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MEDIA CONTACT: |
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ROOTS OF PEACE |
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Heidi Kühn, Founder/CEO |
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(415) 948-9646 |
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Shirley Dean, RoP Emissary |
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(707) 287-3294 |
ROOTS OF PEACE HONORS 2009 UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF RECONCILIATION
His Excellency Ambassador Joseph Verner Reed and The Honorable Theodore C. Sorensen receive
Roots of Peace Global Citizen Awards
October 18, 2009—Greenwich, Connecticut—In recognition of the 2009 United Nations International Year of Reconciliation, Roots of Peace, an accredited NGO with the United Nations Department of Public Information, will be honored at ‘The Harvest of Hope’ event in acknowledgment of their historical accomplishments. At this event, a message from His Excellency Mr. BAN Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, will be delivered by Mr.Vijay Nambiar, Chef de Cabinet of UN Secretary-General.
This year by exporting 400MT Metric Tons of “fresh grapes” from Afghanistan to neighboring countries, Roots of Peace will double/triple the income for the average Afghan farmer by creating alternative agricultural crops to poppies. Through its MINES TO VINES program, Roots of Peace, a humanitarian non- profit organization, raises money to remove landmines so that grapevines or other food crops can be grown. Working in 23 of the 34 provinces, Roots of Peace is helping to create sustainable futures for farmers and communities—replacing the scourge of landmines with bountiful agricultural crops. The goal is to reclaim the legacy of Afghanistan as “The Garden of Central Asia” by training local farmers to plant apples, oranges, apricots, almonds, cherries, pomegranates and fresh grapes in a cornucopia of peace.
Distinguished members of the Greenwich community will gather on October 18, 2009, from 4-6 PM at The Arch Street Teen Center, 100 Arch Street, Greenwich, Connecticut, to honor the global accomplishments made by Roots of Peace. From California to Connecticut, the aim is to acknowledge the economic results made by empowering Afghan farmers to cultivate peace from the “bottom up” on war-torn lands—a humanitarian effort from sea to shining sea—with the support from USAID, USDA, DOD, ADB, EU, The World Bank and numerous foundations and individual donors to help Afghanistan.
Roots of Peace will present their Annual Global Citizen Award to His Excellency Ambassador Joseph Verner Reed and The Honorable Theodore C. Sorensen for their bi-partisan efforts to turn “seeds of terror” into “seeds of hope.” Past Award recipients include Her Majesty Queen Noor, Miljenko “Mike” Grgich, Winemaker and President of Grgich Hills Estate in Napa Valley, His Excellency Mr. Said Tayeb Jawad, Afghan Ambassador to the United States and Gillian Martin Sorensen, Senior Advisor at the United Nations Foundation and former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General.
Roots of Peace www.rootsofpeace.org is a humanitarian non-profit organization dedicated to the eradication of landmines worldwide. The mission is to turn toxic minefields into prosperous farmland. By restoring the land’s economic viability, they strengthen community values and restore a sense of peace. Furthermore, they restore dignity among mine victims by supporting their agricultural livelihoods in the age-old cycle of planting, cultivating and harvesting. Today, they are planting rice in Cambodia, orchards in Croatia, fresh grapes in Afghanistan, wheat in Iraq, cocoa in Vietnam, strawberries in Angola, and flowers in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Roots of Peace Penny Campaign has raised over 30 million American “pennies” to build/rebuild schools and soccer fields in Afghanistan—a country where 44.6% of the population is UNDER the age of 14 years.
As Roots of Peace celebrates their 12th Anniversary of the MINES TO VINES global toast to peace—replacing landmines with bountiful vineyards—Croatian-born Miljenko “Mike” Grgich has graciously donated a barrel of wine, along with Shirley and Paul Dean, Owners, Spiriterra Vineyards, Napa Valley. Signed bottles will be personally presented to His Excellency Mr. BAN Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations; His Excellency Ambassador Joseph Verner Reed; The Honorable Theodore C. Sorensen; The Honorable L. Scott Frantz, Connecticut State Senator; and Dan and Judy Donahue, Co-Chairs of the 2009 Harvest of Hope event.
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