We’re technologists. We love solving ridiculously complex technology problems. That’s why most of our programs focus on helping organizations and individuals with technology-based training and support. We’ve seen how technology can transform lives. But millions of people around the world are starving. They don’t need high-tech anything. They need food. Our food program has absolutely nothing to do with technology. It’s about standing in the gap for the world’s most vulnerable citizens. The program has two parts.
The food distribution program provides meals to HIV/AIDS patients. Although all of these patients are receiving medical treatment (ARV’s, primarily) from international health-based agencies, their nutrition level is so low that the medication isn’t working. By providing meals to these patients, we have seen a tremendous increase in the effectiveness of their treatments. So far we have provided hundreds of meals to patients near Webuye, Western Kenya, not far from the Uganda/
Kenya border.
Soon after beginning our food distribution program, we realized that is was not sustainable since it relied on a constant flow of donor support. Our partners (AOET Kenya) suggested a “food for work” program whereby able-bodied participants be given plots of land and all the materials and skills needed to plant, maintain and harvest a large personal farm. A portion of the harvest is given to AOET Kenya for distribution in the community as well as to “buy” another season to work the farm. The bulk of the harvest goes to the farmer, most of whom have graduated from the food distribution program and are now doing well enough to work and sustain themselves.
“Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day.
Teach a man to fish, you feed him for life.”
-Chinese Proverb
In a typical one-acre plot, the farmer uses less than ten percent of the yield as food. The rest can be sold to raise children’s school fees or additional materials or land for the generation of a larger harvest. After the first harvest, the farmer is no longer dependent on additional donor support. Your “seed donation” creates an empowerment opportunity that breaks the cycle of poverty in the life of the recipient.
All the proceeds from sales of my No-Tech Hacking book support this program, as do partial proceeds from the “Informer” subscription service and the “donor cloud”.