Growing A Cure – a First-Hand Account
by Blair Lewis, PA

After practicing medicine for 25 years, I went to Africa.

I went to Africa filled with images of war, poverty and starvation.  Africa greeted me with images of smiles, fellowship and mountains green.  The country of Cameroon is not a land of foul air and violent war.  The suffering of this country, like most of Africa, is more insidious, more invisible.  It is a pain of exploitation and a disconnect with the global market.  Africa is a land forgotten to most, except for those lusting for the minerals and forests -- leaving raw erosion in their wake.  However, it is possible to defeat this tragedy of exploitation and deforestation in a wise and skillful manner.

These foreign nations and multi-national corporations are losing their dominance on this great continent, for Africa is poised and ready to join the global economy.  An agricultural success story of sustainability and market linkage will transform this entire land.  And it could save 3000 lives on the African continent every day.  Yes, every day.  Artemisia offers this option right now.

Artemisia is a medicinal plant growing in Africa that can cure malaria.  The biggest killer in Africa is malaria -- a mosquito borne illness that can be treated and cured.  Young children are the main victims of malaria, which claims over 3000 lives every day in Africa.

A model school of Artemisia farming has now completed the planning stage in Kumbo, Cameroon.  A sustainable model has been developed to grow and process this powerful herb on-site.  While providing massive employment for the hill farmers of Cameroon, the school will also teach and train “Artemisian Ambassadors” to travel throughout sub-Sahara Africa to teach this farming methodology.  Sponsored by the Himalayan Institute Cameroon, Growing a Cure! will generate medicines, employment, market linkage for the crops, and a thorough education of both agriculture and market economy to the people of Africa.

The Himalayan Institute Cameroon School of Energy Farming is the sponsor of the Growing a Cure! campaign. It will provide a model for growing the medicine to end the malaria atrocity.  Replicating and expanding upon its highly acclaimed agricultural projects in India, the Himalayan Institute Cameroon is fully committed to this life-saving project.  Poverty, illiteracy, apathy and sickness can come to an end.  Growing a Cure! includes soil conservatory projects, biodiversity crop management, social regeneration programs as well as the awakening of enlightened leadership in formerly hopeless communities.

“What the Himalayan Institute of Cameroon is doing will not have a ripple effect, no.  What you are doing here in Kumbo will have a ‘Tsunami-like effect’ on the entire nation.  The Himalayan Institute projects will transform this continent by helping the people of this land join the modern world.”
- Roland K. Mbenkum, President of the High Court of Kumbo, Cameroon

It is time to help Africa move forward.  Your donations will allow this story to be a success story for all of Africa and for all of the children.  With your help this project will soon be self-sustaining.

Like every garden, the growing season makes the timing of your help and generosity to be critical, if not urgent.  As we prepare to enter the planting season, now is the time when your donations are needed to join us in Growing a Cure!

The Himalayan Institute

For decades the Himalayan Institute (www.HimalayanInstitute.org) has undertaken a range of humanitarian projects around the world as part of its global mission. Now the Institute is entering an exciting phase in its history, as its humanitarian projects are expanding to Africa and beyond.

Our vision is to bring forth a sustainable model for social regeneration through grassroots rural empowerment, enabling rural communities throughout the world to transform and enrich their lives. HI Community Centers will offer a range of rural empowerment services, which fall into four basic categories: healthcare, education, income generation, and restoration and preservation of cultural heritage. Upon this foundation a wide variety of humanitarian projects will be undertaken, tailored to the specific needs of each community. 

Your generosity will serve at this crucial time to uplift and empower rural communities around the world.

