Trees for Life (United States)
Encyclopedia
Trees for Life is an international nonprofit movement, based in Wichita, Kansas, USA, that works for the empowerment
of villagers in developing countries.
This movement started by enabling people around the world to help plant fruit trees in developing countries. Now it has matured to where Trees for Life provides a platform for people of various disciplines to work on long-term fundamental solutions to problems in the areas of education, health and environment.
Trees for Life was founded in 1984 by Balbir Mathur, an India
-born American businessman. While working as an international business consultant
, Mathur had several life-changing experiences, and went through an illness that left him unable to walk for two years. After his illness he started helping people in India plant fruit trees. He left his former business interests and started doing this work fulltime. When others wanted to help on a fulltime basis, Mathur realized that the vision was larger than himself.
Trees for Life has had projects in India
, Guatemala
, Haiti
, Brazil
, Nepal
, Costa Rica
, Indonesia
, Nicaragua
and Cambodia
. According to the organization, more than two million people have participated in its programs and tens of millions of fruit trees have been planted.
In the mid-1990s, Trees for Life learned that the highly nutritious leaves of the Moringa oleifera
tree were a simple yet overlooked resource for combating malnutrition for the poor. So they designed and implemented programs to share this message with people in developing countries. Today, governments in Asia
, Africa
and Latin America
plant Moringa
trees as a national policy—including more than 20 million trees in Africa alone.
Trees for Life has also initiated a program called "Books for Life." This project aims to instill a love of reading and interest in learning in areas of the world where people have limited or no access to books and education. In partnership with local communities, who provide partial funding, library staff and management, libraries have been established or enhanced in Nicaragua
, India
and Pakistan
. Each year during 2006-2010 a "Kansas Youth Book Drive" was held. People across the state of Kansas have donated more than 138,000 gently used children's books for Pakistan
, Liberia
, several other African countries, and under-served populations in the USA.
Empowerment
Empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social, racial, educational, gender or economic strength of individuals and communities...
of villagers in developing countries.
This movement started by enabling people around the world to help plant fruit trees in developing countries. Now it has matured to where Trees for Life provides a platform for people of various disciplines to work on long-term fundamental solutions to problems in the areas of education, health and environment.
Trees for Life was founded in 1984 by Balbir Mathur, an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
-born American businessman. While working as an international business consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
, Mathur had several life-changing experiences, and went through an illness that left him unable to walk for two years. After his illness he started helping people in India plant fruit trees. He left his former business interests and started doing this work fulltime. When others wanted to help on a fulltime basis, Mathur realized that the vision was larger than himself.
Trees for Life has had projects in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
and Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
. According to the organization, more than two million people have participated in its programs and tens of millions of fruit trees have been planted.
In the mid-1990s, Trees for Life learned that the highly nutritious leaves of the Moringa oleifera
Moringa oleifera
Moringa oleifera, the word Moringa probably came from dravidian language Tamil and commonly referred to as "Shojne" in Bengali, "Munagakaya" in Telugu,"Shenano" in Rajasthani,...
tree were a simple yet overlooked resource for combating malnutrition for the poor. So they designed and implemented programs to share this message with people in developing countries. Today, governments in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
plant Moringa
Moringa
Moringa is the sole genus in the flowering plant family Moringaceae. The name is derived from the Tamil word murunggai or the Malayalam word muringa, both of which refer to M. oleifera...
trees as a national policy—including more than 20 million trees in Africa alone.
Trees for Life has also initiated a program called "Books for Life." This project aims to instill a love of reading and interest in learning in areas of the world where people have limited or no access to books and education. In partnership with local communities, who provide partial funding, library staff and management, libraries have been established or enhanced in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Each year during 2006-2010 a "Kansas Youth Book Drive" was held. People across the state of Kansas have donated more than 138,000 gently used children's books for Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, several other African countries, and under-served populations in the USA.