Three Girls Build a School for 350 Students in Haiti

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (March 27, 2012) — When 12-year-old Rachel Wheeler met the college-aged twins who helped her build Rachel’s School through Food For The Poor, the reaction was what one would expect from a group of girls. Rachel talked and laughed and teased with Ashton and Chesney Hellmuth all the way from South Florida to Haiti. When they climbed off the bus in Leogane, however, and saw what they had done, they were silent with awe as they walked toward a crowd of children waiting for them outside a sturdy 10-classroom school, and singing a welcome song of gratitude.

Rachel Wheeler, 12, left, and twins Chesney and Ashton Hellmuth cut the ribbon on a new school in Leogane, Haiti. The community's old school was destroyed in the January 2010 earthquake. The three girls' desire to help Haiti resulted in a 10-classroom school for more than 350 children in Leogane

“If you have a dream you follow it, and you don’t let anyone stand in your way,” Rachel told the crowd, when she found her voice.” It doesn’t matter if you’re old or young like me and my friends Ashton and Chesney.”

Ecole Reap de Morel was destroyed during the earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010, but the principal and teachers were determined to continue educating the children in the community. With the help of the local residents and the church congregation, a shelter of wood, zinc and tarps was constructed to provide some protection from the elements. Bedsheets separated the classrooms with dirt floors.

Factors cited in the recent Honduras prison fire were severe overcrowding and an unstable environment. Prisoners were reported to be suffering from malnutrition and a lack of adequate sanitation. It has also been reported that inmates with mental illnesses, as well as those with tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, are routinely held among the general prison population. Similarly, the potential spread of cholera in Haiti prisons remains a concern.

The new school, a source of pride for the community, was dedicated on Saturday. Rachel’s School is solidly built of concrete blocks with a zinc roof. The rooms are properly sized and ventilated so that the teachers and students have the best possible environment for learning. The school has 10 classrooms, a principal’s office, a staff room, canteen and kitchen.

“I’m standing here today, so that from the bottom of my heart, I can say thank you,” said Pastor Jacque Laguerre, who founded the original school in 1978. “Since the earthquake destroyed it, I’ve been praying and trying to know how to rebuild this school. I didn’t know that it would be a little girl. People that God knew came to help us. There is no need to say anymore!”

	Kindergartners wait for the celebration to begin for their new school in Leogane, Haiti. Their old school was destroyed in the January 2010 earthquake. Rachel Wheeler, 12, of Lighthouse Point, has raised funds for 27 homes and a 10-classroom school in Leogane.

Rachel’s youth and determination to make a difference have made an impression on many, including Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor.

“From the very beginning, it was clear that Rachel had a heart for the poor,” Mahfood said. “She is a special child who listens to her heart, and is able to inspire others to follow theirs as well. We are grateful to her and we appreciate what her family and community have done to support her dreams.”

Her mother remembered that beginning at Food For The Poor in 2009, when she spoke to the community. “When we first visited Food For The Poor, who knew that Mr. Mahfood would reach into my daughter’s heart and change it forever,” said Julie Wheeler.

With the support of her classmates at Zion Lutheran Christian School in Deerfield Beach, Fla. and her hometown Lighthouse Point Chamber of Commerce, Rachel had bake sales, sold potholders and spoke on behalf of the poor to collect funds to build desperately needed homes and the school.

Jayne Cunningham, principal of Zion Lutheran Christian School, traveled with the group of 18 to dedicate the school and hand-deliver 318 backpacks filled with school supplies, hygiene items and food donated by students at her school.

“What’s so overwhelming is so many times you donate money or goods but you don’t really see the people receive them,” Cunningham said. “It’s emotionally overwhelming to physically be able to come to another country and distribute what you collected.”

During the dedication ceremony, Everett Hellmuth reflected on what it meant for his family to become involved in the project. “This is a place where big dreams can be found,” he said. “We chose to donate to Rachel’s school because we were encouraged by Rachel's determination to help improve the lives of the people of Haiti, and here we are today.”

