Hello Everyone!

Welcome to the June 2009 edition of the Eat So They Can newsletter!

This month, June 20th marks World Refugee Day - a day to turn our attention to the millions of refugees around the world who have been forced to abandon their homes. At Eat So They Can, we are taking this opportunity to help IDPs (internally displaced people) in Kenya.

Thanks to ESTC 2008 funds, we have set up a porridge program and 1400 kids from IDP camps will soon have a cup of porridge each day before school! Lauren, our ESTC rep in Kenya, has also set up an international fundraiser to help build houses for IDP families. Go Lauren!

I hope these photos will inspire you to sign up again as an ESTC host this year.

Best,

Courtney
ESTC Co-Founder and GVN Foundation Director

South African Melktert (Milk Tart)

Why not try making this South African favourite for your event this year? It’s a little like a custard pie with a sweet pastry crust. Yum!

Ingredients

45 g butter, melted
200 g white sugar
3 egg yolks
145 g cake flour
5 g baking powder
2 g salt
5 ml vanilla extract
950 ml milk
3 egg whites
10 g cinnamon sugar

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Coat a 9 inch deep dish pie plate with vegetable oil cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, mix together the butter and sugar until smooth. Add the egg yolks and beat until light and fluffy. Sift in the cake flour, baking powder and salt, and stir until well blended. Mix in the vanilla and milk.
• In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks using an electric mixer. Fold into the batter. Pour into the prepared pie plate, and sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the top.
• Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce the temperature to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Continue to bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the center is set when you gently jiggle the pie. Serve hot or cold.

Readers Hint: For those of you that are going to try the chapattis from the May newsletter, try adding some sugar.

ESTC Porridge Program

Lauren, GVN Foundation’s media and communications coordinator, has been in Kenya for the last few months helping our partner distribute the 2008 ESTC funds. On Tuesday she had a crazy day running around buying maize, millet, sugar and pots. Thanks to Lauren's hard work and the ESTC funds, 1400 kids from IDP camps now have a cup of porridge each day before school!

Here is a short excerpt from a recent blog entry by Lauren:

Last Thursday was the longest day in the world but it was also one of the best I must say. Irene and I did not return to Nairobi until 3am on Friday morning.

Our first challenge was finding a cereals store that could provide us with 27 bags of maize and 27 bags of millet! It was a big order. Fortunately one of the store owners took charge and scurried around all the stores doing calculations and an hour later they came up with the goods. The second challenge was getting the 54 90kg bags into the one store so we could easily pick them up the next day. We employed a few of the boys from the stores and they went about carrying the sacks. I again found myself sitting on a bag of beans. This is becoming a habit! Just watching the boys haul those sacks was tiring. I wanted to help but there was no way I could even lift one of those things! Finally we had the sacks all together and safely stored.

The next item on the list was pots! Obviously to feed between 500 and 800 kids at a time you are going to need massive pots! We found 90ltr ones which are absolutely huge and I got the giggles several times just looking at them. I am pretty sure I could fit in one! The first store we went to only had one so we waited around for an hour or so while they tried to find more. No luck. So we set off again in search of more enormous pots. We finally found some more at another supermarket, purchased them, and then packed them into our van. We also found the powdered milk. Done!

Well not quite…

To find out what happened next, visit: Eat So They Can Blog.

Action and Advocacy

World Environment Day – 5 June 2009

This year’s theme for World Environment Day is "Your Planet Needs You! UNite to Combat Climate Change."

The UNEP has come up with heaps of ideas for how you can do your part to protect the planet. Here are some of our favourites:

• Many of us like to leaf through the paper as we munch on breakfast, but consider reading the dailies in communal spaces like the office or coffee shops. However, if you prefer to have your own copy, make sure you recycle!
• When packing your lunch, opt for reusable containers for food storage instead of wrapping the food with aluminum foil or plastic wrap.
• Don’t go anywhere without your cloth bag so you can just say no to plastic whenever you shop.
• If you’re among the majority of drivers who spend their mornings stuck in traffic, consider turning your engine off if you will be idling for long periods of time. And plant a tree.
• Leave a cup and reusable bottle for water at work to eliminate buying drinks, which get served in plastic cups, or bottled water. 80% of plastic bottles are recyclable but only 20% are actually recycled.

To find out more, visit: UNEP

World Refugee Day – 20 June 2009

This year’s World Refugee Day theme is “Real People, Real Needs” so take a minute to imagine what it must be like to have to abandon your home in order to escape persecution or conflict. Consider sponsoring an IDP family in Kenya through Lauren’s international fundraiser and help build a family a new home. To learn more, click here.

Fathers Day – 21 June 2009

Not sure what to get your Dad for Fathers Day this year? Why not give the gift of hope by purchasing a GVN Foundation Gift Certificate to help orphans in Kenya, Uganda, Peru, Vietnam or Nepal.