wfn.org | CHURCH WORLD SERVICE CO-SPONSORS MORINGA CONFERENCE

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@wfn.org>]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Contact: NCC News, 212-870-2252
E-mail: news@ncccusa.org;
Web:www.ncccusa.org/www.churchworldservice.org
NCC11/1/01 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHURCH WORLD SERVICE CO-SPONSORS MORINGA CONFERENCE

	November 1, 2001, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania - Church World Service is an
organizer and participant in the first-ever international conference (Oct.
29-Nov. 2) on the Moringa tree - an indigenous resource for fighting against
hunger and malnutrition.

	The conference was organized by Propage in collaboration with CWS, the
Center for Development of Enterprise (CDE), Technical Center for
Agricultural and Rural Development (CTA), SILVA and ASIAFCO conference
consulting firm.  Church World Service is the (U.S.) National Council of
Churches global service and witness ministry.

	On the opening day, the conference counted 89 participants from 27
countries, including 12 African countries, reported Church World Service
Development Associate Tammi Mott.  The conference includes representatives
from private industries, ministry officials, research groups, scientists,
academics and secular and ecumenical non-governmental organizations, Ms.
Mott reported.  Participants are from the fields of agriculture, forestry,
botany, oil/cosmetic production, nutrition and health.

The scruffy looking, fast-growing, drought-resistant Moringa Oleifera tree
can be found in every country of West Africa. The tree is edible, tasty and
highly nutritious in all its parts, with leaves, leaf powder, pods, seeds,
flowers, roots and bark offering a complement of protein, calcium, minerals,
iron and several important vitamins.

At the conference, participants are exploring topics in four domains:
agriculture production techniques, oils production/trade, water treatment,
and nutrition and health.  Lowell Fuglie, Church World Services West Africa
Representative, is among presenters, describing the use by CWS and local
Senegalese partner AGADA of Moringa Oleifera to combat malnutrition.

Other CWS representatives at the conference include Dan Tyler,
Representative to East Africa and the Indian Ocean; Rhonnie Hemphill,
Resource Development Department; and Papa Matar NDIAYE, CWS West Africa;
Makhona MBAYE, local partner ASREAD, Senegal, and three representatives from
Senegalese health centers.

-end-