It was only four years ago. I felt like Father Christmas handing out hundreds of picks and shovels. They had been paid for by a generous donor who wanted to help boost the numbers of seedlings being planted. CODEP folks were thrilled and announced they could and would do more.
And that’s what happened. Our CODEP partners were able to plant thousands more seedlings each planting season because they had decent tools.
It is a mark of how vicious the soil conditions are here on the Haitian mountains that all those tools are now worn out. The handles are gone. The shovels chipped. People are back to improvising with sticks, stooping over to scrabble at the earth, and spending more time to prepare the hole for each seedling. It’s hard work to begin with, and now it is harder.
We hope you keep this story in mind during this holiday season. The work of reforesting Haiti is ongoing and demanding. Your gifts at a time like this bring an enormous boost — both to the spirits of the CODEP folks and to their ability to continue their important work.
Thank you for being faithful. You have supported CODEP in the past and we hope you will do so again in this festive time.
Michael Anello, Executive Director
Truck Loads of New Tools – in 2018!!!