Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

This time of year, it is a great time to be giving thanks and, perhaps, a good time to be preparing for giving (donating) before the end of the year. The Haley McCready Outreach and Development Fund has lots of reasons to be thankful.

Thankful for Our Accomplishments

The Haley McCready Outreach and Development Fund (HMODF) has been providing one-time, start-up project grants since 2011. Our agriculture development projects consist of self-help associations of poor and vulnerable women who work together on crop cultivation, animal husbandry and microfinancing. Our projects become self-supporting, self-managing, self-governing and self-sustaining and alleviate poverty and improve the lives of poor women and their families. We are thankful that we can say our agriculture development projects work and produce significant benefits and results; we currently have 49 projects, 574 beneficiaries, 3,444 estimated family members, 1,023 animals (goats and pigs) and 661 animals have been sold to generate income for the associations and beneficiaries (includes Canadian funded projects).

We are very thankful to be able to tell our donors, potential donors and others that donations to the Haley McCready Outreach and Development Fund go directly to agriculture development for poor Burundians; all of each donation is invested directly into agriculture development for poor Burundians.

Thankful for Our Collaborators 

We are thankful for collaboration with other organizations. Our collaboration with Hope Africa University (HAU), the Free Methodist Church of Burundi (FMCoB) and Friends of Hope Africa University (FHAU) has never been better or stronger.

With support from FHAU, and the collaboration and involvement of HAU, the FMCoB and the HMODF, we recently developed and implemented an Agriculture Internship Enhancements Program for the HAU Agriculture Program Students and Graduates. The Program included presentations, field trips and training on composting that was provided by Foundations for Farming (FfF).

We are thankful for collaboration and our Collaborators. Thank you very much Collaborators.

Readers

We are thankful for the people who read our e-mail messages and review our Newsletters. We appreciate your interest in and moral support for our agriculture development work in Burundi. Thank you very much Readers.

Donors

At the Haley McCready Outreach and Development Fund, we are very thankful to our donors who have provided the financial support that allows us to provide our one-time, start-up grants to poor Burundians. Our productive agriculture development work is only possible because of our donors and their donations. Our donors are mostly individuals and families but this year we have already received significant donations from three different church-related groups. Thank you very much Donors.

Advisory Committee Members

To provide advice on programming, fundraising, and oversee and approve the distribution of money, the HMODF has a United States Advisory Committee; Bishop Linda Adams, Bishop David Kendall, Rev. Emmanuel de MALEPRADE, Rev. Mark Van Valin and Dr. John McCready.

To review and evaluate proposed projects and to recommend selected projects for grants, the HMODF has a Burundi Advisory Committee; Mme. Susan Muchiri, Mme. Jacqueline Murekasenge, Rev. Dieudonne IRABONA and Dr. John McCready. Thank you very much Advisory Committee Members.

Project Managers

We have volunteer Project Managers who have graduated for Hope Africa University and, increasingly, we are attracting Agriculture Program Graduates as Project Managers.

Agriculture Program Graduates are more likely to live nearby their project and more likely to be able to visit their project regularly and be able to train the beneficiaries on more productive agriculture methods. Thank you very much Project Managers.

Connected Agriculture Program Graduates

We have more than 20 Agriculture Program Graduates who are voluntarily working with our agriculture development projects in their home communes. Some are Connected as Project Managers of new projects and others are Connected as Advisors to our existing projects.

Agriculture Program Graduates are much more likely to live in their home communes, nearby their project. By having physical presence, the Connected Agriculture Graduates are able to visit their project frequently and be able to train the beneficiaries on more productive agriculture methods. Thank you very much Connected Agriculture Program Graduates.

Project Beneficiaries

As indicated above, we have 574 agriculture development project beneficiaries, most are poor, vulnerable women. On average, each beneficiary is likely to have at least 6 family members for a total of 3,444 family members.

The beneficiaries are the members of the self-help project associations and the ones who attend meetings, participate in meetings and work together to do all of the development work. The beneficiaries are the ones who make our projects successful and self-sustaining. Thank you very much Project Beneficiaries.

This is a great time year to be thankful and a good time to consider giving, donating and investing in successful agriculture development that works; please visit Donations – Haley McCready Outreach and Development Fund.