YORKTON — The Canadian Foodgrains Bank is pleased with the support shown for a fall event fundraiser Nov. 13 at the Western Development Museum in Yorkton.
Saskatchewan regional representative Rick Block said the event had close to 30 people in attendance. Block noted they had supporters and people who hadn’t heard of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank previously.
The event allowed people to learn how locals are working with the Foodgrains Bank to end world hunger, making a global difference through the community farming groups they participate in.
“I was really pleased to put on this event together with some Yorkton-area folks that I’ve known for quite a few years,” said Block.
It also celebrated the work of the Foodgrains Bank, and a short documentary named A Legacy Taking Root followed the life of a family in Uganda. Block noted the family went through a “transformative period” of eight years in which they went from living in poverty to having a more stable household income with food security throughout the year.
Guest speaker Shepherd Tipo Telwia works in rural communities in northern Uganda and was involved in the making of the documentary. She was on hand to discuss a lot of the features of development work, which is funded in part by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank.
“Shepherd shared many stories of both Gladys, who is the subject of the video, and also many other families that live in that area, and the benefits that happen from things such as conservation ag training, as well as the way in which the community comes together to form basically a credit union, a co-operative. They call it Village Savings and Loans in order to pool resources and manage the risks that come with living in rural and remote parts of Uganda.”
Partners for the event were Yorkton-area residents Kaitlyn Kitzan and Warren Crossman. Block said both have been on international learning tours with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank. Crossman went to Kenya more than 20 years ago, while Kitzan was in India five years ago.
“It indicates … the way in which those learning tours have impacted them. They were glad to be able to help me connect with local people of the Yorkton area about the work of the Foodgrains Bank.”
Block was pleased to hear the number of questions for Tipo Telwia. He believes people were genuinely interested in and curious about the work of the Foodgrains Bank. Most stayed for some time, enjoying refreshments and conversations about their work.
The Canadian Foodgrains Bank has international guests every two years, Block said, and often the person will speak in Saskatchewan for four to seven days. A fundraiser wasn’t held in Yorkton two years ago, so the bank wanted to have something this time.
Block noted a number of churches are quite supportive of the agency, and a number of field projects in the Yorkton area also help out.
The Canadian Foodgrains Bank is an international aid organization focused on ending global hunger, working through 15 member organizations with local partners around the world.
