S.E.E.D. stands for:
Service
- performed in the name of Jesus Christ, guided by community needs.
Evangelism
- to be achieved through a discipleship process, practicing the message of Christ by sharing God’s Word, and sharing one’s life and resources
Education
- Taught from a Biblical perspective, introducing students to new ideas and better methods of agriculture and animal husbandry
Development
- to allow service, evangelism, and education to become ingrained as a SEED and grow into a life-long way of living.
SEED Institute
SEED ministries offers a three-year training program offering instruction in Bible, agriculture, and veterinary care. Qualified high school graduates are nominated by community leaders, and come primarily from the southern peninsula of Haiti. These students will be trained in many phases of tropical agriculture, including agronomy, soil science, vegetable production, forestry, animal science, & veterinary technician training. Biblical instruction is an integral part of the students educational development. Regular classroom training is supplemented by special seminars conducted by visiting veterinarians, plant scientists, and Bible teachers.
As of 2012, over 300 students have been educated at the SEED institute, taking the knowledge acquired at the SEED institute back to their rural communities to improve their food supply. Many have become community leaders and local pastors, bringing the gospel to many.
The SEED institute has instruction in animal husbandry, agriculture, and veterinary medicine. Clinics are held at the SEED campus for services for local farmers and training for students in basic veterinary care.
A well-educated and highly motivated staff conducts the schooling. There are classes for the first 2 years of the program on the school site in a classroom building. The third year students are each placed in an out-lying community for a nine-month period, referred to as the "extension program". For this extension program year, they are given a plot of land by a local church to plant a demonstration garden, teach the local farmers improved vegetable and crop production, treat ill livestock, and put to practical use all the skills they have learned in the previous two years of training. They are to keep careful records of all their work, and an instructor visits each student on a monthly basis. The organization of the institute includes an American board of directors for oversight and fund raising. The Haitian administration includes a Director, Administrative Assistant, Secretary, Accountant, and several teachers most of whom have advanced college training. S.E.E.D. Ministries has no specific church denomination affiliation.
HarvestCall Involvement
The HarvestCall, through its predecessor organization, has supported S.E.E.D. Ministries since 1995. Our first support was financial support for the teaching of the third year extension program. Since 1995, the financial support has increased, and has included supporting the extension program, supporting animal science and veterinary medical training, and helping build some school buildings.
In 1997, an "agricultural work team" was sent to help S.E.E.D. build a new school building, set up a poultry raising operation, treat ill livestock, and teach animal science classes. Each year since then we have sent one or two work teams to help the school in construction and teaching. We have found these work team efforts have been very worthwhile, especially for the many brethren and friends who have participated.
We are excited to see the progress made to the school facilities and the enthusiasm of the students and are pleased to see that the training has had an impact on the nutritional needs of the Haitians. We are humbled to be the ones who learn that one's faith in God can survive, and even flourish, in the midst of want and poverty.