Horizons Annual Homes, Gardens & Music Tour Raises Funds for Work in Central America
Cobourg – Organizers of the recent Horizons of Friendship annual Homes, Gardens & Music Tour are pleased to announce the event raised over $13,000, every dollar of which will be matched by up to $3 by the federal government’s Canadian International Development Agency.
“Northumberland County is fortunate to have such a well-respected charitable organization in its midst, the kind normally found in Ottawa and Toronto. Horizons will direct the money, likely close to $40,000 to fund projects in Central America that have the most urgent needs,” she said.
“The success of our tour is a testimony to our generous homeowners and gardeners, our many, talented musicians who entertained at the event, local media, the strong support of the Cobourg and Port Hope business community and our many, hard-working volunteers,” says Shirley Moebus, chairperson of the tour committee.
Partners for the event included Northumberland News, Osprey Media which publishes the Cobourg Daily Star and the Port Hope Evening Guide and Staples Business Depot. Major sponsors for the event were Brookside Perennials, James W. Gordon Insurance Brokers Ltd., photographer Rene Calderon, and BDC Communications.
One project that will receive funding through the proceeds of the tour is Las Brumas, a union of agricultural co-operatives located in one of the poorest regions of Nicaragua. It was the area most affected by the Contras war.
The agricultural union will provide funding to women who are the sole heads of households who most risk chronic hunger and extreme poverty. Their tiny plots of land are in dire need of technical assistance for soil conservation and more sustainable agricultural production.
Patricia Rebolledo, executive director of Horizons of Friendship, says, “This marks the first year Horizons of Friendship is providing financial support to Las Brumas Co-operative and enabling poor, rural women to increase their income. By providing training and supplies, we will enable women to continue coffee bean production but also to diversify their crops so that each household has a vegetable plot, providing much needed security for their families and the local market in a period of rising costs for basic food.”
Las Brumas is a coalition of 24 grassroots co-operatives with over 1,200 members, mainly involved in agriculture and the production of coffee. The goals of Las Brumas are to create more productive and profitable co-operatives so that members can achieve a higher standard of living, greater self-esteem, closer families, a healthier environment and stronger communities. Las Brumas opens up new markets for farmers and advocates on their behalf.
Horizons of Friendship is the only Canadian charitable organization active exclusively in Central America and southern Mexico. The organization works with grassroots partners in the regions, funding 30 projects, three of which cross national boundaries in Central America and Mexico.
This was the 11th year for the Homes, Gardens & Music tour which has raised over $100,000 since 1998.
For more information, please call Jessica Hedges-Chou, Horizons of Friendship, Events and Communications Assistant, 905-372-5483 Extension 19.
