The School and Family Garden initiative — created by our friends and partners at the Matènwa Community Learning Center on Lagonav Island — gives me hope.

Many families in the Family Graduation Program are planting organic vegetable gardens, as a way to diversify what they grow, so that they can have a balanced diet for themselves and earn extra money by selling excess vegetables in their local market. Students at more than 50 schools on Lagonav Island are also planting school gardens.

In this video, you can see eighth graders at MCLC working in their garden, which is a larger version of what their families have at home.