Want to help women in Ghana learn to grow soybeans? Bring your bicycle to Salford Mennonite Church on Saturday, May 2 to join a ride on the Perkiomen Trail, organized by Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA). The ride will start at Salford Mennonite Church in Harleysville, Pennsylvania, at 2:00 p.m.
The ride will be led by Sarah French and Mary Fehr, two Canadians who were interns with MEDA in 2013. After this ride, they will travel by bike across Canada, starting in Victoria, British Columbia, and riding 5,412 miles to St. John’s, New Brunswick. Their trip will take four months to allow for stops along the way to raise awareness about MEDA’s Greater Rural Opportunities for Women (GROW) project. The GROW project started in 2012 and has impacted 20,000 women and their families.
“Teaching women to farm creates economic empowerment, which strengthens women, creating equality,” says Sarah French, “So improving their skills can help bring a community out of poverty and spur economic growth.”
Mary and Sarah’s goal is to raise $150,000 by biking across Canada.
“I want to be a part of this because by teaching [the women] to grow soybeans, they are creating a sustainable livelihood that will allow them to make choices based on the future rather than rash decisions due to necessities,” says Mary.
Mary and Sarah will be sharing about their internship experiences and their upcoming Canadian bike ride at a dinner at Dock Woods Community on April 30. To RSVP to this event email delvalmeda@yahoo.com. This event is sponsored by the Delaware Valley MEDA chapter.
The Perkiomen Trail ride is sponsored by the MEDA chapters of Lancaster and Delaware Valley. Following the ride, there will be an international dinner and program at Salford Mennonite Church. Registration for the ride is $20; RSVP for the ride and dinner by April 16 at Chapters@meda.org or by calling 717-560-6546.
Additionally, Sarah and Mary will be speaking at Blooming Glen Mennonite and Mellinger’s Mennonnite Church the day after the ride.
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.