With land now available, Rachel’s goal is to build homes for an additional 20 families in Rachel’s Village.

To support Rachel’s building initiative, tax-deductible donations can be made through the charity’s secure website at www.FoodForThePoor.org/rachel. Donations can also be mailed to Food For The Poor, 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, FL 33073. Please make checks payable to Food For The Poor and include the special source code “SC# 82561” to accurately route your donation to the house-building effort.

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Contact:

Kathy Skipper

Food For The Poor

Director of Public Relations

954-427-2222 x 6614

kathys@foodforthepoor.com

Transforming Lives by Educating Children, One Step at a Time

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (March 22, 2012) – Hope For Haitians has teamed up with Food For The Poor for its first 5K Walk/Run For Education fundraiser. Every step taken by each participant will be a step toward raising much needed funds for school supplies and uniforms for children in Haiti.

The event is set to kick-off on Saturday, May 12, at 8:30 a.m. at the Kane County Government Center located at 719 South Batavia Ave. in Geneva, Ill.  But in order to help, you must register to participate. Please visit www.HopeForHaitians.org and click on the Hope For Haitians logo to register or make a donation. Take advantage of the Participant Center to create a fundraising page, share your goal with family, friends, co-workers and contacts, while you monitor your progress.

Cost of pre-registration is $20 for adults, $15 for children ages 6-10, and there’s no fee for children 5 years old and under. The registration cost includes a T-shirt.  Special awards will be given to the individuals who raise a certain amount of pledges.

• Raise $5,000  –  win an Apple iPad


• Raise $2,500  –  win a Wii Fit or Kindle


• Raise $1,000  –  win a Digital Camera


• Raise $200  – win a $15 iTunes Gift Card

For more information, please call 1-815-847-0656 or visit www.HopeForHaitians.org.  You can also register the day of the event, but there will be an additional $5 fee per person.  Registration starts at 7 a.m., the run/walk begins at 8:30 a.m. and the awards ceremony is at 10 a.m.

If you don’t live in the Chicago area, you can still participate in the Hope For Haitians 5K Walk/Run for Education. You can register online as a virtual walker to participate in your hometown as a team, or as an individual.

 

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Haiti houses funded in February will be finished in June

Construction has started on houses in Haiti pledged at February’s Food For The Poor Building Hope Gala in Boca Raton, Fla. This year’s gala raised enough money to construct 100 housing units, as well as a community center, and an animal husbandry project of 20 cows in Olivier, Deuxieme Plaine, Haiti.

“We were fortunate to have so many people support the event and donate money to build a home for a family,” said René Mahfood, Publisher of The Light Magazine and the event’s Honorary Chairperson in 2012. “We would like to thank each and every one of these generous donors for changing a life for a homeless family in Haiti.”

This year, guests pledged enough funding to construct a record number of homes to restore hope and to shelter the destitute in Olivier. Construction on the first 40 Food For The Poor housing units in this community are scheduled to be completed by the end of March.

“Food For The Poor’s house building plans in Olivier remain on track for completion in June,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “Food For The Poor’s extensive network of operations in Haiti uniquely positions the charity to be a leader in the reconstruction process. Since the quake, we have escalated our homebuilding in Haiti.”

Committee members plan to travel to Haiti in June to dedicate the Food For The Poor village they have worked hard to raise funds to build. Seven of the committee members traveled to Haiti for the first time in November. They witnessed firsthand the condition of the people and learned how the nonprofit continues to improve their lives and living conditions.

“We witnessed the desperate struggle that hundreds of thousands of people face on a daily basis,” said Ronda Gluck, an attorney at the Law Offices of Bill T. Smith Jr. in Boca Raton and a 2012 Event Co-Chairperson. “The basics of food, water, and shelter simply do not exist. The Building Hope Gala will provide homes for the homeless and hope for the hopeless, thanks to Food For The Poor.”

