Canada
Foodsgrain Bank (CFGB) Project Leaders Tour 2019 Ethiopia
Sam Vander Ende: Regional Field Representative Canada Foodsgrain Bank, Ethiopia
Sam Vander Ende: Regional Field Representative Canada Foodsgrain Bank, Ethiopia
Sam was out host, tour guide, mentor, interpreter and friend for our tour of CFGB project work in Ethiopia, February 2019.
Sam came from a family of seven. His mother always worried about him (he has
been involved internationally for 43 years) saying ‘you need to come home and
get a proper job’. Sam was working a
desk job when he saw a newspaper ad for Canada Foodsgrain Bank (CFGB) looking
for a person to monitor food aid in South Africa. Sam has worked for CFGB for 29 years. He says it’s been a wonderful ride. He has no regrets.
The man Sam is shaking hands with is Mr. Mesafint Belete. He is a member of the ‘Community Care Coalition (CCC)’ – which is a government entity – comprised staff from government line ministries and community elders . He is also the chairperson of the “FH Fruits Association” – this association has been formed by ‘graduates of the FH ‘Orphan and Vulnerable Children Project’.
The man Sam is shaking hands with is Mr. Mesafint Belete. He is a member of the ‘Community Care Coalition (CCC)’ – which is a government entity – comprised staff from government line ministries and community elders . He is also the chairperson of the “FH Fruits Association” – this association has been formed by ‘graduates of the FH ‘Orphan and Vulnerable Children Project’.
Our Group Newly Landed In Addis
Meet our tour participants:
Kent Mayers, Cardigan PEI, Coordinator PEI CFGB.
As a
dairy farmer, Kent’s father had a vision of ‘milk and cookies’. So Kent became a baker. ‘Pride of the Island is his bakery in
Montague. PEI. He wholesales (70 km
range) and has become famous for his ‘cinnamon buns’. CFGB started in 1999 in PEI. There are 8 growing projects in PEI. The Presbyterian church supports 3 of these
projects growing barley, soya beans, wheat and oats. CFGB is community building! Fund raisers include concerts, a Chili,
Chowder and Cows meal (this event was held in Charlottetown raising $1500.00). CFGB
PEI has held a very successful all day evert with music, horses, antique cars,
barbeque and a guest speaker. Kent feels that their CFGB is a big part of a
healthy church/community life.
Kent is looking forward to meeting the recipients to see
the impact CFGB is having on their lives.
He wants to see news of this impact brought back to communities in
Canada.
Tyler
Bartmanovich, Glenlea Manitoba.
Tyler took the two year diploma program at U of Manitoba
and went on to complete his degree in Agriculture. Tyler wears two hats. He farms with his Dad in Glenlea and works in
an Agricultural Retailer Customs Business.
As well, he and his Dad manage the books for the CFGB along with
managing the CFGB projects. This link
will take you to their ChipIn Glenlea projects. Be sure to watch the
video! There are 5 farms in the project
with three churches involved. They hope
to involve more churches. Depending on
crop yields, they raise an amazing amount of money for CFBG. Last year they raised $70,000.
Dennis
and Ruth Reimer Hudson Bay, SK
Dennis and Ruth are farming
5000 acres in Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan. They have a quarter section (160 acres) 50/50
split with Rotary dedicated to a CFGB project.
This project has been going for 18 years. They look after planting to
harvest. Dennis spearheads the coordination of the harvest. This involves 10 machines. The 160 acres is
harvested in 1 ½ hours. People want to
be invited. When the combines are finished, Rotary offers a lunch of
chili. CFGB is celebrating 30 years this year. Ruth
feels young people should learn about farming and is pleased that her daughter
in law, a teacher, brings her students to the farm. They show them how the combine works. Ruth is an avid quilter.
Chris
and Leianne Lea Manitou, MB.
Chris and Leianne are farming
1200 cultivated acres. They have a 70
cow calf beef herd (black angus/Hereford cross). Along with this Chris is involved in a construction
business. Last spring they dedicated 15 acres to the Grow-Hope Project for CFGB.
Five Anglican churches represent the rural component of this project.
Churches in Winnipeg raise the money (the urban component), they grow the crop. Urban people are very
enthusiastic about helping!
Rural and urban come together
in the spring to bless the crop. A tent
was set up in the field and over 200 people came. Great enthusiasm and awareness was created. Way more than the proceeds from the crop was
raised ($14,800 before the 3 to 1 match by our government).
