TPRF Real Stories

Under the Baobab Tree–Oldest Man in Otinibi Tells How It All Began

Alex Wiredu has undertaken the fascinating task of learning about the history and daily lives of the people served by the Food for People program that opened in Otinibi, Ghana on May 15, 2012, almost one year ago. Alex’s co-worker, Francis, is a photographer who has documented the development of FFP [...]

My Trip to San Quentin

PEP Manager Sherry Weinstein shares an interesting story about the introduction of the Peace Education Program at San Quentin State Prison in California. This is a story about not giving up and showing your humanity. There is a nurse named Sue Patrick, who has worked at San Quentin State Prison for [...]

A Very Personal Journey

TPRF volunteer Lisa Rossetti recently fulfilled a lifetime ambition of returning to her childhood home in Ghana. She shares her moving story with us in this week’s post. I was a colonial child, brought up in the Gold Coast in the early 50’s. We lived in the British colonial quarter on [...]

Peace Education Program (PEP) Undergoes Rapid Expansion (Part II)

Sherry Weinstein has been TPRF’s Manager of the Peace Education Program for the past two years. In last week’s post, we explored the dynamic expansion of the PEP program in 2012. In part two of this update, Sherry provides a detailed look at new programs developing around the world plus TPRF’s [...]

Peace Education Program (PEP) Undergoes Rapid Expansion (Part I)

Sherry Weinstein has been TPRF’s Manager of the Peace Education Program for the past two years. In this two-part report, Sherry brings us up to date on the dramatic expansion of the program during 2012 and the TPRF plan for continued growth in 2013. What do some inmates in Zonderwater, South [...]

The Healing Power of Vegetable Gardening

After the earthquake in Japan, TPRF funded a vegetable gardening project organized by its partner, AmeriCares. This first-hand report from Ramona Bajema, Senior Program Manager/Japan, describes the project and the health and well-being effects it had on a group of evacuees relocated to temporary housing after the quake. Date of event: [...]

A Glorious Day in Ghana (Part II)

Linda Pascotto reports on Prem Rawat’s recent visit to Food for People, Otinibi. November 23, 2012 We arrived at Otinibi, about one hour’s drive from Accra, on a mixture of paved and dirt roads, crowded with cars trying to navigate around the people selling everything from fruit to clothing to automobile parts. [...]

A Glorious Day in Ghana (Part I)

Linda Pascotto reports on Prem Rawat’s recent visit to Food for People, Otinibi. Some Background: “You’re going where for Thanksgiving?” “Ghana?” “You mean Africa?” “Can’t you leave after Thanksgiving?” “Can’t you go just a few days later?” The American tradition of gathering family and friends together during the 4th Thursday in November, [...]

PEP Presentation Highlights San Antonio Conference

Texas prison officials recently invited a unique group of volunteers to offer a presentation of the Peace Education Program (PEP) at the annual meeting of the Texas Community Service Association (TCSA) in San Antonio, Texas. This association is comprised of probation and parole officers and other Criminal Justice professionals from around [...]

Amman Imman: Water Is Life

Ariane Kirtley is the Founder and Director of Amman Imman: Water is Life, a nonprofit organization that brings sustainable water sources and other development assistance to West Africa’s Azawak region. As a Fulbright Scholar, Ariane lived with families in the Azawak region and discovered the human face of climate change: people [...]

A Lunch Celebration

After the event in Ezeiza Women’s Prison last April, Prem Rawat wanted to give the inmates a special lunch as a gift. Marcela Isaurralde is one of the volunteers who helped plan the celebration. This is her account of the lunch which took place on Monday, July 23, 2012. When we arrived at the [...]

Multiplying the Food for People Effect

This story updates a June 15 post about the positive effect the Food for People (FFP) facility has had on students of the Adarsha Secondary School in Nepal. The Adarsha students scored high on the School Leaving Certificate (SLC), a national exam designed to measure how well secondary school pupils in [...]

Renewed Hope and Dignity–Water For Paragachi

Kathryn Bright is a volunteer grant reviewer for TPRF. Kathryn’s interest in one of TPRF’s clean water grants inspired a recent visit to a small village in the Andean mountains of Ecuador, where she discovered an amazing story of cooperation, ingenuity, and initiative that has powerfully enhanced the lives of the [...]