Dear Plenty Friends,

In times like these I am especially grateful to be involved with an organization that has its roots in the heartfelt caring of thousands of people, people who recognize that everyone has a right to decent health care, economic and food security, a livable environment, freedom from fear, and a chance to live in dignity and peace. Your compassionate concern and financial gifts motivate and energize what we do together and, after thirty years, I have come to recognize that what we do together might be described, very simply, as ordinary magic. Where people are connected by their love for each other, miracles are commonplace.

There's been quite a lot of activity at every project site since we last wrote. Leon Wartinger, whose parents, Tom and Lisa, have both been involved with Plenty from the beginning, spent two months at the Huichol Center for Cultural Survival and Traditional Arts in Mexico. His parents made a donation to cover the cost of his trip. Leon is an accomplished photographer and computer whiz. His project assignment was to bring a new digital camera and computer to the Huichol Center and teach people on the staff the art of digital photography. Read Leon's report.

Central American Food Security Initiative, CAFSI involving four different organizations-two in Guatemala, one in Managua, Nicaragua and the Huichol Center in Mexico, has been making substantial progress. Read full CAFSI report.

Meanwhile, Plenty Belize has been especially active this Spring. They put on an all day Food, Agriculture and Health Fair at Laguna Village on March 22. On the weekend of May 15, Mark Miller, and Plenty Belize Administrative Assistant, Leah Cho, along with Peace Corps Volunteer, Ryan Burgess, took a busload of 54 students and 12 parents and teachers from six of the 11 schools participating in the GATE project to the Belize capital, Belmopan, for the annual Belize Agriculture Show. Two new schools in the Toledo District have joined the GATE Project, Santa Ana and San Felipe. Read Belize update.

Kids To The Country's 5 weeks of summer sessions are up and running. The first week (June 7-11) was capped by a hilarious, high-energy all-kids-production of Cinderella. This is KTC's 19th year in Tennessee.

This past April, Plenty Board Chairman, Tom Wartinger, drove his 1989 3/4 ton Chevy pick-up truck to Pine Ridge and donated it to Plenty Pine Ridge Programs Director, Tom Cook, for the Pine Ridge Gardens Project, which was gearing up for spring plantings.

The purpose of the Iraq Soy Food Group (ISFG) is to assist economically disenfranchised families improve their access to good planting seed and high nutrient, low cost foods. Plenty is acting as the fiscal sponsor for ISFG. Long-time Plenty soy technician, Charles Haren, is overseeing the project, and Lou Morgan, a Plenty donor for 25 years, has been providing start-up funding. ISFG is working to help families and communities in Iraq improve nutrition intake and financial income by increasing local production, processing, marketing and consumption of soybeans, other dry legumes. Beginning in March ISFG representatives Martin Edwards and Salam Onibi started working with a few farming families and agriculture scientists to re-establish soybean production capabilities (most planting seed has been lost due to the war). The Iraq Soy Foods Group is now seeking funding to establish a Soy Foods Center that will help address immediate and long-term food needs for impoverished populations in Iraq.

So that's some of the news from Plenty. Thanks so much for your kind support. Have a great summer and please keep in touch.

Yours truly,
Peter Schweitzer
Executive Director