Kochi charity dinner raises US$4,200 for AwF

Kochi charity dinner raises US$4,200 for AwF

A Charity Dinner held during the Asian-Pacific Aquaculture 2011 (APA 2011) conference in Kochi, India raised US$4,200 to support the activities of AwF. The event, which included a classical dance show by the Indian celebrity danseuse Ms Shobhana, was held on the 18th of January 2011 in the Oman Hall of Le Meridien Resort and Convention Centre, Kochi, India. Coordinated by Dr. M.C. Nandeesha, Dean, Fisheries College and Research Institute, Thoothukkudi, India and International Co- Chair of AwF, a local organizing committee was formed under the patronage of Dr. C. Mohanakumaran Nair to carry out the various logistical tasks.

Nearly 500 people – most of them with their families – assembled in the Oman Hall to hear a warm welcome by AwF Co-Chair, Dr. M.C. Nandeesha, followed by a description of AwF’s mission and ongoing programmes, and the screening of a short video on AwF activities in Bangladesh.

The classical dance performance by the Indian celebrity dancer and actress, Ms. Shobhana, was the major highlight of the event. Her thrilling performance was a real crowd-pleaser, and the audience had an opportunity to understand the various Indian classical dance forms as demonstrated by the dancer and her troupe. A modest dinner was arranged after the dance performance.

The Charity Dinner was successful in spreading the message of AwF and in arousing the interest of participants in joining AwF’s global aquaculture initiatives. The AwF Board of Directors and the event organizers are indebted to all of the participants for contributing to the great success of the event. The timely help and support by the student fraternity from the College of Fisheries, Kochi and Thoothukkudy, India is gratefully acknowledged.

PATSSA project has increased fish consumption by the poor

RDRS Bangladesh recently submitted a report on our funded project – Poverty Alleviation through Small Scale Aquaculture (PATSSA) – that you can read by clicking here.

Families involved in this project have significantly increased their fish consumption. A rural poor farming family cannot afford to eat fish very often but those that have participated in the PATSSA project now consume an average of 33.4 kg per year. In addition, neighbors not involved in the project are now purchasing fish during the harvest periods, an option that did not exist previously. 

To all who have supported this work, our sincere thanks!

Fish harvesting time

AwF volunteer helps small-scale aquaculture project in Palestine

News about a project being conducted by another group in Palestine that has been supported by an AwF volunteer can be read by clicking here.

Dr Valentin Abe to speak at Haitian aquaculture workshop in New Orleans on 28 Feb 2011

Dr Valentin Abe

Ivory Coast native Valentin Abe got his master’s degree in fisheries at Auburn University in 1991, completed his Ph.D. there in 1995 and was doing postdoctoral research in the Department of Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures when two of his faculty mentors volunteered him to go to the impoverished, politically volatile Caribbean country of Haiti on a six-month project to set up a model fish farm. 

He arrived in Haiti on April 2, 1997–and in Haiti he has remained, fully dedicating himself to establishing a viable fisheries and aquaculture industry there.

Today, Abe and the highly successful tilapia hatchery he has built from the ground up are allowing Haitians not only to feed their families, but also to increase their income two- and threefold.

In 2010, Time magazine recognized Abe for the dramatic difference he makes in the lives of Haitians by naming him to its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. He was nominated for the honor by former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who, on a visit to Haiti, met Abe and witnessed his tremendous impact in the economically developing country.

Read about his work in Haiti.

Full article in Auburn Magazine Fall 2010 (starting on page 30-31).

AwF partners with NOVUS Int’l to build aquaculture center in Haiti

Aquaculture without Frontiers (AwF), with generous support from NOVUS International, has funded a new project in Haiti to train local people in sustainable aquaculture methods. The goal – to produce nutritious food using the resources locally available.

Malnutrition has been a chronic problem in Haiti for many decades. In response, The Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, MA, USA will help establish an aquaculture learning center and demonstration farm in Haiti, train two “Haitian Aquaculture Specialists” who will be responsible for assisting others interested in producing fish, produce a technical manual (in Creole) and provide training resources to facilitate duplication by other schools, community organizations, small businesses, or families, and assist with developing a practical aquafeed based on local ingredients.  

More AwF-UA farmer-to-farmer programme trip reports now available

We recently received three more reports from the AwF-UA Farmer-to-Farmer Programme, which are now posted on our Projects page. They are:

• INDIA: AwF-Toleo Foundation Sunderbans Project (Report by AwF-UA Volunteer, October 2010) PDF
• MEXICO: AwF-UA Farmer-to-Farmer Programme (Training Report, September 2010) PDF
• THAILAND: AwF-UA Farmer-to-Farmer Programme (Trip Report by AwF Director and Volunteer, September 2010) PDF

Workshop – Tilapia aquaculture in Haiti – 28 February 2011, New Orleans, USA

AwF is co-sponsoring a workshop on Tilapia Aquaculture in Haiti, which has been organized to explore the current efforts, needs and opportunities for collaboration to alleviate the desperate need for food security and income generation in Haiti.

The Workshop is being held on the 28^th February 2011 from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM at at the New Orleans Marriott Convention Center. This is the day before the Aquaculture America 2011 conference in New Orleans. Click here for more details.

Other Workshop sponsors include:

• The World Aquaculture Society
• Novus International
• Marine Biological Laboratory Program in Sustainable Aquaculture

Please contact Bill Mebane bmebane@mbl.edu and copy John Hargreaves jhargreaves01@yahoo.com to reserve a seat. Attendence is limited to 45.

We would appreciate your help in disseminating this announcement to others in your network that may be interested in attending, especially those currently working on aquaculture projects in Haiti.

YSI Foundation responds generously to Christmas appeal

The AwF Board of Directors would like to publicly thank the YSI Foundation for its generous contribution of USD 1,000.

In response to our Christmas appeal to Donate a fish pond – give a family food security for life, YSI Foundation president, Susan G. Miller, sent a check for $1,000 “to assist with this excellent program.”

Our sincere thanks for such a wonderful gift and your continued support!

Charity dinner fundraiser at Asian Pacific Aquaculture 2011

Please mark your calendar and plan to attend the AwF Charity Dinner to be held on Tuesday 18 January 2011 at 6:00pm in the Oman Hall at Le Meridien, Kochi, Kerala, India. Click here for details. All proceeds raised will be used to further the mission of AwF to alleviate poverty through sustainable aquaculture development.

For Asian Pacific Aquaculture 2011 conference details, click here.

Oman Hall, Le Meridien Kochi

The correlation between income growth and life expectancy

Hans Rosling’s famous lectures – The Joy of Stats – on BBC Four combine enormous quantities of public data with a sport’s commentator’s style to reveal the story of the world’s past, present and future development. Now he explores stats in a way he has never done before – using augmented reality animation.

In this spectacular section of ‘The Joy of Stats’ he tells the story of the world in 200 countries over 200 years using 120,000 numbers – in just four minutes.

Plotting life expectancy against income for every country since 1810, Hans shows how the world we live in is radically different from the world most of us imagine.

Take a look, click here.

In our own small way, AwF is helping to move those data points upwards and to the right.