Sunday, March 29, the San Diego community is invited to Bamboo Lounge for a fundraising event that will support the important efforts of Development in Gardening (DIG). The nonprofit organization, DIG, was founded in San Diego over nine years ago and works with HIV-affected and at-risk populations throughout Africa to improve their health and wellbeing through sustainable agriculture and improved nutrition.
The San Diego community provided DIG with seed money to start the organization’s first garden projects. Since that event, DIG has worked in 11 countries, developed over 27 demonstration gardens, countless home gardens, and directly improved the lives of over 24,000 community members.
Last year’s San Diego event raised over $15,000 which was used to start 3 new garden projects benefiting over 90 people living with HIV in rural Kenya. These 90 families were trained in sustainable agriculture techniques that improved the farmers’ climate resilience, boosted their household nutrition, and provided meaningful income. In addition individuals were encouraged to work together as a community to address their unique challenges and build psychosocial support.
On average participating families moved from making $0.40 to $2.60, an important gain towards moving out of extreme poverty in the region. These families also increased their consumption of vegetables from 1 meal a week to over 5 meals a week.
“Most of us understand the important role a balanced diet plays in our everyday health,” said DIG co-founder and executive director Sarah Koch. “But for DIG’s constituents, it has a heightened significance. With compromised immune systems and HIV drug therapies that place incredible stress on the body, proper nutrition becomes imperative for survival.”
Sundowners in San Diego seeks to create a powerful conversation around what a simple garden can mean in the lives of some of the world’s most compromised individuals, and challenge the way we see solutions to food insecurity and malnutrition both at home and abroad. Koch said. “Helping communities thrive doesn’t have to be a burdensome thing. It can be as simple as planting a single seed.”
Hosts for the event include Sarah Koch, DIG Deputy Director Noah Derman, founding supporter Big Mike Phillips, former board member David Maddy and local supporters Troy Inman, Kyle Poyser, Kylene Stemmons and Raymond Martin.
For more information about the event or to become an event sponsor, contact:
Sarah Koch at 619-274-7218 or email: sarah@reaplifeDIG.org
