For the past 15 years, local farmer and rancher Craig Severtson has grown a non-profit that has impacted the lives of countless youth and families in rural impoverished areas of Nicaragua, one of the poorest nations in the world.
Hes done so through baseball and through times that have seen nearly every other nonprofit leave or be restricted from working in the country.
Providing an outlet for children to be children through baseball however has led Severtson to grow the organization far beyond the sport HKRF, if you havent seen any of their work or read any previous coverage of the organization, now helps rural communities establish sustainable agricultural practices so that they learn and have the resources to grow their own food, improve the educational opportunities available for their youth, and assist in medical care where other nonprofits have fled the country only to leave the elderly in particular, behind and without any assistance.
Its his and his teams persistence to get help where its needed that most recently earned them attention and a mission far beyond the borders of Nicaragua.
Severtson and his executive director Nadia Nabhan of Nicaragua recently returned from their first mission trip to war-torn areas of Sudan where millions of refugees are barely surviving. Food is in short supply and few others are willing or able to make the commitment to get food to these dangerous and life-threatening zones of war.
They are committed to returning.
Headlines from across the globe in recent days might shed light on why as they highlight the extent of the crisis; Sudan conflict: At least 4.9 million at risk of extreme hunger; How Sudan has become the worlds forgotten war; UN forced to suspend aid deliveries in parts of Sudan; Sudans civil war threatens the lives of almost 3 million children.
HKRF earlier this year was asked by Then Feed Just One and the Sudanese American Physicians Association (SAPA) if it would and could help.
The first mission of delivering food packed by many here locally for the organization Kids Against Hunger was a success.
A medical mission is what Severtsons next shipping container will focus on next.
Food, clothes, shoes, fabric to use for cover or to lay on, and school supplies are also included in the container. Its ready to go but when it might ship out remains to be seen.
Chad is in the bottom two countries of the world of what it takes for people to live and they are accepting people by the millions. They cant afford it but theyre accepting them. Its so far out of the way, 800 miles, a 27-hour truck ride just to get there, its in the middle of nowhere and where Darfur refugees go to escape the war. Were taking this to the end of the world where its needed the most, said Severtson.More than 5 million people have fled their homes to escape years of brutal violence and civil war in Sudan. Most medical facilities are no longer functional, and famine and disease are on the rise.
It has created a humanitarian crisis.
The vast majority of those displaced live in camps in Darfur and neighboring countries, such as Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
Severtson and Nabhan, along with their mission partners, showed the refugees how to cook their fortified food packets.
A water pipe arrives once a week to fill tanks with treated water (not drinkable) for human consumption.
The Al Maweani Center, also known as AI Shaheenat, was our last stop. Their stories and the challenges they faced were deeply humbling, and it highlighted the urgency of our mission, the HKRF team wrote in an update on its Facebook page, shortly after the mission. The people who live in these camps run other types of dangers as well, for example when they have food to cook and manage to boil some water to make it drinkable, they send the girls to collect firewood and they are raped along the wayMental health becomes one of the basic needs for these families, there are men, fathers of families traumatized by the loss of a member of their body or having witnessed violence towards their wife and daughters, mothers and daughters have deep traumas from having been raped repeatedly in front of their families and extreme violence, children cannot be children due to violence, trauma and the constant uncertainty of not knowing if tomorrow they will be able to eat.
HKRF, as it grows in its reach, is always looking for partners in its missions. For more information, log onto any social media platform and search Helping Kids Round First or call (605) 864-1341.
As you know though, HKRF is not the only organization locally working to touch the lives of people internationally or here at home.
Should you be considering a year-end gift toward any local non-profit that you can directly see is working to make a difference in the lives of many, below is a list we hope is as complete as possible for those organizations operating in and throughout Moody County. If we have missed your 501(c)3, please contact us at [email protected] and we can add you in the online version for future and further reference.
Moody County nonprofits for consideration of a year-end donation:
Boys & Girls Club of Moody County
Colman-Egan Little Hawks Preschool
Colman Volunteer Fire Department
Community Counseling Services
Embe Girls on the Run
Flandreau Elementary/MS/HS Weekend Fuel
Flandreau Volunteer Fire Department
Helping Kids Round First
Interlakes Area United Way
Libertys Troops
Local churches
Moody County 4-H Robotics
Moody County Child Protection Team
Moody County Cares
Moody County Historical Society
Team of Angels
The Breadbasket
The Crystal Theatre
The Wholeness Center
Trent Fire Department
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