Capacity Building Programs
For an update on our current operations, read our NEWSLETTER.

OUR GOAL

The ultimate goal we expect our target families and their communities to achieve is sustainable self-reliance, which translates into the ability to meet their present needs and solve their future problems.

WHAT IS BOUNTIFUL HARVEST

Bountiful Harvest is a nonprofit religous corporation. We are a development organization that started in 1994 to provide self-help support to village communities in Africa. We focus our efforts on agricultural and economic development directed toward alleviating poverty, enhancing natural resources conservation, and improving community health. Bountiful Harvest works in partnership with local and international colleges of agriculture, including California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, The Federal University of Agriculture in Nigeria, and the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture. These educational institutions provide their expertise in training and development of locally designed projects, to effect changes in resource management and improve food production and nutrition. We also collaborate with World Vision and World Opportunities International who provide technical assistance and gifts-in-kind.

OUR TARGET POPULATION

Although we aim at helping a whole project community to improve their condition of life, our primary targets are women, youth and children.

OUR CURRENT OPERATION COMMUNITIES

Our current operation is based in Afikpo, located within the Cross River basin in southeastern Nigeria, West Africa. Afikpo district is populated by village communities, whose livelihoods depend on subsistence farming. In the past, these villages had maintained agricultural self-sufficiency, and supplied food to the urban population. However, in recent years Afikpo people have suffered a serious agricultural decline, which has resulted in losing the basis of their livelihoods. Many are now facing terrible hardship. Bountiful Harvest is providing problem solving assistance through agricultural education and technical skills development, to enable villages in Afikpo to address the root causes of agricultural decline, and also to create other employment options. We are presently targeting 14 villages of about 63,000 people, working intensively with over 1000 families and training 70 village extension workers, through our Capacity Building Self-Help Programs.

OUR VISION

The vision of Bountiful Harvest is to expand the success we have achieved in communities in Nigeria to other needy countries of sub-Saharan Africa, helping the people to direct their human and natural resources toward sustainable community development.

OUR FAMILY OF CAPACITY BUILDING SELF-HELP PROGRAMS

Sustainable Agroforestry System and Staple Crops Development
This program provides field-based agricultural education and training on conservative and restorative management of arable lands for families and village extension workers. Our emphasis is on inter-growing oil palm trees, four main staple crops and soil improving legumes. Animal Husbandry Raising Local Chickens and Goats This program is vitally important in our effort to integrate agricultural and economic development with nutrition improvement, especially in our primary target families.

Improved Community Health
The absence of basic health care is the primary cause of human misery in rural communities in Africa. Children and adults are afflicted by diseases and illnesses caused by water borne parasites, viruses and other major health problems. We are making efforts to provide Basic Health Care Programs in our project communities. Our primary emphasis is on training village nurses, who will sustain their village programs. Village Agro-Micro Enterprise and Skills Development This is Bountiful Harvest's innovative venture toward integrating farm work with other income generating enterprises. It provides hands-on learning education, and technical skills development. With this support, we empower the people to turn indigenous resources that have been overlooked in the past, into sources of income. We implement this program in five projects, which involve the design and production of local agricultural tools and food processing equipment, construction of improved storage systems, and production of indigenous arts and crafts in the areas of weaving, carving, engraving, painting and making clothes and jewelry.

WASED: Women In Agricultural, Social and Economic Development
WASED is more than just a program. It is an educational process that Bountiful Harvest supports, to help village women develop their God given skills and abilities. The purpose of WASED is to facilitate personal growth, and enhance the significant contributions that women make in agricultural, economic and social development in their families, community, nation and the continent of Africa.

LIGHT: Learning, Inspiring, and Giving Hope Together ( Youth Program)
LIGHT is our youth program which lights the path that transforms the future of village youth. We thank God for the opportunity we have to invest in the lives of these young people, who will become the future leaders in their village communities, districts, regions and nation. We provide village level education, which creates an environment where the youths, especially from our primary target families, are encouraged to participate in our job programs, and our special leadership training for the youths.

The True Vine Outreach Ministry (John 15: 1,5,16)
The True Vine is the foundation of Bountiful Harvest. As we work with families to help them improve the condition of their lives, we let them know that we come to them in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. With each planting seed, agricultural tool, and education we provide, we bear the fruits of Christ love and compassion. The True Vine provides its ministry in four areas:
-- emergency assistance to hurting children and their families through prayer, medical care and food;
-- youth fellowship and education;
-- technical support for local churches;
-- project site staff fellowship and training.

WE ARE FUNDED BY YOUR VOLUNTARY GIFTS

Bountiful Harvest is funded entirely on voluntary gifts and donations from you, other members of our family of friends, private foundations and corporations. Contributions go directly to fund programs and sponsor families as specified by the donor.

WE MAINTAIN FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY

We feel a strong responsibility to maintain proper stewardship of the donations entrusted in our care. All Bountiful Harvest projects and accounts are audited bi-annually by an international, independent certified public accounting firm.

WE ARE CALLED TO SERVE ACCOUNTABILITY

We believe that we are called by God to work in His harvest. We are committed to serve Him in all we do. It is our desire that the people we serve will receive not just the practical help that Bountiful Harvest offers, but experience the abundance of God's love and receive His gift of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

WE APPRECIATE YOUR PARTNERSHIP

We thank you for your prayers, financial contributions, volunteer service, technical and gifts-in-kind support. It is you who make it possible for us to provide appropriate support, and empower families to meet their children's basic needs for food, clean water, health care, clothes and education, and transform their future with hope.

LET US CONTINUE OUR GOOD WORK

We encourage you to contact us for detailed information on any of our programs, or a family you would like to sponsor and/or pray for. Our hand crafted indigenous products and videos will make unique gifts for birthdays, Christmas and other special occasions. We would be delighted to send you information on these resources.

P.O. Box 785, Duarte, CA, 91009-0785 (626) 303-2244 - Fax (626) 303-2856

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