234237 A Resilient People: The Initiation of A Nutri-Garden Project to Aid in Haiti's Recovery

Monday, November 8, 2010 : 8:50 AM - 9:10 AM

Andrea K. Taylor, DrPH, MSPH , Morgan State University School of Community Health & Policy, Baltimore, MD
     
In August 2010, a team of researchers from the Morgan State University School of Community Health and Policy's (MSU-SCHP) Haiti Relief Task Force traveled to Haiti and met with the staff and children of various orphanages to support an initiative to engage and educate Haitian children about all aspects of starting a garden, harvesting and preparing crops to be eaten and marketed. Adapted from the community garden program developed by the MSU-SCHP's Nutrition Sciences program, the project is being conducted in collaboration with the Christian Haitian Outreach Program (CHO), an organization that serves as home to approximately 120 children. As Haitians continue to recover from the earthquake in January that resulted in nearly 200,000 lives lost, this project seeks to help the children and staff of orphanages, across several regions of the country, become more self-sufficient by teaching and actively involving them in growing their own food. As a result of this initiative, two of the most critical needs during Haiti's recovery are being addressed – hunger and improper nutrition, affecting thousands of children living in orphanages throughout the country. Additional trips are being planned.

Learning Areas:
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
Describe from first-hand observatons the slow process associated with Haiti’s recovery. Discuss the local CHO director’s vision of how Haiti’s people and children can become more self- sufficient. Discuss potential approaches for improving the resiliency of the Haitian people, building community capacity, and identifying collaborative efforts with social justice organizations in the US.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a member of the Morgan State University School of Community Health and Policy’s faculty and Haiti Relief Task Force; and I am directly involved in organizing the Nutri-garden project, in collaboration with the Christian Haitian Outreach Orphanage in Haiti.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3012.0: Dialogue on Haiti and the US Gulf Coast: Collaborating to Protect Vulnerable Communities