West Africa

Our work in West Africa began in 2014 in the small town of Noèpé, Togo, and has spread to the neighboring countries of Benin and Burkina Faso.  This rapid growth is a testament to the need for solutions to hunger and poverty that are sustainable at the family level.  As the 12th poorest nation in the world, Togolese families are in deep need of the basics of life.

• 30% of Togo’s children are stunted due to malnutrition
• 39% of the people don’t have access to clean drinking water
• 69% of rural residents and 36% of urban dwellers live on less than US$1.90 per day
  

Moringa can change these heartbreaking statistics.

The simple, yet powerful, benefits of moringa have been moving across West Africa where we now have nearly 250 Peer Educators as Strong Harvest training is taken from community to community.

Moringa can improve life for millions of people across West Africa.  Help us spread this life-changing knowledge!

Nicaragua

We’ve been working in Nicaragua since 2012 and have found the people we work with to be smart, resilient, and full of fun.  Despite improvements in their economy and a drop in the percentage of people living in poverty over the last 10 years, the World Bank still considers Nicaragua to be one of Latin America’s least developed countries.

• 23% of Nicaraguan children are stunted due to malnutrition
• 15% of the people don’t have access to clean drinking water
• 50% of rural residents and 15% of urban dwellers live on less than US$1.90 per day
  

Moringa can address these issues for Nicaraguan families.

Because people in all settings, from urban to rural, need good nutrition, clean water, and economic opportunities, we’ve trained more than 175 Peer Educators wherever we’ve found a need:  in cities, small towns, and remote villages.

Moringa knows no boundaries and can be grown wherever it’s needed in Nicaragua.  You can help us take it there!

Haiti

In 2015, we began our work in the Cap-Haïtien area of northern Haiti, bringing a powerful weapon in the fight against hunger and poverty to families in one of the world’s poorest countries.

• 22% of Haiti’s children suffer from stunting due to malnutrition
• 38% of the people don’t have access to clean drinking water
• 54% of the total population lives under the international poverty line of US$1.90 per day 

Moringa can make a difference for Haitian familes!

To date, over 150 Peer Educators in six different communities have been trained in basic nutrition and how to grow and use moringa for good nutrition, clean water, and additional income.  These Peer Educators are now training hundreds of other families in how they can have a sustainable source of health and hope right in their own backyards.

With your help, we can continue to bring moringa to even more communities!

Tanzania

Strong Harvest founders, Rick and Jeri Kemmer, lived in Tanzania for a number of years and their work with moringa was born there.  Since 2014, they have been working with old friends and making new ones as they train Peer Educators across the country.

• 35% of Tanzanian children are stunted due to malnutrition
• 47% of the people don’t have access to clean drinking water
• 47% of Tanzanians live on less than US$1.90 per day
  

Moringa grows quickly in Tanzania’s rich soil, providing sustainable benefits for the country’s many small-holder farmers.

With over 80 Peer Educators already trained in Tanzania, the knowledge of moringa is spreading quickly and more and more families are experiencing improved lives as a result.

You can join us to train even more Peer Educators and be a part of the positive changes that moringa is bringing to Tanzanian families!

Meet Jean Abou, our Regional Coordinator for West Africa

According to Jean, “When there’s moringa in the dish, there’s life in the dish!”  As our Regional Coordinator for West Africa, Jean has trained over 200 Strong Harvest Peer Educators in three countries:  Togo, Benin, and Burkina Faso.  He has seen the positive impact of moringa in the lives of many families, but one of Jean’s favorite experiences was right in his own community, “when moringa restored life to a boy who was dying of malnutrition.  Today, the boy goes to school and is the joy of his parents.” 

Jean’s previous experience as the Agricultural Officer at YWAM’s University of the Nations in Noepe, Togo, gives him a solid foundation for his current work with Strong Harvest.  Since 2014, he has been continuously training others in basic nutrition and how to grow and use moringa to improve the health of their families.  Jean’s wife, Olga, along with their sons, love to participate in the trainings whenever they can. Jean also provides follow-up training and encouragement, as well as problem-solving and planning sessions for those he’s trained.  Jean is always looking for opportunities to expand the impact of Strong Harvest and moringa in West Africa!

Meet Lesly Herrera, our Country Coordinator in Nicaragua

Lesly and his wife, Maria, love working with Strong Harvest and sharing the good news that moringa brings to families.  Lesly says, “The moringa tree is a gift from God, because it provides people with what they cannot afford in my country, nutritious food and better health.”  People do not need to spend money to obtain this, with moringa they just need to start eating it.  That is amazing for the poor people in Nicaragua!

Lesly and Maria have good reason to love moringa as its rich nutrition played a vital role in bringing their youngest son back to health when he had been so ill that they had feared losing him. Lesly shares, “I am part of Strong Harvest because we provide the knowledge that people need to start using moringa. I want to help people to have a better life physically and spiritually and to provide a better future for our children.”

While Lesly has worked with us since 2013, he officially started coordinating Strong Harvest’s work in Nicaragua in 2015, working with our Peer Educators there, providing trainings in new areas, representing SHI at conferences, and coordinating our team travel.  Lesly is an amazing asset to the Strong Harvest team!

Meet Fritzner Mompoint, our Country Coordinator in Haiti

We first started working with Fritzner in 2013 when he reached out to us via the internet for more information about moringa so that he could help his community.  We steadily built a relationship with him and his wife, Mariejocelyne, as they began teaching others about nutrition and the positive impact moringa could make in their lives.  By 2015, they were fully-engaged with Strong Harvest.

Fritzner shares, “I love being part of Strong Harvest because it focuses on bringing life for people, especially those who can’t help themselves or provide for their family.  I do my best to teach, presenting to more people all about moringa.  My main reason to spread the knowledge and ask Strong Harvest International to stand behind me is the importance of planting and using moringa everywhere I go, because moringa is the restoration tree for Haitian life.”  

Fritzner welcomed our first “boots on the ground” training team to Haiti in 2016 and we’ll continue go to Haiti regularly to expand our work and impact there. We are thankful to partner with Fritzner as he continues to model family and community transformation to those around him.

In 2017 we’ll welcome a Tanzanian Country Coordinator to the team.

When we travel to Tanzania in the fall of 2017, we’ll be seeking out a Country Coordinator who is passionate about improving the lives of families who are struggling to obtain the basics:  a secure source of nutritious food, clean drinking water, improved health, and enough income to provide for themselves and their children.

We are excited to add a Tanzanian Country Coordinator to the Strong Harvest team!