The Building Hope Gala committee members invite you to join them on May 3 at Arrigo Fiat of West Palm Beach from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. for a cocktail reception and to pull the winning raffle ticket for a Gucci Fiat 500C 2-door black automatic convertible. Raffle tickets, starting at $50, can be purchased through the charity’s secure website www.FoodForThePoor.org/fiat. The Gucci Fiat 500C raffle sales will be used to continue building in Haiti.

“Our commitment is far from done,” said Cathy Moabery, a 2012 Event Co-Chairperson. “We plan to continue our support of Food For The Poor and its efforts to provide homes for one family at a time. We will continue to work all year to fulfill the dream of building many more homes in 2012.”

Committee members for the 2012 Building Hope Gala included Cathy and Abdol Moabery (Event Co-Chairpersons), Ronda and David Gluck (Event Co-Chairpersons), René and Francis Mahfood (Honorary Chairpersons), Becky Carlsson, Ronda Ellis Ged, Michele Greene, Julie Mahfood, Pamela Matsil, Kara Seelye, Natasha Singh, Allison Venditti, Patricia Wallace, and Traci Wilson.

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.

For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Providing safe, clean water for families: Food For The Poor’s Water Week 2012 campaign

Many living in developed countries do not give much thought to their daily water use for cooking, cleaning or even drinking. They simply head to the nearest sink and turn on the faucet.

As World Water Day celebrates its 19th year on March 22, Food For The Poor will launch its third annual Water Week fundraising campaign, March 18 through March 25. During this weeklong donation drive, the ministry will partner with local participating restaurants and businesses to raise money for water filtration units, water wells and pumps.

According to the World Health Organization, 11 percent of the world’s population or around 783 million people do not have access to safe drinking water. Many initiatives to supply the world with access to clean water have been successful, but sadly this precious resource remains out of reach for far too many people. By supporting Water Week 2012 you will be helping to provide a community with safe drinking water. It only takes a little bit to make a big difference.

Businesses participating in Water Week are:

Bamboo Wok, 4660 W Hillsboro Blvd # 3, Coconut Creek
Dunkin’ Donuts, 4660 W Hillsboro Blvd # 1, Coconut Creek
Salon Natasha, 4660 W Hillsboro Blvd # 4, Coconut Creek
Dryclean USA, 4660 W Hillsboro Blvd # 2, Coconut Creek
Dryclean USA, Lakeside Square Plaza 11640 Palmetto Park Rd Suite 101, Boca Raton Dryclean USA, Keystone Plaza 10450 Wiles Road, Coral Springs
Dryclean USA, Countryside Plaza 5668 South Flamingo Road, Cooper City
Dryclean USA, Parkview Square 17161 S.W. 172nd Ave., Miramar
LaBrasa, 4201 West Hillsboro Boulevard, Coconut Creek
Aunt I’s,101111 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines
Island In The Pines, 162 N. University Drive, Pembroke Pines
Finger Lickin’s, 11244 Pines Blvd. Pembroke Pines
Cool Running’s, 9977 Miramar Pkwy, Miramar
El Atlakat, 8986 Taft Street, Pembroke Pines
The Promenade, 4443 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek

• 160 Degrees & Muffuletta
• Scarfone’s Coal Fired Pizza
• Crepe Maker
• Red Rock Oasis

“The critical need of clean drinking water became even more urgent during the height of the cholera outbreak that impacted Haiti nine months after the January 2010 earthquake,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “The waterborne disease has claimed more than 7,000 lives and has sickened hundreds of thousands. There’s growing concern that with this year’s rainy season we’ll see an increase of new cholera cases, but we’re taking every step possible to prevent this from happening.”

Since the earthquake, Food For The Poor has installed 45 water filtration units, which produce 10,000 gallons of clean drinking water a day in various locations in the Artibonite region of Haiti. Last year, the organization completed 175 water projects throughout the Caribbean and Latin America.

Patrons visiting participating businesses are being asked to remember those who do not have access to clean drinking water and to donate toward this life-saving resource. Funds collected during Water Week will be used to provide clean water for families and communities in Central American and the Caribbean.

