AgriCorps Fall Update

Dear supporter,

I just attended the 1st Global 4-H Summit in Seoul, South Korea, with 4-H programs from fifty countries in attendance; and I was once again reminded why we, as AgriCorps, do what we do. There, Mr. Kim Hong Kuk, the chairman of Harim Group, a global livestock processing and animal health company, credited the Future Farmers of Korea and Korea 4-H for his success. But he didn’t stop there. “The 4-H movement helped Korea move from being a beneficiary of aid to being a benefactor of aid.” Even the President of South Korea attributed the economic and democratic development of Korea to the 4-H movement in rural areas. That is the power of agricultural education–to transform individual lives and entire economies at the same time–and that is the mission of AgriCorps. Thank you for being part of this inaugural year as we expand possibilities for young people around the globe. Never stop thinking big!

Cheers,

Trent McKnight
Founder

[/fusion_text][/fullwidth][separator style_type=”double” top_margin=”20″ bottom_margin=”20″ sep_color=”#dbdbdb” icon=”” width=”” class=”” id=””][fullwidth backgroundcolor=”” backgroundimage=”” backgroundrepeat=”no-repeat” backgroundposition=”left top” backgroundattachment=”scroll” video_webm=”” video_mp4=”” video_ogv=”” video_preview_image=”” overlay_color=”” overlay_opacity=”0.5″ video_mute=”yes” video_loop=”yes” fade=”no” bordersize=”0px” bordercolor=”” borderstyle=”” paddingtop=”20px” paddingbottom=”20px” paddingleft=”0px” paddingright=”0px” menu_anchor=”” equal_height_columns=”no” hundred_percent=”no” class=”” id=””][fusion_text]Recruitment Update

I’m finishing up a whirlwind recruitment tour of 25 universities and two conventions in 11 weeks! I am inspired by the amazing young people I’ve gotten to work with. They are passionate about food security and want to make a difference in the world. The application deadline for the 2015 AgriCorps team in Ghana is November 14. Help us spread the word to potential recruits! The application is on our website, under the “How” tab. If you know of a great candidate or have any questions please reach out to me at audrey.denney@agricorps.org.

Audrey Denney
Director of Recruitment & Marketing

The AgriCorps team has been in Ghana for 11 weeks! Five of the seven corps members are located in five separate districts in the Eastern Region of Ghana, each with a 4-H club established through the junior high school. They are all teaching several integrated agricultural science classes where they use hands-on agricultural experiences to teach principles in science. Additionally, they are working with 4-H advisors to develop model clubs in each district. Already, corps members have introduced parliamentary procedure, leadership activities, speaking opportunities, and club officer trainings in the 4-H clubs. Lastly, these five corps members have all established 4-H school enterprise gardens to model agricultural practices. Each garden is unique and fits the needs and desires of the local community. For example, one club established a micro-credit approach to build a school swine project with the help of a local swine producer.

Melissa Tabke is teaching at a teacher training college where the majority of students will become junior high teachers. She helped start the first ever Ghana Collegiate 4-H club. In just a few short weeks, the new club has elected officers, set a dues amount, recruited about 35 club members, and established a club garden on the school grounds.

Dustin Homan, AgriCorps Deputy Chief of Party, has been busy with capacity building effortswith the 4-H Ghana staff and club advisors. With Dustin’s help 4-H Ghana staff just concluded a training with 175 advisors. He also has been assisting with developing a strategic plan to guide 4-H Ghana at an institutional level.

Blaze Currie
Executive Director

Thoughts from the 2014 AgriCorps

[/fusion_text][/fullwidth][testimonials design=”classic” backgroundcolor=”” textcolor=”” class=”” id=””][testimonial name=”Dustin Homan” avatar=”none” image=”” image_border_radius=”” company=”” link=”” target=”_self”]“I asked 4-H advisors to draw a picture of how they viewed agriculture during a recent district training. One 4-H advisor drew a captivating picture of a plant stalk with the globe blossoming out of the top like a fruit and a star place in the geographic position of Ghana. ‘Ghana and Africa will someday be the breadbasket of the world,’ he explained. Enthusiasm for agriculture is here, and I am excited to spend this year helping to stoke the fire by training advisors and visiting 4-H clubs!”[/testimonial][testimonial name=”Cassella Slater” avatar=”none” image=”” image_border_radius=”” company=”” link=”” target=”_self”]“4-H is in full swing! The students have built a fence around the garden and elected officers. As their advisor and integrated science teacher, they have taught me much about myself, the classroom, and the community. This experience has been the most rewarding and challenging endeavor I have done in my life thus far. I look forward to continuing to grow personally and professionally throughout this journey.” [/testimonial][testimonial name=”Leah Sandler” avatar=”none” image=”” image_border_radius=”” company=”” link=”” target=”_self”]“Already my two months in Ghana have challenged and taught me things about myself and others far beyond anything I expected. Now that school and 4-H has begun, interacting with the students, farmers, and community and becoming a part of Asesewa has brought me great joy. Everyday they continue to show me insights into their culture, society, and home.”[/testimonial][testimonial name=”Courtney Angel” avatar=”none” image=”” image_border_radius=”” company=”” link=”” target=”_self”]“In the local language, Twi, the phrase ‘Good afternoon’ is derived from a phrase meaning ‘I give you light.’ I find this an apt description of my experience in Ghana thus far. With knowledge, a whole new world is illuminated for these students. It is humbling to know that I helped bring a little of that light into their lives. However, these students are illuminating a new world for me too. A world where relationships come first and then all the rest comes naturally.”[/testimonial][testimonial name=”Allison Hoover” avatar=”none” image=”” image_border_radius=”” company=”” link=”” target=”_self”]”If there’s anything I’ve learned from teaching Ghanaian youth about agriculture and life skills, I have learned that it isn’t much different from teaching American youth. Young people love to be seen, heard, and invested in – regardless of their nationality or socioeconomic status. AgriCorps brings this concept to the next level by crossing country and cultural lines to work with youth who have exponential potential to lead their communities in a progressive fight to battle poverty and food insecurity. Knowing this goal and seeing the bright faces of these youths daily makes me realize there is no better place I could be investing my life right now.”[/testimonial][testimonial name=”Melissa Tabke” avatar=”none” image=”” image_border_radius=”” company=”” link=”” target=”_self”]“Living in Ghana is like living in an oasis of potential. The people of Ghana are welcoming and talented, the land is rich, all that is needed are youth to connect the dots. That’s what 4-H is about. Finding long term solutions, allowing already brilliant minds to create something beautiful with the resources in front of them, cultivating understanding and innovation, not only in the garden but also within themselves.” [/testimonial][testimonial name=”John Romo” avatar=”male” image=”” image_border_radius=”” company=”” link=”” target=”_self”]”I came to Ghana with the intention to give and to share as much of the knowledge I possess so that my host community could take it. What I did not know before I arrived to Adarkwa, was that it’s people had the same plan for me. Adarkwa is sharing what they know and giving what they can, they are teaching me. I am just as much the student as I am the teacher.”[/testimonial][/testimonials]

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Thoughts from the 2014 AgriCorps