A Taste of El Salvador raises $7,400 for Otra Fe Canada

The fund-raising dinner, "A Taste of El Salvador," netted $7,400 for Otra Fe Canada which works toward food security and community development in western El Salvador.

Held Friday night, May 5, at the Underwood Community Centre, the event attracted a good crowd for the meal, featuring tacos, salads, fried plantain and desserts, as well as the live and silent auction. The meal was prepared by Little Black Dog Catering which donated its services for the dinner.

Organizer Eileen Simpson was thrilled with the turn-out and thanked everyone for their assistance with the event, particularly her family, and those who had donated items for the auction.

Simpson has travelled to El Salvador three times with Brenda and Jim Patterson of Otra Fe Canada. Brenda was on hand for the dinner and thanked everyone for supporting the cause and concerns of farmers in El Salvador. She said Otra Fe actually spells out the first two letters of the names of the professionals who work with the organization: the agronomist, Otoniel; the theologian, Ramon; and the pastor, Felix.

The group's focus is on food security projects, chicken projects, education projects, and fund-raising.

"We are not a religion or a business," said Patterson. "We work with farmers on subsistence plots of one or two acres in western El Salvador. We teach them how to reclaim the land and make it ecologically sound for agricultural practices, and we help them reclaim their traditional seeds and crops."

For more information about Otra Fe, call the Pattersons at 1-226-378-5853 or visit the website at www.otrafe.org.