In developing countries, children like 11-year-old Carmelina must forge treacherous paths just to fetch a single drink of water. To see a 5 minute video of Camelina’s story click on link: www.FoodForThePoor.org/water. To learn more about Water Week and to see a complete list of participating Water Week businesses, click on www.FoodForThePoor.org/waterweek.

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Contact:
Wanda Wright
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6079
wandaw@foodforthepoor.com

Deadly prison fire highlights need for Food For The Poor prison ministry – nonviolent offenders to be freed

Food For The Poor will release nonviolent offenders in the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras and Jamaica in time to spend Easter Holy Week with their families. These prisoners were incarcerated due to their inability to pay the required fines, even though the amounts in some cases are minimal. Sometimes by the time they are tried, they have spent years longer in jail than their prison sentence requires.

Since the inception of Food For The Poor’s Prison Ministry Program in 1998, Food For The Poor has assisted in freeing, training and reintroducing prisoners back into the community as productive citizens.

“Prison conditions and poverty are drastically worse in developing countries than they are in the United States,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “Overcrowded prisons are common, and perpetuate the spread of disease and violence. Through Food For The Poor’s Prison Ministry program, we want to help nonviolent offenders make a fresh start.”

Factors cited in the recent Honduras prison fire were severe overcrowding and an unstable environment. Prisoners were reported to be suffering from malnutrition and a lack of adequate sanitation. It has also been reported that inmates with mental illnesses, as well as those with tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, are routinely held among the general prison population. Similarly, the potential spread of cholera in Haiti prisons remains a concern.

Most of the 358 inmates who were burned alive in February’s fire at the Comayagua prison in Honduras had never been charged or convicted, according to reports from The Associated Press.

“This case is neither the only one nor the first in the world,” said Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and a member of Food For The Poor’s Board of Directors. “The humane care of prisoners is the most revealing social indicator that can describe a complete society. By promoting the process of pardons, and the acceleration of trials, prisons can be less crowded and transform detainees into good citizens.”
On March 2, thanks to the generosity of Food For The Poor donors, eight nonviolent offenders at Pastoral Penitenciaria in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, had their petty fines paid, so they could be reunited with their families.

Last month, Food For The Poor donors served warm meals to approximately 560 prisoners in Cap-Haitien, Haiti. The barracks were so congested, men were forced to sit in rows on the floor and hug their knees close to their chests - taking turns to stand, and stretch out their limbs.

Most of the nonviolent offenders to be released from prisons in Haiti were jailed because they stole food to feed their starving families. Last year, one man released during Easter’s Holy Week had been caught stealing food in the marketplace and had already served a two-month prison sentence because he was unable to pay the 75 cent fine.

The nonviolent offenders, renewed with hope, are led outside the prison gate. Food For The Poor representatives and partners pray with them for God’s forgiveness and blessing. Just prior to their release, they are fed a warm meal, given tools, a small stipend and groceries to take home to their families. Prison authorities have found Food For The Poor’s Prison Ministry Program to be so successful that they have implemented a similar program themselves. Some prisons now offer inmates jobs in the prison where they are held so that they can earn money to pay off their fines.

Twice a year – the week of Christmas and during Easter’s Holy Week – the Food For The Poor Prison Ministry Program releases inmates who have committed minor offenses. The ministry is based on the scripture, “…I was in prison and you visited me,” (Matthew 25: 31-46).

To support Food For The Poor’s Prison Ministry Program, checks payable to Food For The Poor can be mailed to 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, Fla. 33073. Please include reference number “SC# 74122” to ensure your donation is accurately routed.

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.

For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Contact:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com

A voice for the voiceless: Radio hosts speak on behalf of Guatemala’s poor

A home in the mountains overlooking lush green tree tops, hazy blue skies as far as the eye can see and a crisp clean breeze to caress the skin would be considered by most an ideal place to live.

