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| 20 Grinders to Ghana |
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In
February of this year CTI volunteers Dick Fulmer and Ed Galle visited
Ghana to promote the use of CTI grinders in the moringa industry. As
part of their efforts they made a presentation at the Radach Memorial
Centre in Tamale, Ghana. This modern facility was conceived as a
hospitality haven for people of all walks of  life.
The Centre provides training in Community Development, Christian Life
and Volunteer Services through formal courses and seminars as well as
self-study programs.
Dick and Ed made a presentation at
the Centre for several dozen people as part of their Community
Development programs. The Director of the Centre, Rev. Johnson Asare,
immediately saw the value that our grinders could bring to the people
that his Centre serves and began discussions with CTI on how we and his
 organization
could work together. The concept would be for Johnson to identify a
group of local farmers and entrepreneurs who would use our technology
and grinders to produce moringa powder for their own consumption and
for sale.
This concept was developed into a business plan
during the summer when Johnson visited the CTI headquarters in St.
Paul. Accordingly, a partnership was developed with Rev. Asare's Radach
Centre, The Well Church, Fresno, CA, Advancing Native Mission, Afton,
VA and CTI. This group is joining together to get 20 Omega VI grinders
to the Radach Centre in early 2009. When they arrive, Johnson will
gather the trainers for each of the areas where the grinders will be
assigned and Dick Fulmer and/or Ed Galle will conduct a series of
"train the trainers" sessions at the Radach Centre.
CTI and our supporters should be very proud of the efforts Dick and Ed have made to make this happen! Many thanks Guys! |
| New Solutions in Haiti |
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CTI volunteer and Technology Committee Chair, Erv Lentz, has solved a major problem for Dr. Pat Wolff of Meds and Food for Kids
in Haiti. Dr. Wolff uses our Omega VI grinder to create
Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) for children in Haiti who are  suffering
from severe malnutrition. She creates RUTF by first grinding
peanuts into paste, then passing the peanut paste through a separate
Omega VI with added oil, powdered milk, sugar, and vitamins and
minerals. This "medika mamba" (the translation is "peanut butter
medicine") became syrupy and tended to run out the clearance hole for
the shaft in the rear of the hopper. While this leakage was a
housekeeping problem for Dr. Wolff's operation, it was also
inhibiting her from securing approval from UNICEF to expand her
operation, so she approached CTI for a solution.
After much research, Erv was able to find a stock die and food
grade silicon-rubber sealant for adhering the seal to the hopper wall
(see photo). It works so well it maintained a seal after being
run  constantly
for over a week. (That's 2.5 million revolutions on the
shaft!) This rubber seal is low-cost and was sent down to
Haiti and adhered to Dr. Wolff's Omega VI grinders. CTI volunteer
George Farrell reports that the seals were easy to adhere to the
grinders and, although he was concerned they would come off when the
grinders were cleaned, they have stuck very well and the leakage has
stopped!
Dr. Wolff now looks forward to approval of her
operation from UNICEF. Approval may mean that a lot more children
will have access to the life-saving Ready to Use Therapeutic Food and
many more CTI grinders will be used. This is another great
example of how our volunteers are continually creating simple technical
solutions with life-saving results! Great work Erv! (To
read a recent CNN.com article that mentions Dr. Wolff, follow this
link: As Children Starve, World Struggles for Solution.) |
| Iringa (Tanzania) Festival |
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In the
recent past, one of the main destinations of our Omega VI grinder has
been the Iringa area of Tanzania. The conduit for this distribution has
been the St. Paul Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of
America. In the past two years over 20 Omegas have been hand carried to
Iringa by this group of dedicated missionaries. Most recently, a group
from Our Saviour's Lutheran in Hastings, MN took seven Omegas for
distribution to various preaching points in the region.
On
Saturday, November 1st, 2008, the St. Paul Area Synod held an Iringa
Festival which brought together the Synod leadership on this project
together with the Bishop from Iringa and his leaders. CTI was pleased
to support this Festival with an  informational
booth. We premiered the new video, "This is CTI," along with grinding
demonstrations and other displays. CTI was ably represented by
volunteers Jim Sentz, Ralph Thrane and Board member Kathy Junek.
Despite
a busy schedule of events, CTI was able to renew many previous
associations and to make new contacts. The telling of the CTI story was
a key component of our presentations. For those who had heard it
before, it reinforced our message; for those hearing it for the first
time, we were able to spark an understanding of CTI's mission and how
it meshed with that of the St. Paul Area Synod's. |
| A Note from CTI's Accountant, Sara Barnaby (CMA, MA, MBA) |
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At this time of year many of us are reviewing our gifting plans.
In past years I would have encouraged you to give stock.
This year a better plan might be to actually sell stock, harvest a
capital gains loss to offset other gains, and give the proceeds to
CTI. This will give you a tax benefit on the sale of stock and a
charitable giving deduction. I encourage you to check with your tax
advisor for your own specific circumstances. Thank you for
keeping CTI in your contribution budget for 2008. |
| We Need A Secret Santa |
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Dear Santa, 
I
am writing to tell you that CTI has been very good this year, but we
need a few things for the office. We really need a new portable projector screen (ours looks like it has been around since you and Mrs. Claus got married) and the other thing we would like is a nice world wall map.
(Not everyone knows their way around like you do, and it would be great
to be able to show our volunteers and visitors where we are working.)
Don't forget all the good things we've done this year: we've
moved forward with our mission (if you regularly read our Post Harvest you already know that), we've controlled our costs, and we've been good stewards of what we've received.
 We
hope you'll consider our small request in the midst of this busy
season. (We'll be sure to leave out some freshly ground peanut
paste for you and your reindeer on Christmas Eve.)
Merry Christmas!
CTI | |
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