American Agri-Women member Lisa Campion recently traveled to Uganda for 21 days as part of the Farmer-to-Farmer Program. American Agri-Women has partnered with Catholic Relief Services, who administers the USAID Farmer to Farmer Program in East Africa, as its first international grant program. The Farmer-to-Farmer (FTF) program promotes economic growth, food security, and agricultural development in East Africa.
Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the five-year program matches the technical assistance of U.S. farmers, agribusinesses, cooperatives, and universities to help farmers in developing countries improve agricultural productivity, access new markets, and increase their incomes.
Campion is past president of Sigma Alpha Sorority and is an attorney with Martin & Associates in Barre, Vt. She shares this about her time in Uganda, “ Every day for 11 days, I worked with the Barr Orphans, Widowers and Widows (BOWW) Cooperative Society to build their capacity in leadership and management training. Over the 11 days, I trained almost 500 people, of which 350 were women. I learned that, in order to make a difference in someone’s life, you need to try to experience it for yourself, determine potential solutions, and then work with them to give them the tools they need to succeed.”
If you are interested in volunteering, please apply at http://farmertofarmer.crs.org/ as soon as possible. Once you apply, your application will be reviewed and then you will be placed in a database of volunteers. If a scope of work is developed and you meet the qualifications, Catholic Relief Services will contact you to determine if you are interested. Also you can check online at http://farmertofarmer.crs.org/ for new scope of work descriptions that are posted as they are developed. Current assignments include:
