On Tuesday, May 22nd, we had the honor of showing outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, Kenneth Merten, around the MFK factory construction site. Ambassador Merten was touring the country, visiting USAID recipient sites; MFK is gratefully receiving peanut processing machinery from USAID that will enable us to procure more Haitian peanuts and improve the livelihoods of more Haitian farmers. Despite intending to stay for fifteen minutes, the former ambassador ended up staying for an hour to see all the progress we have made in our construction efforts! We would like to thank Ambassador Merten for his visit and look forward to giving even more tours when the factory is complete!

Here are some photos from his visit, as well as some of the most recent photos of the factory. Thank you to everyone that has contributed to this project thus far and stay tuned for more updates on the factory!

Joe Grealy (center) with Ambassador Merten (right) and representatives from USAID and Chemonics, a global development firm.

From left to right:
Joe Grealy, MFK's Contruction Project Manager
Nicole Widdershiem, Country Representative, Office of Transition Initiatives, USAID
Cynthia Mahoney, Chemonics
Thomas Stehl, MFK's Deputy Director
Kenneth Merten, US Ambassador to Haiti
Gabriela Salazar, MFK Agricultural Development Fellow

Outer wall of the factory. Taken May 25, 2012.

The most recent photo of the factory! Taken June 1, 2012.