The word charity comes from the Latin caritas, which means love. For us, charity is love in motion. It’s sometimes easy, more often inconvenient, but always necessary. It’s the ability to use one’s territory of influence, relative resources and power to affect lives for the better.
A STORY OF FATHER & SON
A single experience can move mountains in your heart. When my son, Garrett graduated from high school, we left in search of an adventure that would be out of the ordinary. We decided on a jungle called Darien where 10,000 square miles of wilderness stretch between Panama and Columbia.
Having left the beautiful mountains of Montana, our adventure took us deep into the jungle where the ways of the Kuna and Embera Indians continue to flourish. Their simple way of life was a blessing to witness. We watched as they hunted, fished, and lived off the land’s plentiful fruits and vegetables. But while the village thrived, the people saw that there was a threat lurking on the horizon. A threat we are all aware of: deforestation.
The logging roads were beginning to penetrate the Darien jungle. Deforestation threatened to penetrate the heart of the jungle and all of the life (people and otherwise) residing there. We can witness this destruction everywhere and all in the name of progress. My son and I reveled in the beauty of this indigenous culture; the last thing we wanted was for the last piece of it to be destroyed in the name of “progress”.
Our adventure served as a lense in which we were able to witness an area of need up close and personal. But upon returning home, we could see it is not just the people of Darien who need systems for independence amongst the changing world, rather all people in various cultures and climates. With years of research and study, my son and I searched for a sustainable system that would support the Kuna and Embera Indians way of caring for the Earth and community. Resilient as a people, they were going to need it for the inevitable changes headed their way.
Charity Seeds believes that children and education are the way forward. By providing the people with education for saving their soil, water and seeds, they’re able to provide food security and food sovereignty for generations to come. Equipped with this knowledge, the children are able to maintain their communities as they grow into adults and pass it on. No child, no person should ever be hungry or without water. These basic needs being met are the key to preserving their way of life and culture. It is Charity Seeds’ mission to provide the information that will allow them to keep their cultures thriving and resilient to outside forces reaching deep into the jungle and their communities.
To date, we’ve brought 13,000 farms to Kenya with the help of local partners. We still have a lot of work to do. Please consider a donation; your money will go towards providing an abundance of fresh organic foods that allow the children to be better students in school and leaders in their communities. Plant a seed; share the wonder.