Agricultural News
OSU Student Selected to Travel to Africa with National FFA Organization to Help Fight Hunger
Wed, 22 Jun 2011 11:17:44 CDT
Oklahoma State University student, Ashley Breitnauer, has been selected to travel to Rwanda, Africa as part of the National FFA Organization and the FFA Global Outreach: Africa program. Breitnauer is an agricultural communications major at Oklahoma State University. Seven other collegiate FFA members were also selected to participate in the FFA GO: Africa program. Through this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the students will work from July 13-Aug. 2 in Rwanda, Africa, to help local farmers fight hunger and poverty through sustainable agriculture.
The students will experience the reality of food insecurity, agriculture and conservation issues in a sub-Saharan African country where the average annual income is $1,500 or below.
The 2011 FFA GO: Africa participants are:
Jeffrey Barnes from Leland, Ill., a student at Joliet Junior College
Ashley Breitnauer from Cedaredge, Colo., a student at Oklahoma State University
Elizabeth Eastep from Yanceyville, N.C., a student at North Carolina State University
Thomas Griffin from Culver, Ore., a student at Oregon State University
Victoria Marsh from Carbonado, Wash., a student at Washington State University
Brett Monson from Webster, S.D., a student at South Dakota State University
Jamie Renier from Denmark, Wis., a student at University of Wisconsin-River Falls
The FFA GO: Africa group will be led by Trisha Bailey, chief operating officer for H. Beck Inc. and a former national FFA officer from Florida.
"FFA believes it is imperative for students to learn how agriculture affects the global community and to understand how geography, politics and natural resources availability can impact agriculture's ability to feed a rapidly growing world population," said National FFA Organization CEO Dr. Dwight Armstrong. "Acquiring an appreciation for the dynamics and complexities of these issues will prepare students to play active roles of leadership and service in addressing critical needs, ensuring the sustainability of agriculture and promoting food security for all."
The goals of the FFA GO: Africa program are to engage students at a personal level in global issues and challenges of agriculture, food, hunger, poverty and human suffering; provide opportunities for service learning in developing countries; and inspire students to serve and make a positive humanitarian difference in the world through agriculture.
Participants will begin their experience with a two-day orientation in the United States before departing for Kigali, Rwanda. There, they will live and work for two weeks with the staff of Catholic Relief Services, an organization that helps impoverished and disadvantaged people throughout the world. The students will participate in activities to gain a broad understanding of the challenges faced by small-scale farmers and the many environmental conflicts that arise from income- and food-insecure families.
FFA GO: Africa is a program of the National FFA Organization and is funded as a special project of the National FFA Foundation through a gift from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation.
Click here for more information about the FFA GO: Africa program and the National FFA Organization.
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