Donate seeds and change the landscape

Sometimes, simple crop seeds can help children thrive—even in the most difficult circumstances.

South Sudan recently experienced its worst food crisis in years. News stories showed barren, desert-like landscapes. Canadians watched and responded as severely malnourished children struggled to survive.

In one community in South Sudan, the landscape has been very different. Because people like you chose to donate seeds through World Vision, parents could plant vegetable crops. Seeds are especially precious in times of drought, as the planting cycle is easily thrown off by hostile weather patterns. Your gifts gave families the chance to try again.

All over the world, we’ve seen the need for the second chance that comes when you donate seeds. In drought-prone Zimbabwe, we met a grandmother named Nelia, who had made many fruitless attempts in one season to plant a sustainable crop.

Nelia was raising four grandchildren. Because of the drought, the children were living on just one meal a day. Their struggling seeds either dried up under the baking sun, or washed away during sudden downpours. The rain simply couldn’t penetrate the hard, cracked earth.

When we met Nelia, she was going door to door, begging her neighbors to donate seeds for one more attempt. World Vision supported her with immediate rations for her family, and then helped her secure a plot in an irrigated garden.

It should never have come to this.

When you donate seeds to families in crisis, you provide more than the chance to feed children. You allow them to live with dignity. Children are able to grow up in more stable communities, and enjoy the benefits of friends and extended family.