The latest news from the Vocational Training Center is that our project is undergoing a little expansion: three of the goats have given birth and both mothers and kids are doing well. This caused considerable excitement among the children at Future Victory School, where the project is located. More importantly, it has given the children a chance to learn a different facet of animal husbandry and the responsibilities involved with it.
Over in the Community Farming section, the special hybrid cassava is into its second growth and with this harvest, we will be able to share cuttings with local communities in need. The special cassava is more drought and disease resistant with higher yields. The cycle for cassava is as follows:
- A field is planted with cuttings
- When the new plantings have matured, the plant is made into cuttings with the roots remaining in the ground for second growth and a second field is planted.
- When both fields mature, the first field is harvested for the cassava roots and replanted with cuttings from the second field.
With the hybrid cassava, we are able to generate an increasing stockpile of cuttings. These are used to help expand food security in communities that are struggling. One of the foundations of the program is community service and helping others. The goal of our program is not only to teach life skills to children to supplement their formal education, but also to foster in them a sense of community and a mindset of service to others; so that when they are adults, they can pay it forward by helping others.
