For the first time in southeast Europe, humanitarian leaders, senior missionaries and long-term collaborators of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints gathered for an international online "greenhouse summit," celebrating one of the region's most successful self-reliance initiatives — helping families set up greenhouses to grow fruits and vegetables.
The virtual event on Thursday, Sept. 25, highlighted the far-reaching impact of greenhouse projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina — programs that are improving food security, strengthening families and offering new hope to vulnerable communities.
The summit was proposed by Elder Reid Bates and Sister Kathryn Bates, senior humanitarian missionaries from Olympia, Washington, currently serving in both Croatia and Turkey. The event was moderated by Davide Lotito, a Church Welfare and Self-Reliance manager residing in Milan, Italy, and co-sponsored by the Church's trusted collaborators, the Muslim Aid Association BiH and the Ana and Vlade Divac Foundation. More than 50 participants attended.
Elder Bates explained that the Church's humanitarian work in Croatia focuses on food insecurity. One of its collaborators, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, the humanitarian organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, had seen the success of the greenhouse initiative in neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina and expressed interest in starting a similar project. This became the genesis of the summit — to share success stories and practical guidance with other organizations.
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