It has been a tough go this year but thanks to donations from Giving Tuesday I am able to send another batch of seeds in 2020.
I have just been able to get the box of seeds ready to send to Mongu Zambia for them to grow food. The box will arrive by December 22, 2020, just before Christmas.
They have very little as I am sure you know so I always try to send a few things I think they could use when I send the seeds.
This year I am sending pillows, pens, soap, 2 pairs of reading glasses, cloth napkins, food storage containers, planters to start the seeds, string to tie up the vines, candles as they have power outages all the time, and of course 4 stuffed animals for the kids for Christmas.
I have a charity shop in Toronto where people donate items to SEEDS Garage Sales store, I sell the items and the proceeds go to the charity. Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 I have not been able to open the store safely since March 2020 (I am type 1 diabetic so very cautious), therefore I have not made a lot of money for SEEDS this year.
All of these extra items have come from people in my community who have donated them to SEEDS Garage Sales store prior to Covid-19 so I am very thankful. They have been sitting in my store since March 2020 when Covid hit.
The donations from Giving Tuesday have helped me send the much needed vegetable & fruit tree seeds to our Resource Garden in Mongu where they will be distributed to Kalabo and Kaoma.
I have sent 68, 550 seeds that I have saved myself from foods I eat and from two volunteers who have donated seeds. I send them through DHL and I have sent a couple of pictures of the boxes that are ready to be sealed up and sent.
I feel blessed that I am able to do this, so thank you very much.
Our Apple tree that was planted in 2017 is bearing fruit again this year and there are still Tomatoe seeds that I sent in December 2019. Note the soil is very sandy but we add soil from the flood plain of the Zambezi River along with manure and bran meal and a bit of sawdust to make it more fertile and retain the water. Fredrick, our manager is spraying an organic spray to deter pests made from chili peppers ( that we also grow) and Neem oil from our Neem tree.
Stay safe and Thank you to all who have donated over the years!
Joanne
President: Socio-Economic and Environmental Development Solutions (SEEDS).
www.sendseedstoafrica.org
https://www.facebook.com/sendseedstoafrica
