What an honour to have received a donation to To: Foundation to mark this special day!

It means so much to us and to the communities where we do our work, and we thought you might like to know more about what we are up to this year.

Trees!

Not the typical plant-a-tree model. We focus on reforesting, planting, nurturing, and protecting trees, rather than dropping a seed in the ground and hoping it makes it to maturity. We have two tree programs in our 2021 mission – the Great Green Wall and mangrove reforestation.

For the Great Green Wall we are planting fruit-bearing trees with smallholder farmers in Senegal. This initiative helps create food security and economic stability in rural villages, creating enormous benefits for the environment as well as for the livelihoods of these farmers and their communities. So far, we have planted 65,000 trees in northern Senegal, in collaboration with 450 local farmers who protect and nurture the trees they plant, and reap the benefits of a fruit harvest that they can share with their families and sell for profit.

Mangroves!

Our mangroves initiative is as audacious as it is necessary. Mangroves are quite possibly the most important tree on Earth, they protect coastal communities from storm surges, regulate salinity in the soil so these communities can farm their land, and sustain a vast array of wildlife – from fish nurseries to snails, jellyfish, deer and birds. In addition, they provide optimal habitats for honeybees, increasing the resilience of the global honeybee population and providing income from honey for local farmers. And pound for pound mangroves sequester more carbon than any other tree on the planet.

In 2021 we aim to plant millions of mangrove trees in coastal communities in Senegal and South America, working with partners on education programs, tree planting, conservation and beekeeping.

Culture!

We are continuing our support of refugee entrepreneurs and artists in Uganda with an Arts and Culture Centre in Bidi Bidi refugee settlement, one of our most ambitious projects to date.

Working with the brilliant team from Hassell Studio led by Xavier de Kestelier, Hassell’s Head of Design and Innovation, we have designed a structure that will be both functional and aesthetically appropriate to the region. With construction being contracted to local building firms, we will break ground this summer and open to the community in Q1 2022. Here, South Sudanese refugees will be able to learn, practice, and perform music, create bonds and community, and heal.  There will be a music classroom and recording studio, an open-air performance and community space, a vegetable garden and tree nursery, and community bathrooms. The music programming will be curated by a roster of local and international artists, such as Zex Bilangilangi, Creative Activist and long-term collaborator of to.org and a rising star on Uganda’s flourishing dancehall scene.

We are delighted to have you in the to.org family, and we can’t thank you enough for all of your support over the years. We wish you the happiest of birthdays, and a year packed with accomplishments, joy, growth, and good health.

With love from the to.org team.