Immediate Relief and Long Term Recovery Projects Can you help? Plenty Belize has staff and collaborators who are prepared and capable of implementing food supplementation, nutrition and health education programs in communities hit hard by Hurricane Iris. Donations are urgently needed for immediate relief and longer term recovery projects for the subsistence farming communities in the Toledo District. Any and all donations are tax-deductible, and will be gratefully acknowledged. Full copies of these project proposals are available for individuals, groups, or foundations interested in providing more substantial funding. More projects will be posted as well. Thank you, from the people of the Toledo District, for any support you can provide. Four Month Food Supplementation and Crop Re-establishment Program (FSCREP) - Toledo District, Belize Hurricane Iris destroyed thousands of acres of upcoming crop harvests that local families depend upon for their food and income needs. According to estimates by UNICEF, it will take at least a year for families to recover their farming livelihoods. The FSCREP program would provide both immediate food relief and address longer-term agricultural recovery needs of four farming villages most seriously affected by Hurricane Iris (San Pedro Columbia, Laguna, Golden Stream, and San Jose). The project goals are to: 1. Ensure every individual in these communities (approx. 2800 people) can easily access a daily food supplementation of 20 grams of high quality complete protein plus iron, calcium, phosphorus, calories, vitamins and minerals. 25,000 lbs. of corn, 25,000 lbs. of soy beans, and 3000 lbs. of sugar will be purchased to make a high-protein cereal which can be easily processed at cooking sites in the four targeted communities. It will then be distributed, with coordinating assistance from representatives of community-based organizations, schools and churches. This food relief will supplement food aid currently being provided by three agencies: the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO), the Belizean Red Cross, and the World Food Program (WFP). These agencies will be distributing weekly food aid consisting of a minimum daily ration of beans, corn, and oil, for a period of three months (Nov. 15-Feb. 15). If funding can be secured, Plenty's Food Supplementation Program will begin ASAP, and will extend food relief being provided in the District for a minimum additional two and a half months. 2. Assist 200 farming families most seriously affected by the hurricane to reestablish crops of corn, beans and vegetables that they rely on to meet their nutrition and income needs. This will be accomplished in coordination with the Belizean Ministry of Agriculture and other NGO's involved in sustainable agriculture assistance. The project will provide high quality corn, bean and vegetable seeds, hand tools such as machetes and hoes, and agricultural assistance to each targeted family for four months. This assistance will focus on organic methods of farming. The total cost of the program is estimated at $54,715. A $50 donation will purchase 300 lbs of soybeans; or hand tools for one farming family. A $15 donation will purchase high-quality seeds for one family. $500 will pay for one month of agricultural technical assistance. School Feeding Program Rehabilitation The Toledo District has the highest incidence of child malnutrition in Belize. Since June, Plenty Belize staff and volunteers have been working with the Toledo District's School Feeding Program for undernourished children. This volunteer program provides a hot meal up to three times a week for over 1000 targeted children in nine primary schools. Each school secures donations of foods for the meals or financial contributions from local families or businesses to purchase food supplies, and parents serve as volunteer cooks. Plenty Belize staff has held educational workshops and demonstrations to show SFP administrators, teachers, and parents how to incorporate high-protein soy foods into traditional meals, and has provided soy beans and follow-up on-site assistance to the program. While 15 schools were completed destroyed by Iris in Toledo and Stann Creek districts, amazingly, only three SFP schools were partially damaged (San Jose, Laguna, San Pedro Columbia), and one building of one school site was destroyed in Golden Stream. However, most sources of support for the SFP schools have now been eliminated due to the hurricane. The local Banana Growers' Association had provided a consistent source of financial support to many of the schools, but now the banana crop is decimated, with 5500 acres destroyed. SFP representatives are asking for help to keep the program functioning. In response, Plenty is seeking funding to 1) subsidize food costs for the program for a year, in diminishing amounts, until local crops are restored; and 2) provide seeds, tools, and agricultural support to establish organic school gardens at the nine schools to provide a source of foods for the SFP as well as education for the children, parents, and teachers. The school gardens idea has been conceived by SFP representatives, and a Peace Corps volunteer is available to provide the agricultural assistance. Total cost for this program is estimated at approximately $42,000. A donation of $25 will provide a hot lunch for 100 children. A donation of $40 will purchase an extra gas burner and fittings for cooking. $50 will provide seeds, and $150 will provide tools and fencing for one school garden. Donations for immediate relief and long term development can be sent to Plenty International - PO Box 394 - Summertown TN 38483 or call (931) 964-4864. Plenty Belize - PO Box 72 - Punta Gorda - Belize - Ph. (501) 722 198 - Email: plentybz@btl.net Personal requests for assistance from our friends in Belize.