Following the mentality of \u201cgive a man a fish and it feeds him for a day; teach a man to fish and it feeds him for a lifetime,\u201d DIG travels to developing countries affected by or at risk for AIDS\/HIV, to teach small communities how to build and sustain gardens of their own. The new gardeners can then teach neighboring communities how to grow their own food as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we\u2019re trying to do is teach people that they have impact on their nutrition and food security wherever they are,\u201d said Sarah Koch, co-founder and executive director of DIG. \u201cThere are things they can do to diversify their diets wherever they are.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the DIG website, hunger and malnutrition are harmful to everyone, but people with weakened immune systems \u2014 such as those with HIV \u2014 are much more likely to fall ill, die or suffer serious complications and have difficulty benefitting from medical treatment.<\/p>\n In addition to educating them on how to enhance their nutrition through gardening, DIG also provides guidance on other aspects of sustainability.<\/p>\n \u201c[One] common misconception is that you have to use chemicals to be successful,\u201d Koch said. \u201cI know that\u2019s not necessarily a misconception here in the U.S., as organic is a big thing, but the places where we work, organic is fairly unheard of.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople have stopped growing organically in a lot of places and we\u2019re trying to reconnect them to that.\u201d<\/p>\n Each garden costs approximately $5,000, and their goal for the fundraiser is $15,000, which will help renew some projects in Kenya. DIG\u2019s next trip is to Uganda, with travel slated for May.<\/p>\n Last year, the local San Diego community helped DIG raise enough money to plant three community gardens in Kenya. Those three gardens are earning income for those families and allowing them to consume five times the amount of vegetables they did before.<\/p>\n DIG has done similar feats for communities within Zambia, Uganda, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and others. The organization also makes sure to stay in touch with these communities by doing follow-ups, evaluations and providing troubleshooting assistance.<\/p>\n Founders Koch and Steve Bolinger were inspired after Bolinger helped repair a West African hospital\u2019s garden during his time in the Peace Corps. The patients\u2019 health improved, which gave the two entrepreneurs the idea to establish an organization focusing on HIV and AIDS.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing able to come in and work with them and help improve what they\u2019re doing, grow healthier, more diverse produce and also for less cost, is really interesting for people,\u201d Koch said, adding that nutrition is particularly important for other vulnerable groups, pregnant and nursing mothers, and the elderly.<\/p>\n Koch and Bolinger officially launched DIG in San Diego in 2007.<\/p>\n \u201cSteve was closely connected to the San Diego community, as he had been living there for some time before joining the Peace Corps,\u201d Koch said. \u201cHe reached out to a few friends like Big Mike, Michael Mack, Art Kelleher, Nicole Murray Ramirez, Wayne Back, Eric Shearin, David Perkins, Brian Voogd and others for support.\u201d<\/p>\n Encouraged to hold a fundraiser in San Diego, the inaugural event raised the money needed to launch their first project \u2014 an HIV clinic in Dakar, Senegal, that proved so successful, Koch said both Bill Clinton and Laura Bush made visits.<\/p>\n Koch notes that while DIG\u2019s offices are now based in Atlanta, they will always consider San Diego home and have made it a goal to return annually for the Reap Life event.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is the place we can always go back to and not only find support for our work, but passion and community for the cause,\u201d she said. \u201cPerhaps it’s because San Diego has been touched by the ravages of HIV and the innate understanding that how we nourish our bodies can have a life-saving effect.<\/p>\n \u201cOr, perhaps it\u2019s because so many in this community have fought stigma and discrimination in their own lives; I don\u2019t know,\u201d Koch continued. \u201cWhat I do know is that the DIG supporters in San Diego understand community. They have shown time and again that we are connected in more ways than we are not and that compassion and love transcends borders, gender, health, and economic status.\u201d<\/p>\n The upcoming Reap Life event will provide an opportunity for DIG supporters to meet with board members and the people leading the projects. Attendees will see a short film about DIG, participate in silent and live auctions, and enjoy food and drinks.<\/p>\n General admission tickets for the event are $15 and include entrance and appetizers. \u201cHome Gardener\u201d tickets are $100 and include entrance, appetizers, a drink ticket, and special recognition during the event.<\/p>\n For those unable to attend but wishing to get involved, there are many ways to do so. The \u201cMonthly Farmer\u201d option is a one-year, $25-per-month commitment, which comes with two \u201cHome Gardener\u201d tickets to the Reap Life event that can be given to the attendees of your choice.<\/p>\n You can also donate through the website, purchase items from the \u201cgarden\u201d store on the website, and even \u201cget your hands dirty\u201d by joining DIG in achieving their missions both locally and abroad as a volunteer.<\/p>\n DIG offers short and long-term internships and also \u2014 for a fee \u2014 others the opportunity to travel with DIG in small groups and enjoy a mixture of vacation and volunteerism; a combination of sightseeing and \u201cgiving back\u201d to these impoverished nations.<\/p>\n The ninth annual Reap Life event will be held March 29, from 3 \u2013 5 p.m. at T Lounge, (formally Bamboo Lounge), 1475 University Ave., in Hillcrest. For more information find the \u201cSundowners in San Diego\u201d event on Facebook<\/a> o visitar reaplifedig.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u2014KC Stanfield is an editorial intern with SDCNN.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u2014Contributing Editor Morgan M. Hurley contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By KC Stanfield | Contributor The Atlanta-based nonprofit DIG, which stands for \u201cDevelopment in Gardening,\u201d is returning to Hillcrest for their annual \u201cReap Life\u201d fundraising event on March 29. Following the mentality of \u201cgive a man a fish and it feeds him for a day; teach a man to fish and it feeds him for […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":752,"featured_media":248436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Hillcrest digs into international gardening nonprofit","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-248435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/752"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"IMG_5898web\"](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/IMG_5898web.jpg\")
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