A calf was donated, raised and
a special day was planned to celebrate the auctioning of the calf. Cheques were written to CFGB beyond the
auction proceeds. Little seed bags of
seed (Teff) were given out to plant in people’s gardens to further remind
people of CFGB and all the great work it does.
Robert
(Bob) and Jeanne Turner, Winnipeg, Manitoba
Jeanne was hired in June 2018
as the Finance Director of Canadian Food Grains Bank. This tour to Ethiopia is part of her
orientation.
Bob is retired. He grew up on a farm near Killarney Manitoba
and has spent his career involved in Agriculture.
This tour to Ethiopia came
about as a result of his families’ involvement with Canada Food Grains Bank farming
projects.
Allan
and Lydia Sorflaten, Brookfield, Nova Scotia
Allan, originally from
Winnipeg, has made his home in Nova Scotia for over 30 years. Allan worked as an Economist in Marketing in
Ontario and for the Federal Government. For 12 years, he farmed (cow calf/pure
bred Hereford cattle and apple orchard) in the Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia.
Lydia is a retired Foods and
Nutrition teacher.
Allan and Lydia have
volunteered with Canadian Executive Services Organization (CESO) for the last
20 years having worked in Guyana, the Philippines, Cameroon, Rome (FAO),
Trinidad and Tobago and Ethiopia.
.
Andre Visccher: Southern Alberta Regional Representative CFGB
Andre Visscher has been the southern Alberta regional representative for the Foodgrains Bank since 2009. “Working with the people of southern Alberta in their efforts to help end global hunger and ensure food security for everyone is really rewarding.” says Andre.
If you are interested in finding someone to speak on global hunger at an event you are planning, or would like to learn more about a Foodgrains Bank event, project or initiative in southern Alberta, Andre would love to connect.
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OBITUARY OF ANDRÉ VISSCHER
ReplyDeleteOctober 8, 1953 - Meppel, The Netherlands
April 10, 2021 – Calgary, Alberta
André Visscher, beloved husband of Louise Visscher (née Bolduc) of Calgary, AB, passed away on Saturday, April 10, 2021 at the age of 67 years.
André was born in Meppel, Drenthe (The Netherlands) on October 8, 1953. He was the second child and first son of Willem Hendrik Visscher and Elizabeth Visscher-van der Helm. The family moved to Drachten, Friesland (The Netherlands) when André was 12.
André completed his undergraduate degree in the Netherlands in 1975, and continued with post-graduate work at the University of Guelph, Ontario.
André immigrated to Canada on July 1, 1975 to marry his fiancée, Louise. They were married August 23, 1975 in Thunder Bay, Ontario. They moved to Alberta in 1982, where André worked for Alberta Agriculture for almost 10 years.
From 1992-1994, he volunteered as President of the Calgary Chapter of Habitat for Humanity, organizing for the first two homes built in Calgary. He was also involved, for several years throughout the 90s, in the early stages of the Cursillo movement with the Presbyterian Church in Alberta. Through the years, he worked in his own businesses with his partners: Terence Barg, Ray Chan, and Egon Skovmose. At the time of his death, he was the Regional Representative for Alberta and British Columbia for the Canadian Food Grains Bank, and volunteered as the Refugee Ministry Coordinator for the Anglican Diocese of Calgary.
André loved to travel: Russia, Algeria, Ethiopia, China, Peru, Australia, Suez and Panama Canals, and Alaska to name a few places he had visited. In more recent years, cruising had become his preferred way to see new places, and he and Louise enjoyed multiple voyages together. André’s most memorable vacation was when he, his wife, and his children took a Christmas cruise along the western coast of Mexico.
Although André was passionate about the work he did, calling it a “practical witness for Christ”, above all else he was a loving husband, father, opa, brother, and friend. He was always looking to help, and working to make the world a better place.
In addition to his wife of forty-five years, André is survived by a son and daughter-in-law, Jared and Lise Visscher; two daughters and a son-in-law, Marlies (Catherine) and Adrien Richard, and Kristen Visscher and her fiancé Bailey Neufeld; and four grandchildren, Hudson, Emma and Allie Visscher, and Mira Richard, all of Calgary. He is also survived by a sister and brother-in-law, Gea and Andries Middelbos; two brothers and sisters-in-law, Wim and Marjan Visscher, and Hajo Visscher and Joke Koskamp; as well as numerous nieces and nephews, all of The Netherlands.
André was predeceased by his father (1974), his mother (2018), and his son, Jonathan, (1982).