Growing A Cure
Artemisia – A Cure for Malaria, One of Africa’s Greatest Killers

• 3,000 children die of malaria each day in Africa, one every 30 seconds, causing over 20% of all childhood deaths on this continent.
• The most widely recognized cure for malaria is derived from the extract of the Artemisia plant - artemisinin.
• Artemisia is a medicinal plant, which has been used for thousands of years in traditional Chinese and Indian medicine.
• The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has sanctioned Artemisia for the cure of malaria.
• With acceptance of artemisinin as the most effective treatment for malaria, recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO), the demand for Artemisia has grown exponentially.
• In 2002, over 2,200,000 treatments were ordered by WHO, increasing to 10 million in 2004 and 60 million by 2005.
• By 2006, demand forecasts increased to 120 million, while WHO projected it would only be able to procure 50% of the requirement.

Himalayan Institute – Artemisia Farming in Africa

• The Himalayan Institute is proud to be a leader in fighting Africa’s greatest killer through the cultivation of Artemisia.
• The Himalayan Institute has partnered with members of the local community in Cameroon to establish the Himalayan Institute (“HI”) Community Center.
• Rural empowerment is at the core of the HI Community Center, bringing social regeneration to the local grassroots community.
• The Artemisia farming program will be the HI Community Center’s flagship rural empowerment project, allowing local citizens to not only be the solution to the cure but also profit from it.
• The project begins with the establishment of a training center and a 100-acre demonstration farm.
• Cultivation of Artemisia will be initiated on the farm, with the facility serving as a base to provide intensive training and hands-on experience to local farmers about Artemisia farming. 
• The farm will also serve as the key to our outreach program, aimed at inspiring and educating the surrounding communities about the potential Artemisia farming has to offer.
• From this base, thousands of neighboring farmers could be mobilized to undertake the cultivation of hundreds of thousands of acres. 
• This will enable cultivation output to reach a critical mass, allowing for the deployment of full-scale processing facilities. 
• These facilities will enable the extraction of the key essential ingredients required by the pharmaceutical industry and will facilitate its global sale and distribution.  

Help Africa Move Forward – You Can Be a Part of the Solution

• Malaria is a curable disease that can be eradicated within 3-5 years with your help.
• The startup budget for the School of Energy Farming and Artemisia program is $750,000, to establish infrastructure, purchase key farming equipment, and initiate training. This project will become self-sustaining within 24 months or less.
• These funds are required this year to allow for the immediate soil prepping and planting of Artemisia in early 2008.  To miss this growing season is to allow the hundreds of thousands of needless deaths to continue.

Growing A Cure Campaign – Holiday Giving
This holiday season let your friends and family celebrate giving the gift of life.
Help us reach our goal of $750,000 in time to launch the School of Energy Farming by mid-January 2008. This is the next step in this far-reaching initiative. With your help, the Himalayan Institute can move forward with this cure – for malaria, for economic sustainability*, for a future of an entire continent.

• Yes, I’d like to donate now with a credit card
• I want to give a donation as a gift
• I’d like to make a corporate donation or give without a credit card
• I’d like to tell a friend about this opportunity

Your contributions are tax-deductible
*  Please keep in mind that this project is designed to be self-funding, self-sustaining within 24 months or less.  Thus, your donation becomes the seed money to help a multitude of generations for decades to come.  Thank you.

This Holiday Season
This Holiday Season help Africa move forward with your generous donations.  Make your donation a gift to your family and friends!

Picking a holiday gift for someone special gets harder every year. So many choices, yet not one seems to say what you want it to say about that wonderful person. Or about you.  This year, give a gift that really says something – Growing a Cure! for the children of Africa.

You can honor your friends and relatives with a donation to Growing a Cure! Holiday shopping could not be easier and nobody will have to return mismatched ties and sweaters.

You choose the contribution method and schedule that’s easiest for you. You can charge it to your MasterCard or Visa card.  Monies can be sent online at www.HimalayanInstitute.org and by checks and money orders made payable to the Himalayan Institute in Honesdale, Pennsylvania.  All donations are tax-deductible. 

We welcome all levels of donation, whether it's a one-time gift, a monthly donation or the establishment of a matching gifts program.

Donate Now