Let's answer God's call to serve as stewards
of creation and live justly with respect
to the needs of our global neighbors.
From right, Chan Nhep, Soy Sarin, Khun Saran and Nget Ngorn weed a bed of eucalyptus seedlings in Takeo province, Cambodia. The workers manage an MCC-supported forestry association that benefits subsistence farmers. Photo by Larry Groff Cambodia - Trees for the futureTrees are a valuable resource for subsistence farmers in Cambodia. They can be used as firewood and as lumber for building houses. But when forests are cut down, farmers have less water to grow their crops because trees are essential to the water cycle. MCC is supporting a community forestry association in Cambodia in a project to plant 250,000 trees this year. The association ensures that farmers can still use trees for firewood and lumber by replanting trees that have been cut down. The association also maintains a couple hundred acres of protected forest. Kek Phat, a 75-year-old rice and vegetable farmer, recently harvested 3,000 trees that he planted with the help of the association a decade ago. Phat sold trees to a Vietnamese paper factory for about $635 Cdn., or $575 U.S. He used some of the proceeds to buy back land he and his wife once sold. The couple also purchased a cow, a bicycle, clothes, food and household supplies. They saved more than enough to replant 3,000 trees. "The trees helped me a lot during the last 10 years," Phat says. "I thank MCC and the association that created this project to support the poor."
$29 Cdn./$25 U.S. pays the cost for tools and equipment needed to graft trees and take care of the seedlings. If contributions to a project exceed the amount needed, MCC will use the donations to support similar projects. |
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