Seeing the difference first hand

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Published on Friday, May 13, 2016

By Sheila Runions

Banner Staff

Ray Baloun began working in grain elevators in Winnipeg three decades ago and for the last 10 years has been the grain buyer at Viterra north of Forrest. Since 2008 he has been the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) member on the World Relief Canada board. He has been fundraising for CFGB since his capital city days in the 1980s but says he, “Really ramped up the fundraising when we developed Kernels of Hope through the Evangelical Covenant Church of Canada in 2005. I call myself the connector — I get real farmers across the Prairies to grow small fields from five to 50 acres and I get donors from across the country to provide funds to pay for the crop expenses of the real farmers.

The funds all go through World Relief Canada to CFGB and are all eligible for the federal government matching grants. These are often at a rate of 4:1. Farming is very profitable when you have no expenses and your crop value is multiplied by five! ”

When Ray was approached by World Relief Canada to travel to parts of India and Laos to see first-hand the impact of their efforts, he gladly accepted. They thought personal experience from board members and staff would help them make “more informed decisions as policies and procedures are developed.”

Ray was one in a group of six World Relief Canada personnel who travelled to Laos and India the last 17 days of March. They visited CFGB projects and partners to learn how their work contributes to ending global hunger. He spent 51 hours in the air and flew west through every time zone. Once landed, travel was by car, truck, van, train and foot.

“We saw many tuk-tuks and amazing homemade vehicles in Laos; many travel by small motorbike there. In India the sky was the limit for all the different types of vehicles we saw. Traffic mostly seemed like a sport in India! Often goats and cows would share the road but no one got hurt; the most used part of the vehicle was the horn,” he chuckles. “Most roads in the rural areas in both countries were dirt and the villages we visited were at the tops of steep hills. Roads were rough, steep and curvy in Laos, rough and brand new in India. One of the Malto villages in India had no road to it so we walked across a plain for a half-mile then up a steep path to the village.

“At each village we got to meet with the whole village and see what they are doing for water supply, schools and producing food through livestock, fruit, gardens and crops. Most of the fields we saw were carved out of the bush on the sides of extremely steep hills. Soil quality is never as good there and erosion is a constant problem; they will often farm a field for three to four years and let it go back to bush for awhile. We could ask them what their challenges were; I also asked questions like we often hear in Canada: would there be enough land for everyone to farm once the children present were old enough to farm?  (They thought not.) Will the future be better for your children than for you presently? (They thought yes!)  I know part of that hope has been instilled through agencies like CFGB and by people in Canada who support those agencies. Hope is a really big word that Canadians, through CFGB and its partners, have given these people. They passed their thanks to the people and companies that are helping them feed themselves and their families better than they could on their own.”

The group visited four different villages and at each one, Ray says they met the entire population and “we were treated like royalty! The whole village would welcome us and individually greet us. The people welcomed and honoured us so much more that I thought we deserved.” Yet, there was concern at one point that the tour may be shortened because of politics.

“Laos is a communist country so many more approvals are needed for travelling to and within the country. When we arrived in Phonsovan we were told that because of a country-wide federal election we would not be allowed to visit the villages. After much negotiating, we eventually got clearance to go; they sent escort government people. An hour after we left the next morning with supplies, equipment and intentions to stay in a village home, we were told we were no longer able to stay overnight. That changed our plans big time! We did get to visit all the villages still and share food we had brought.”

Ray and wife Gail live in Minnedosa; he returned home with a greater appreciation for our country.

“I was very happy to be home to Manitoba. The whole trip was such a reminder of how good we have things in this country in so many ways. A farmer in the hills showed us corn they are saving to seed when the rainy season comes. They hang the cobs in the ceilings in their houses (to protect from rodents) and they smoke from the indoor cooking fires (keeps insects out of the seed). When food is running low, they also have to protect the seed from being eaten. That's quite a difference from Canadian seed protection processes!”

Six weeks after his overseas trip, Ray is planning yet another Kernels of Hope season and continued work with CFGB.

“There is very good work being done in both countries on behalf of Canadians that are supporting CFGB projects and fundraising events. Kernels is similar to the the work that is done by local CFGB projects except that it touches supporters in more urban areas where CFGB is not nearly as well-known as in an area like Rivers. Counting the matching funds, Kernels now creates about $300,000 a year for projects in countries of need. I am often asked by CFGB donors and supporters whether or not the resources they provide are getting to the people who need them and are making a difference. The answer is that supporting people in their efforts to feed themselves are appreciated more than we will ever know on this earth. We are making a difference.

“I’ve often said farming is the most important job in the world; that was brought home to me as I met with farmers and in particular, the Malto people. They are an indigenous tribe of India that has been marginalized and pushed out of cities and towns into the surrounding rocky hills, where they struggle to eke out a living on degraded land. With support from CFGB member World Relief Canada, the Maltos are learning to sustainably increase their rice production, grow nutritious vegetables for their families and organize themselves into village savings and loan groups.”

CFGB is a partnership of 15 churches and church agencies working together to end global hunger. In the 2015-16 year, they provided more than $43 million of assistance to more than one million people in 40 countries. CFGB plans trips each year for youth (typically to Central America), educators (professors or pastors) or interested citizens. More information about these tours can be found at foodgrainsbank.ca. If you are interested in partnering with Ray in his Kernels project, visit kernelsofhope.blogspot.com to learn more or contact him to be a speaker at your meeting.