Provision of Hope is pleased to give you an update on the 5 schools we have trained and are continuing to work with in Nimba County. We started with the Hope Academy School in Ganta then moved on to the Golden Foundation Shepherd’s School, Jabez, Martha Tubman and Charles Boayue Memoral School.
We are very selective in the schools we choose to work with. First, we do a thorough assessment. We choose schools that are already into gardening and have an administration that is actively involved.
Preston Gonmiah is our Director of Organic Agriculture and Training for Nimba County. He is the Agriculture Teacher at the Hope Academy School in Ganta. Ken McAllister, Hope for the Nations Ganta, gave us a positive report on these gardens last month!
We are big into follow-up care with each of these schools. We are there to help with their challenges and answer their questions.
Pepper plants were started from seeds in the nursery. They are ready now to be transplanted.
When we train students they can take this knowledge home and make kitchen gardens within their own yards.
This is the Martha Tubman School receiving their tools and seeds. We have the schools contribute about 30%. The students learned how to put nutrients into the soil and build up the soil. Our trainers have a saying: “Healthy soil produces healthy plants, produces healthy people.”
The Golden Foundation Shepherd’s School is flourishing in Nimba County. Have a look at a former post – click here!
We just did a follow up visit to The Golden Foundation Shepherd’s School to see their progress.
Preston reported that both the corn and peanut crops were doing really well. We gave them seeds worth $40 US. They can plant their next peanut crop from the seeds gathered from this harvest. While most crops deplete the soil of nitrogen, peanuts replenish nitrogen and require less organic fertilizer to grow an abundant crop. “What gets measured gets managed.” “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” “You can’t manage what you don’t measure,” Peter Drucker quotes.
Besides the schools, we are continuing to train groups of farmers. This is a photo of a few of the Gbedin Farmers with their Bitterball Harvest. Preston reported, “ It was impressive being with the Gbedin farming group’s garden today. The 4th harvest went well and was done by seven of the group members. About 15 buckets (over seven of the 25kg bags) were harvested. The farmers harvest once every week and will be doing this for the next two months. This group is generating income and sharing it among themselves.
