Locations: We have three locations to create our first EVE communities: Ghana, Romania, and Nepal. Each community will have its own team, and project director. Each village will have its own name. Various other locations around the world will be considered once these sites are established.

1) Ghana: GIANT/EVE We have been offered 30 acres of land to start our project with in the Aburi Hills for the EVE community, with the commitment from Chief Nana Apeadu to provide more land as the need increases (up to 100 acres). Initially this EVE community will support approximately 100 orphans and 50 adults members. The Aburi hills region is an area that is considered very desirable in Ghana: it is located approximately 30 miles from Accra. Being high in the hills it provides a temperate climate and yet the location is in relatively close proximity to the airport in Accra, which makes it an attractive destination for our visiting scholars, researchers and volunteers.

There are over 250,000 AIDS orphans in Ghana, and although it is not overwhelmed by AIDS like some other African nations, there is increasing incidence of the disease, as well of its impact. Ghana is a good location for our first African EVE project, as GIANT has an ongoing history of involvement with projects there and has strong network of support. Some of the children that are expected to benefit from this effort are orphaned Liberian refugees currently living in a refugee camp near Accra. They are already participating in a project of Chief Apeadu, called “Catch Them Young”. If we are not able to relocated them to our site we will continue to work to provide them with out-reach services and opportunities. Nana Apeadu is also helping to support a small orphanage for children with disabilities, which she thinks could be integrated into the EVE project. We will also work to rescue children from child labor and exploitation situations, which is an ongoing problem in this country and in many others.

In Ghana, one of the plants that we are interested in is called moringa. We will work to promote the planting and utilization of moringa trees. These trees are very fast growing and leaf powder, made from pounding the leaves, is an excellent form of nutritional supplementation. Moringa will be developed as a cash crop. It has many uses besides being a food, it can also be used to purify water, provide forage for animals, and the seeds produce a fine oil.

2) Romania: Singureni, 35 kilometres south of Bucharest, is another location in which we are planning to create an EVE community. We are currently working with a small group of 19 HIV positive orphaned teenagers and their caregiver, Dr. Paul Marinescu, who has cared for them for many years in a home he provided for them next to the hospital that he once managed. Nine years ago he “adopted” 30 orphan children with HIV, eleven of them have passed away. Of the remaining 19 children 17 of them are in good health and they are now interested in developing a sustainable eco village community in which they can grow more of their own food and also develop the area of agro-tourism and artisanship. They would also like to help provide help and homes for a new generation of abandoned children with, or without, HIV, or other disabilities.

Dr. Paul Marinescu spent several years working as a physician in Africa.

3) Nepal: We will partner with Shanti Sewan Ashram (SSA), a community-based center located near Katmandu, which promotes peace, education, and learning. The Center also acts as an umbrella for other Nepalese organizations promoting traditional medicine, ecology, interfaith understanding and cooperation, and empowerment for women, street children, orphans, war victims, the elderly, and other disenfranchised or sick individuals, including those afflicted with AIDS. The founder, director, and principal coordinator of the center, Mr. Chintamani Yogi is also the co-founder, developer, and headmaster of three charitable, private schools in Nepal, educating over 1200 students K-through the tenth grade. He is also the Chair of an interfaith project to help people with HIV/AIDS.

Chief Nana Apeadu, the director of our Ghana site, and Mr. Chintamani Yogi, know each other through their peace work and conferences on interfaith dialogue. Nana Apeadu has traveled to Nepal and Dr. Yogi has been to Africa, but not yet to Ghana.