Committed to replace the Afghan remnants of war with the Roots of Peace
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, peacefully known as Mahatma Gandhi was an Indian lawyer and political ethicist who employed non-violence to lead the successful campaign for India’s independence from British rule. And there’s a ton of significance the world talks about. He inspired movements for civil rights and freedom acts, which were worth to bring the fire inside people struggling for livelihood. He used to believe in Karma. But it was not only about their ‘karma’ (deeds, acts) but the very human nature they are designed for. He left his true traces in many countries that they’ve been still privileged to those. Similar influence can be seen through Roots of Peace, an organization dedicated for planting peace.
Transforming the heavily exploited soil
October 2nd, 2019, the world celebrated the 150th Birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. On the occasion, the Gandhi Family awarded the prestigious Gandhi Seva medal to Ms. Heidi Kuhn, Founder/CEO, Roots of Peace. She has been invited to attend the Interfaith ceremony at Rajghat, the sacred burial site of Mahatma Gandhi, on October 2, 2019, at 7:30 am at Gandhi Samadi, Rajghat, New Delhi, India. The renowned organization, Roots of Peace is a humanitarian non-profit transforming minefields to vineyards and orchards worldwide.
The felicitation event was held at the National Gandhi Museum, as the award is dedicated to individuals to recognize the outstanding services provided to impoverished communities worldwide. Past recipients include the Dalai Lama and other global leaders. Ms. Kuhn accepted the award with a young girl, Zahra, age 10, on behalf of the children of Afghanistan who seek a future without war.
“Through Mahatma Gandhi’s footsteps for peace, he deeply inspired Dr. Martin Luther King, President John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, and this is why we are acknowledging global visionaries like Heidi Kuhn who courageously give their voices to peace,” Stated Dr. S.P. Varma, Gandhi Global Family.</P
As the recent Afghan Presidential Elections have resulted in uncertainty with only 20% voter turn-out, and while peace talks and peace treaties seem to dissipate—the Roots of Peace is alive and well in Afghanistan.
Farmers are the real hero
Founded in 1997, the Roots of Peace has always helped farmers brought them as heroes. Since its inception, Roots of Peace has dedicated over 20 years to planting peace worldwide. They are proud that they hire 98% of their employees from within the countries they operate.
Afghanistan, unfortunately, remains the most heavily mined countries in the world. Yet as landmines are removed, the land is no longer held hostage by explosive remnants of war in a country that is 80% dependent upon agribusiness. Since 2003, Roots of Peace has partnered with USAID, USDA, DOD, EU, ADB, GTZ and the World Bank to plant over 5 million fruit trees in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan resulting in impacting over 1 million farmers and families. For nearly two decades, Kuhn has proudly worked with the Afghan farmers and families to help cultivate a harvest of hope by providing exports of fresh fruits to new markets, and Afghan exports are on target to reach over $1 billion by the end of 2019.
This week, Roots of Peace organized over 130 Afghan traders to meet with hundreds of Indian buyers at the Indian-Afghanistan Investment and Trade Show funded by USAID. In two days, over $40 million in trade deals was secured as fruits, nuts and spices were exported from Afghanistan to major supermarkets in India such as Spar, Foodhall, Reliance and Big Bazaar resulting in sustainable peace.
Heidi Kuhn. “As we remove landmines and plant grapevines we are literally turning MINES TO VINES and swords into plowshares for global families living in war-torn lands. Together, we are planting the Roots of Peace on Earth.”
