Latin Patriarch Of Jerusalem To Honor Roots Of Peace

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., July 14, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- His Beatitude Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, one of the top leaders in the Catholic Church worldwide, is in the San Francisco Bay Area today to honor Roots of Peace, a Northern California non-profit for its work removing landmines and returning the land to agriculture in war-torn countries.

"Roots of Peace is a shining example of the power of a non-profit to help change nations quietly and peacefully through agricultural education. They have gained interfaith respect from different religious leaders around the world for leading the effort to help families in war ravaged lands not just survive but thrive on former minefields, providing desperately needed food security for themselves and food for export to support their families," said Fouad Twal. "When families can take care of their own peacefully, they don't have to resort to violence. That is why I honored CEO Heidi Kuhn with the first ever Peace Medal in the Church's history in 2013."

The visit is particularly timely given the recent announcement from The White House that the United States will not produce or acquire any anti-personnel landmines in the future, including to replace expiring stockpiles. Roots of Peace has been a standing member of the International Campaign To Ban Landmines and its U.S. affiliate the USCBL since 1999, and champion of the Ottawa Treaty, which calls for a worldwide treaty totally prohibiting anti-personnel mines.

Since its founding in 1997, Roots of Peace has helped some of the world's most vulnerable economies recover after conflict by removing remnants of war, building local agricultural capacity and helping create export markets for produce and goods to provide sustainable income. Roots of Peace has removed landmines in the Husan Village (Bethlehem) with the support from both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas, who have personally met with Mrs. Kuhn.

In Afghanistan, Roots of Peace, with funding from USAID, has helped plant more than five million trees and directly impacted more than one million farmers and families in all 34 provinces since 2001. Last week Roots of Peace celebrated the first shipment of fresh pomegranates from Afghanistan to Russia in over 30 years through the USAID/CHAMP program, which it implemented in Kandahar province.

"Afghanistan is now exporting fresh fruit to a former enemy," said Heidi Kuhn, CEO of Roots of Peace. "It's an amazing example of how reclaiming land for modern agriculture can change a nation and lead to peaceful business relationships with former enemies."

Born in Amman, Jordan, His Beatitude is based in Jerusalem where he has developed long-standing relationships with Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians, Egyptians and Syrians in a continuing interfaith dialogue to create enduring relationships for peace. "In joining the efforts of Roots of Peace, His Beatitude is calling for the education on Peace and Justice through the American University of Madaba and all the Schools in Palestine, Jordan and Israel," said Msgr. Labib Kobti of St. Thomas More Church in San Francisco about his Superior the Latin Patriarch.

During his trip to the San Francisco Bay Area, His Beatitude will also be visiting with legendary vintners from the Napa Valley, Miljenko Grgich, Austin Hills and Margrit Mondavi, who have each assisted Roots of Peace by financing the planting of bountiful vineyards where landmines once prevented agriculture around the world. Other local vintners who have helped fund the work of Roots of Peace include the late Diane Disney Miller, owner of Silverado vineyards, who financed the removal of landmines in the Shomali Valley, in northern Afghanistan, and Napa Vintners Paul and Shirley Dean Spiriterra, who provided the funding for the first demining program to remove hundreds of landmines and UXO with the hands of both Israelis and Palestinians working together in The Holy Land.

Having raised the funds to convert the minefields in The Fields of Bethlehem, Roots of Peace now seeks $20 million to expand its work in the region and remove thousands of landmines in Qasr al Yahud, the Baptismal Site of Jesus along the Jordan River where the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths converge. According to religious history, it is the site where Elijah rose to Heaven, the Israelites crossed to Canaan, and Mohammed walked the Abrahamic paths.

About Roots of Peace
Roots of Peace is a nonprofit dedicated to facilitating peace through post-conflict economic recovery. Working with vulnerable communities in war-torn regions around the world, Roots of Peace helps restore economic vitality by creating sustainable livelihood opportunities by removing the remnants of war, providing access to valuable resources, building local capacity and helping create export markets for local goods and agriculture. Founded in 1997, Roots of Peace has worked in post-conflict areas around the world including, Afghanistan Angola, Bosnia, Cambodia, Croatia, Herzegovina, Iraq, Israel/Palestine, the Kygyz Republic and Vietnam. Learn more at www.rootsofpeace.org.

SOURCE Roots of Peace