I Love Ya, Tomorrow

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The 2nd best time is now.” ~ Chinese Proverb

Dear Friends,

A few weeks ago a west-heading Cat 4 hurricane turned its eye due north toward Haiti, as if on purpose. We held our collective breath. The storm’s center passed over Haiti’s southern claw, its merciless 145 mile-per-hour winds destroying homes and farms, trees and livestock. Today, in deja vu fashion, we find ourselves asking the same question… not “shall we respond?” but “HOW will we respond?”

The immediate need, and therefore response, is water, food, and shelter. Relief and rescue. This is what is happening today in Haiti as relief agencies fulfill their God-given purpose. We must keep people alive, of course. We must not let them die of tetanus from wind-flung shrapnel wounds. We must replace their dirty water with clean and reroof their tiny homes with new tin.

One aspect of Haitian life that the hurricane decimated was her agriculture sector. Family farms, the basis of livelihood and daily sustenance, were wiped out. Tens of thousands of trees… gone. Small livestock, literally blown away by high winds. Someone has said that 90% of all chickens in southern Haiti were destroyed.

Thank God for those in the trenches of relief and rescue. Keep it up! Gardens and trees and farms wont just magically appear tomorrow and fill empty bellies. And while some are literally keeping people alive today, others must MUST think about their tomorrows.

“I love ya, tomorrow.” Tomorrow is the mindset of development. Not just saving starfish by throwing them back into the sea, development asks, “what must we do to prevent the starfish from washing up on shore in the first place?”

For Starfysh’s part, we will plant trees and show the farmers of La Gonave how to reclaim their land and increase their harvests. We are happy to report that we have just signed a long term lease on Life Garden’s second campus. It is a 4 acre fertile plain up in the mountains, a place where we will nurture thousands of tree seedlings for eventual transplanting all across the island. Banana. Mango. Citrus. Papaya, Coffee. Moringa. Almond. Breadfruit. We will restore gardens and reforest an island.

Planting trees is a great way to enter the fray.  A dollar can go a long way; it can plant a tree that will provide food for decades. I hope you’ll consider investing in our vision for seeing family gardens and farms thrive on La Gonave. We are making good progress!

Thanks for your partnership!

Steve Edmondson
President, Starfysh