St. Mary's Harvest Appeal 2024

St. Mary’s Harvest Appeal 2024

/ 1 September 2024 / Comments Off on St. Mary’s Harvest Appeal 2024 / Announcements

Our link with Ripple Effect in Kwale County, Kenya

 You can donate via this link: https://givealittle.co/c/3vuaK338nfVJm37Hh3yTGQ

This year we are continuing our commitment to working with Ripple Effect to support a sustainable development project in Kenya. During September and October, we are fund raising for the planting of poverty-busting pineapples within the overall project of providing a sustainable future for Kenya’s women and young people.

Ripple Effect, formerly known as Send a Cow, was set up by a group of dairy farmers in Somerset in 1996 and works with locally based partners in six African countries. By working in a mission partnership with the organisation and 24 other churches, St. Mary’s receives regular updates about our chosen project and provides opportunities to talk directly to the local project team.

Kwale County is a challenged coastal area of Kenya. While famous for its white sands and coral reefs, the coastal hinterland is semi-arid and low-fertile. Significant climate change has affected agricultural production, resulting in unpredictable and intense periods of rainfall and periods of drought. Farmers are experiencing up to 25% crop damage each year which means a loss of income and of nutritious food for families. Only 30% of people in rural and urban areas are secure in food. Ripple Effect is working with farmers, and in particular women and young people, in a comprehensive programme, which includes re-greening land through planting, boosting income and developing sustainable businesses.

Pineapples against poverty!

This year we are aiming to support farmers to plant pineapples. Why pineapples?

  • They grow in erratic weather conditions so are ideal for families living on the front line of the climate crisis in rural Africa.
  • They are nutritious and a good source of vitamin C. They also help boost the immune system.
  • Poverty-busting pineapples can help provide families with a reliable source of income. They can be processed into profitable products such as dried fruit or juices and sold to local schools and hotels throughout the year. 

Fatuma’s story

Fatuma Hamisi lives and works on the front line of the climate crisis in Kwale, with her husband, Omar, and three young children. She worries about providing her family with a healthy, balanced diet as her crops are often carried away by the heavy rains. Ripple Effect is working alongside mothers like Fatuma as they learn how to transform their farms with climate-resilient fruit and vegetable seeds, such as the poverty-busting pineapple, and with training in sustainable farming skills. This is already helping Fatuma adapt to the effects of the climate crisis, improve the quality of her land and develop alternative income streams to build resilience against future shocks, such as flooding and drought. She says:

‘From this project that I intend to undertake, I want to generate income to buy another farm so that I can purchase goats and cows for rearing. My biggest dream for my children is for them to receive education so that they can secure jobs and support themselves, and then they can also support me.’

How we are raising funds

It costs £250 to provide fifty families with fruit and vegetable seeds, including poverty-busting pineapples. £10,000 could provide 2000 families with seeds. Now there’s a challenge!

To make a donation:

  • The Harvest Appeal tab through the link HERE
  •  BACS transfer to Iffley PCC- details on the weekly service sheet
  •  Cheques posted to the church office, made payable to Iffley PCC and in an envelope marked Harvest Appeal.

This year we are three events:

  •  a ‘pub quiz’ in the church hall from 7.30-9.30 on Wednesday October 2nd, with quiz master, Stilly, drinks and pineapple snacks

Further details of these events to follow, from September 1st.

Contact for enquiries: Maggie Wilson