

nity include adult literacy

classes, community recycling

programs, and lie-skills

seminars.

a tHree-part approacH

to transFormation

ita f fg pbl l-

t at a t, Plat wth Pp hlp alfag fal a th pty thgh

a appah that tgat tal,

, a ptal lt.

sPiriTuALrenewAL

economicemPowermenT

environmenTALresTorATion

environmental restoration economic empowerment spiritual transFormation

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

Plant With Purpose’s international team

made o leaders who have been equippe

to bring about change. What ollows is

glimpse o the qualications that makthis team strong.

Bunsak Tongdi (Tui) has been the cou

try director o Plant With Purpose Tha

land since 2008. Prior to this position, h

worked or Plant With Purpose as a micr

nance sta member. Tui has worked a

a child sponsorship trainer or Compa

sion International and held other jobs i

cluding teaching English. He is earning

graduate degree ocused on cooperativ

community-based economics.

Lazare Sebitereko has served as Plan

With Purpose Burundi’s country directo

since 2008. His work experience include

serving as a program manager or G

neva Global, theology proessor at th

University o Pretoria, South Arica, an

a human rights ocer or Groupe Milim

(DRC). Lazare’s education culminate

with a Ph.D. in theology, specializing

justice, rom the University o Pretoria.

In 2002, Carlos Disla began overseein

Plant With Purpose Dominican Republ

ater holding many government pos

tions, including the Assistant Secreta

o Natural Resources. His education i

cludes two bachelor’s degrees, one ro

Texas A & M ocused on agricultural eco

nomics and the other in agronomy ro

the Institute o Agriculture in Santiag

Dominican Republic.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 7

leaDers oF

transFormation

7/29/2019 2013 Fall Sower



In Oaxaca’s central valley lies the tiny village o Chepeginio, a place called home by about 200

people. In this area, no one has access to running water at home, and ewer than one in fve

has access to electricity. Few kids fnish high school because they have to drop out to help earn

money or their amilies. Plant With Purpose saw the need and began working here months ago.

In this small community, Abundio and Alejandra co-pastor a small church. The parents o six children

have watched or years as young men and athers leave in search o work in the United States or oth-

er Mexican states. They eared this would become the ate o some o their own children, but today

they have hope or a dierent uture—both or their amily and their community.

“Now,” Abundio says, “our amilies are together, and they are working at home. … Now the children

see … they don’t have to be day laborers.”

This newound hope began to grow when Abundio and Alejandra and others rom their community

started working together to establish a tree nursery, a large garden, and a Village Savings and Loan

Association.

“We have hope,” Alejandra says. “We have already harvested vegetables. We don’t have to buy

things we used to buy. We are hoping to see produce rom ruit trees—oranges, apples, limes, avoca-

dos, peaches. Now, the garden is helping us to eat.”

Among the community members who work to tend the garden and nursery are Ezekiel and Magda-

lene, a young newlywed couple. Ezekiel had spent a ew years in another area working as an agricul-

tural day laborer but says he wants to stay in Chepeginio. The couple doesn’t have children yet, but

Ezekiel says, “We would love to raise a amily here and have a sense o purpose. … We don’t have

anything here—but little by little, we will.”

Abundio adds, “We see God can work in this place. … We believe in a living God. We know God has

a purpose and wants to uplit. God is providing or things we need.”

village

spotligHt:CHepeginio,

mexiCo

“Agriculture is now a very important revenue-

generating activity. Unortunately, as rural arm-

ers, we ace many obstacles to developing ourarms and sustaining ood production,” shares

Elisha Kaganda rom Kiremba, Buarundi. How-

ever, ater partnering with Plant With Purpose

Burundi, she says, “We hope that gradually we

can achieve this dream o developing our agri-

cultural activities to meet our ood needs and at

the same time give us income.”

Elisha Kaganda’s dream is one that aligns with

Humidtropics, a new initiative o the international

organization Consultative Group on International

Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Plant With Pur-

pose Burundi has been selected to be the non-

proft representative on the planning commit-tee. In so doing, it is joining, it is joining some

o the most respected names in agriculture and

development research around the world. Over

the next 15 years, Humidtropics will be looking

at innovative agricultural systems and working

toward liting 25 percent o poor households

above the poverty line, increasing ood yields

by 60 percent, and increasing arm income by

50 percent, all while reducing the number o

malnourished children by 30 percent and re-

storing sustainability to arms.

abunDio anD aleJanDRa’s

CHuRCH anD CHuRCH membeRs

in CHepeginio, mexiCo

Since June 2011, Richard Mhina has been

providing leadership or Plant With Pur-

pose Tanzania. He became a part o the

team when asked to provide oversight or

compliance with a USAID grant. He is re-

ceiving his MBA this year, ollowing a de-

gree ocused on agricultural economics

and agribusiness.

Guy Paraison started at Plant With Pur-

pose Haiti as an administrative advisor in

1997. In 2001, he became the country direc-

tor. Prior to coming to Plant With Purpose,

Guy taught Spanish, worked in fnancial

credit positions, worked with UNICEF, and

served as a ounding member o Fonkoze,

Haiti’s leading microfnance organization.

Luis Castellanos has been the director o

Plant With Purpose Mexico since 2001.

His bachelor’s degree in business admin-

istration was put to use as he worked in

multiple positions or the government.

He has consulted or organizations work-

ing with rural communities and provided

business oversight or various groups.

By Beth luthye , Grant Writer

Developing

Dreams in

burunDi

7/29/2019 2013 Fall Sower


pl Wh pue

4903 Morena Blvd. Suite 1215San Diego, CA 92117

Ph: 800.633.5319

Email: [email protected]

www.plantwithpurpose.org

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2013 fall sower

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