Plenty began working in Guatemala after the massive earthquake on February 4, 1976. This slideshow contains photos of some of the work from post-earthquake construction to village water systems to medical care to soy agriculture and food processing. This week (Oct. 29 to Nov. 7) Plenty has five volunteers meeting with project partners in Guatemala City and Solola assessing ways we can continue to support their work.

By NEIL MacFARQUHAR
Published: October 22, 2009
The number of hungry people in the world rose to 1.02 billion this year, according to the United Nations, despite a 12-year concentrated effort to cut the number.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/22/world/22food.html

Dear Friends,

Just wanted to let you know that Plenty’s Fall Bulletin is now posted on our website. To go directly to the Bulletin please click here. This issue includes the following:

• Introduction
• In Memory of Karen
• Bakahno Pawanka Women’s Cooperative
• Kids To The Country
• Imani House Liberia Medical Clinic
• Meals for the Homeless in New Orleans
• Gulf Recovery Continues
• State of the Art Technology in Toledo Rainforest
• Books to Kids
• Plenty Guatemala Soy Project

Thanks again.

Yours,
Peter Schweitzer
Executive Director

According to UNICEF, 25,000 children die every day due to poverty. And they “die quietly in some of the poorest villages on earth, far removed from the scrutiny and the conscience of the world. Being meek and weak in life makes these dying multitudes even more invisible in death.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/world/asia/02quake.html

Published: September 28, 2009
States waste millions of dollars on verdicts, security and maintenance in pursuit of the death penalty. Abolishing it makes economic, not just moral, sense.

High Cost of Death Row

By CARLOS H. CONDE
Published: September 29, 2009
Countless people remained trapped on Monday because of floodwaters in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Ketsana.

Death Toll Expected to Rise After Storm in the Philippines

A Human Rights Breakthrough in Guatemala
A chance discovery of police archives may reveal the fate of tens of thousands of people who disappeared in Guatemala’s civil war

* By Julian Smith
* Smithsonian magazine, October 2009

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Digs-Paper-Trail.html

IRIN Africa | West Africa | Liberia | LIBERIA: War wounds left to fester | Economy Health & Nutrition Aid Policy | News Item

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A growing number of people are recognizing that in order to secure the clean air, water and food that we need to survive, we have to become guardians of the places where we live. People are joining with neighbors to discuss ways we can work together to learn what our special local resources are; plan how to best protect and use those natural and cultural resources; exchange our time and energy to best meet our daily and long-term needs; and enrich our children’s local and planetary knowledge.

Bioregionalism – and the Bioregional movement – embodies the effort to preserve, restore, and enhance life. It represents a comprehensive way of defining and understanding the places where we live, and of living there sustainably and respectfully through ecological design.  For nearly 30 years bioregionalists have been gathering in congresses to envision and develop a realistic, restorative way of life in the bioregions of the Americas. People working to create a sustainable and just human culture are invited to participate as delegates in this year’s Congress, representing bioregions across North America.

Formats will include an intergenerational village, consensus based forum, group discussions, activities, world cafe, youth programs, workshops, ceremonies, music, and celcbration…the focus will be on sustainability, community organizing, right livelihood, transition towns, restoration, policy change, ecovillages, permaculture, education, arts and culture, and more. For more information visit www.Bioregional-Congress.org