From an early age, if someone at Harvest Care Children’s Home was looking for Wadell*, they just had to look outside in the yard. One of his earliest responsibilities at the home was caring for the birds. And long before he understood terms like agronomy or community development, he already felt a love of helping things grow.
He spent hours tending gardens, watching plants carefully, learning what needed water, patience, attention, and care. What may have looked small to others was shaping the future Wadell imagined for himself.
He had always been the quiet child learning in the garden at Harvest Care.
Today, adults gather to learn from him.
Years ago, people chose to invest in Wadell’s potential as a child. Now, the same care and opportunity once poured into his life are beginning to ripple outward into the communities around him.
Wadell is currently three years into a five-year university program studying agronomy, a field focused on agriculture, sustainability, and community development. To him, the degree represents far more than a career. It is a way to help communities around him become healthier, stronger, and more stable.
May 1st marks Haiti’s Agriculture and Labor Day, and it is celebrated by focusing on the environment, local foods, agriculture, and sustainability. Schools often host activities, and communities gather. It is a day honoring both the land and those who care for it, and this year, Wadell stood in front of a large group of teens and adults to teach them what he’s been learning.
He taught them how to plant and care for gardens, how compost nourishes depleted soil, and how sustainable growing practices can strengthen communities over time. Following his presentation, the group gathered outside to watch a live demonstration on how to plant and care for a papaya tree.
For many in the crowd, it was practical knowledge.
For Wadell, it was far more personal.
Once content to quietly care for a single garden at his home, he was now a young man helping others imagine what growth and sustainability could look like in their own communities.
And he’s just getting started.
Wadell is currently helping develop part of the Back2Back property into a garden and papaya grove. He will train staff members on how to care for the plants and sustain the project long-term. He also hopes to eventually raise chickens.
But one of his biggest dreams reaches beyond the property itself.
Across a busy road from Back2Back’s campus is a sprawling “town” called Canaan. Originally designed to house displaced families following the 2010 earthquake, it has now become a fully functioning community. And where families call home, the land is dry and difficult to farm. Fresh food is difficult to consistently access, and many families have limited opportunities to grow their own food close to home.
Wadell’s vision is clear: he hopes to create a home garden program to teach families how to grow greens and other foods in small container gardens outside their homes. They will be simple, sustainable gardens that can thrive even where the soil doesn’t.
In many ways, it is a modest vision; one including a container, soil, seeds, water, and patience.
But Wadell understands something deeper: when families can grow food nearby, it creates more than nourishment. It makes room for dignity and stability, for knowledge and possibility.
And in communities where food insecurity and instability still shape daily life, Wadell’s dream is rooted in more than agriculture. He wants families to believe that, regardless of the ground beneath them, they can still grow something for themselves.
