Saturday, July 31, 2010
Illinois soybean farmers have high hopes that the time and effort invested into helping Haiti understand and appreciate the many benefits of soy will lead to a long-lasting relationship. Our recent trip to Haiti reinforced that the Haitian people have a strong commitment to partnering with us and plans are underway to focus on nutrition education, school lunch programs enhanced with soy and a national soy dairy training center.
For more than five years, the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) has focused on Haiti by supporting NSRL work at the Caroline Chauveau Girls school in Port-au-Prince, where over 300 girls have received soy-enhanced school lunches. The school was damaged by the earthquake, but none of the students, teachers or staff were injured.
In February of 2010, ISA generously provided support for a container of soy-enhanced soup mix to be sent to the National School Lunch Program of Haiti (PNCS) in Port-au-Prince. We were able to visit the warehouse where the product is being stored on this trip and saw the distribution centers being operated by PNCS. We also met with the team from the Centres Gheskio, where families living with HIV/AIDS are offered government support and resources.
It was humbling to hear about the challenges the people of Haiti face in their day-to-day lives, but it was also wonderful to learn of the great assistance the ISA container of soy enhanced soup mixes provided to the people of Haiti.
Haiti is a very important neighbor, and a country to which we are commited to providing support for developing nutrition solutions. As we left Haiti, we realized there is still much to be done. We are grateful for support from ISA and pledge our continued focus on finding soy solutions for Haiti.
Regards,
Bridget
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