(1888PressRelease)
May 01, 2009 - Miami, FL -- The Lambi Fund of Haiti and Western Union joined hands to help celebrate Earth Day by planting a tree in Haiti for each of their 5,700 employees. Each tree planted represented Western Union’s pledge to aid The Lambi Fund of Haiti to reforest the severely deforested hillsides in Haiti. This comes at a particularly crucial time as Haitian peasants struggle to recover from the four brutal storms that destroyed a key agricultural region and washed away many newly planted seedlings in late 2008.
Reforesting Haiti is an essential part of development for the country. Deforested hillsides deplete soil quality and contribute to soil erosion. Soil runoff depletes water quality and nutrient starved soil makes agricultural activity nearly impossible- a critical issue for 80 percent of Haiti’s population who are rural subsistence farmers. In addition to crippling Haiti’s agricultural sector and threatening the country’s food security, soil erosion and the devastating effects of deforestation makes the country highly susceptible to severe flooding as evidenced in the 2008 hurricane season. Nonetheless, it is a vicious cycle of destruction that cannot be erased without widespread sustainable development projects.
Alongside local grassroots organizations, The Lambi Fund of Haiti will provide the proper training to help locals care for and maintain these 5,700 trees as they grow from small saplings in a tree nursery to mature trees on the Haitian countryside.
An excited Luella Chavez D’Angelo, president of the Western Union Foundation stated, “In an agricultural economy such as Haiti's, deforestation can have a critical impact on the country's economy. By planting trees to avoid future flooding and crop loss, we hope to improve the lives of the Haitian agricultural community, lessening their financial burden, and providing them with opportunities to be self-sufficient."
For more information and to become a financial donor to the organization, please visit www.LambiFund.org or email info ( @ ) LambiFund dot org dot
About Lambi Fund of Haiti
Lambi Fund of Haiti’s mission is to assist the popular democratic movement in Haiti and provide financial resources, training, and technical assistance to peasant-led community organizations that promote the social and economic empowerment of the Haitian people. Their programs focus on sustainable development, community micro-credit, animal husbandry, restoring environmental integrity, and organizational and leadership training.
About the Western Union Foundation
Through the donations of The Western Union Company, its employees and Agents, the Western Union Foundation helps to fund programs that create economic opportunity around the world. Embracing the truly global nature of its corporate sponsor, the Western Union Foundation has granted almost $53 million to more than 1,840 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in 100 countries. For more information, visit http://foundation.westernunion.com.
Media Contact
Fabiola Fleuranvil of Blueprint Creative Group
for Lambi Fund of Haiti
Phone: (404) 437-0078
Email: Fabiola ( @ ) BlueprintCreativeGroup dot com
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