Our new president, Sherry Clark, eased into her roll effortlessly at the home of Atty. and Mrs. Alex Gates, bringing with her a beautiful arrangement of long-stem peach roses with lime green football mums and ornamental grasses.
Coffee and rich caramel cake were so elegantly served, I forgot to take a picture (kinda like being in church). I wanted to mind my manners.
As garden club members gathered at the home of Lyn Gates, we were greeted at the door by Lyn and Alex and proudly introduced to their son George, our speaker on “Conserving our Planet.”
George is the executive vice president/general counsel for NIHT, Inc., operating a project in Papua, New Guinea, to protect the tropical rain forest.
From the moment George stood up until an hour later, everyone was in awe and much impressed with our very own local Tallahatchie son working in parts unknown with layers upon layers of government officials and locals to not only save a rain forest but give back over 50% to the individual owners of the land.
“It’s complicated.” That phrase is commonly used to avoid answering a difficult question. Well, here goes my attempt. All over the world, companies rely on fossil fuels, and these companies are often taxed or fined or encouraged to reduce their carbon footprint. As much as they try, they still have to use jet fuel or gasoline. These companies can buy credits from a company like George’s NIHT, Inc., thus avoiding hefty fines and gaining good public relations by advertising that they help by investing in hospitals, roads and educational opportunities in developing countries.
George’s project in Papua, New Guinea, is a 30-year commitment and is the first ever to put money back into the hands of the landowners — every man, woman and child receiving money to not cut their trees. It’s not just a program to give money to people, it’s a program of community change and growth.
This change and growth is verified, validated and registered. Some of the standards they are addressing include:
• restoring the climate
• increasing biodiversity
• ending poverty in all its forms
• healthy lives and promote well-bring
• quality education
• water and sanitation
While answering questions, we discovered Papua was an island just north of Australia not part of the mainland New Guinea. With poor roads, markets are best reached by boat, which may cost half a year’s wage. The new income from the NIHT, Inc., project has enabled many more boats to be bought.
We also discovered that many of our uncles and fathers were stationed in New Guinea during WWII. The local population since that era has become predominantly Catholic and opens and closes every meeting with a prayer.
