Inspired Giving

Crops for Jojoima

Who says you can’t heal hunger? Healing hunger is exactly what we are doing in Jojoima right now!

Diane Babcock

In May of 2023 I was approached by a colleague who is a human rights advocate in Bo, Sierra Leone, Africa who I had worked with on the Kakama Farm Project. This time it was to be a reference for a certain grant he was applying for the get their plantation back up and running. I agreed, and although the grant was not approved, it didn’t mean there wasn’t another way and we found it.

Thus it began the Crops for Jojoima fundraising campaign on Fundrazr and better ideas for the plantation with the addition of rice cultivation in the Inland Valley Swamp that had not been considered before.

This joint project will heal hunger for the entire village through the process of creating a model with this farm and then replicating it for neighbouring farms, and all with a mindfulness of the environment.

If you want to see how it’s done follow the campaign to get up close and personal with the ones who are actually doing it…this changes everything.

https://fundrazr.com/cropsforjojoima

Wisteria Community Association

At a pivotal point in Jan 2021, I was prompted by guidance to find a way to somehow assist my city’s homeless folk. The first thing I noticed is that my sense of compassion expanded in their direction and I contacted one of the outreaches to learn what I could do to help. That’s when I met Tanya and Doug of the Wisteria Community Association who feed our homeless every single night through their Stone Soup kitchen outreach.

The first thing I did was provide some pro bono work in creating some flyers to promote the cause and then ideas kept popping into my head around mylar blankets, etc. I found a Canadian website that sold them and bought 50 from an Amazon site for $100, and everyone was grateful. As I observed the public de-humanizing of these citizens and the stigma around homelessness, I felt more sorry for those close-minded souls who criticize than those suffering with the elements.

With these type of scenarios, I am often reminded it is all about their own fears – fear does strange things to people. It’s okay to feel a little trepidation with this kind of a hard issue, but the real fear is that people don’t want to see it in themselves. That is the fear that gets triggered and can be shifted with Ho’oponopono so that an individual can detach from it. Then they will not only see homelessness as a symptom of society, they will see themselves as part of the problem and can choose to be part of the solution. Works for me!

My research, as well as several conversation with Tanya showed there are real solutions for homelessness if only there was the right people act on them. I know that will happen now after this last election, but I’m not stopping there, because I know the solutions from the Universe are endless, if only we listen.

I often help promote in whatever way I can to support this organization that in March 2023 had finally finished renovating a heritage building to be their new Stone Soup kitchen. They offer hot meals every night at designated spots around the city and are prominently featured in the news.

Yes, it is also personal

Not only all of that, but a few months after I met Tanya I learned a family member was living on the street and addicted the opiates, so I asked Tanya if they’ve seen her. And, yes, they feed her every night. The fact is I know this person’s story first hand, which really makes it harder to watch how they are treated. I hope you can see Divine Intelligence at work here – it’s clear to me.

My role as a lightworker in this case is to ‘clear the fear’, so to speak, and hold a space of light around a person or situation whenever I witness judgment as a way to neutralize that destructive energy. I can hold a space any time for anyone and they will receive healing as much or as little as their energy field will allow.

Kakama Farm Project

In April 2021 I was approached to fund a farm creation project in Sierra Leone, and since I usually decline soliciting funds politely, I found myself curious about this particular request and decided to hear her out. At first she wanted $30,000 to build an orphanage in the small village of Kakama, 30 miles south of Bo. After involving my NGO friend in Bo as a mediator we came up with a better plan to help the village create farmland and plant crops, which would support the entire village.

One main reason is because the orphaned children are cared for by everyone in the village and they are educated in the school there as well. The project was very successful with the clearing, burning and planting seedlings on one section of land for a small personal investment from me of $1100CA.

Now that experience is a model for other farm projects and I act only as a consultant and supportive party in helping with grants and project management. By trusting my instincts I was able to expand my organizational skills across the globe and see for myself how easy it is to help others by knowing what they really need with good teamwork.