The 26th annual beef barbeque sponsored by Farmers Helping Farmers will be held Saturday, August 9th from 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. at the Harrington Research Farm on the Brackley Point Road. The menu includes barbecued steak, salad bar, new potatoes and strawberry shortcake. Proceeds from the meal and sale of African crafts will be used to aid farm families in east Africa.
John VanLeeuwen, president of Farmers Helping Farmers is looking for another sold-out year and sunny weather. “This is an event that many people look forward to attending,” he said. “With 700 tickets available, it is an event where people have a chance to meet new friends and become reacquainted with old friends.”
Farmers Helping Farmers is a Prince Edward Island based organization committed to undertaking development initiatives to improve the lives of farm families in Kenya. Its membership includes farmers, academics, and others with a wide variety of interests and with expertise in rural development, crop production, animal husbandry, and processing/marketing crops and dairy products. The philosophy of the organization is to develop plans put forward by east African farmers and to help give them the support needed to be successful.
The organization is currently involved with several Kenyan projects aimed at improving farm incomes, food supply and the quality of life for rural families. One of these projects is with the Ruuju Primary School which has 420 students. The project is focused on introducing sustainable food and water practices and demonstrating the growing of a wider variety of food crops. The school is used as the focal point for development of the community knowledge. The crops grown by the students are used to deliver a lunch program.
The Othaya Dairy Cooperative project operates three dairies within its region to serve 1386 members. Each member has one to five cows on their shambas. Farmers Helping Farmers is assisting with the installation of a central milk cooling system, and the development of an education program focused on milk production and herd health management. Information on these and other projects can be accessed at www.farmershelpingfarmers.ca.
Tickets are available by contacting a Farmers Helping Farmers member, Noreen Shaw at 672-2216 or Margaret McPike at 569-1785 (evenings).