Ironically, one of the most beautiful places in Central America is also one the poorest places in which Food For The Poor works. People who live in the mountainous region of Quetzaltenango, which is a five-hour bus ride from Guatemala’s capital of Guatemala City, are some of the poorest of the poor. Most are surprised to learn that Guatemala, not Haiti, has by far the worst situation in regards to childhood malnutrition in the Western Hemisphere.

“Families are dying daily,” said Doug Bursch, Radio Host on KGNW 820 AM in Seattle, Wash. “They are dying physically, psychologically, and spiritually. Poverty steals their dreams, stunts their growth, destroys their youth, and takes away their children.”

Bursch’s words sum up what life is like for some of the people he met on his trip to Guatemala with Food For The Poor in February – people like Maria Macario, a 61-year-old widow and her family of 12. Families like Maria’s are living in cramped mud huts and are starving. The only source of protein for many of the children comes from the dead animals plucked from a nearby ravine during the frequent floods. Most receive their daily meal from whatever they pick from the garbage dump in the valley below.

For 12 years, Food For The Poor’s Radio Marketing department has traveled with radio hosts from across the United States to Jamaica and Haiti to fundraise. For the first time, 13 hosts representing stations from Hawaii to Florida, joined Food For The Poor and its on-air personalities on a five-day journey to Guatemala for the 2012 “Day of Hope” 40 station radio campaign.

“In order to paint an accurate picture of what poverty is like in the third world it was imperative for these radio hosts to see for themselves how difficult day-to-day life really is for people without the bare necessities,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “They have been entrusted with this opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the women and children they’ve met in Guatemala. They will be able to do this by sharing their own personal experiences with their loyal listeners here in the United States.”

In this video, Dawn O’Brien, Radio Host on The Fish 95.5 in Honolulu, Hawaii, introduces us to Josefa Morales. Morales is a single mother of 10 who was abandoned by her husband. Her children often scavenge the dumps in search of something to eat.

“I thought I knew what poverty was like because I‘ve been there as a child, but you forget so fast,” said O’Brien. “I think this short mission trip was absolutely worth it, just for us to remember that this is how many in the world live.”

In this video, Elizabeth Kay, Radio Host on 99.1 The Mix in Milwaukee, Wis. shares the story of Catarina Sacrohope, a 27-year-old widow with four young children. Sacrohope and her family are literally living on the edge of a cliff with a 100-foot drop to the rocky ground beneath them.

“We all have our challenges, but thankfully in the United States we do have the means, as tough as they are, to try to get a little bit of help,” said Kay. “These people don’t have a little bit of help on their own; they need an organization like Food For The Poor because that is their only option.”

After getting up close and personal with utter despair, there were moments of jubilation for these first-time visitors to the Central American country. Food For The Poor took the group to the main street market of Quetzaltenango to buy fruit, vegetables, and meat for the children of the El Chulin Feeding Center, where they helped to prepare a special meal for them. While at the center, the radio personalities lived up to their title by playing rounds of football and entertaining the children with their cell phone cameras and broken Spanish.

The group also visited a thriving animal husbandry project of pigs and chickens. They got to see a successful tilapia-farm, a pelibuey (cross-breed between goats and sheep) project and the Xela community of 75 homes, which are all funded by donors through Food For The Poor. While in Guatemala the ministry’s local partners managed to procure land for the families visited by the radio hosts. Thanks to the generosity of the organization’s caring donors, these families will soon have a sturdy home away from edges of cliffs. Click here for a photo gallery of projects in the Xela community.

“The greatest gift that we can share with the poor is our gift of presence. It comes with a feeling of brotherhood, caring, walking the extra mile, and of coming out of our very comfortable worlds; daring to understand their world of suffering and sorrow. It comes with an offer of love and hope,” said Aloma.

Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Contact:
Wanda Wright
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6079
wandaw@foodforthepoor.com

Student reporters from Saint Andrew’s Middle School tour Food For The Poor

As field reporters and community service volunteers, 19 students from Saint Andrew’s Middle School held a “mud cookie” from Haiti and learned what it means to be destitute in a developing country while touring Food For The Poor’s headquarters in Coconut Creek, Fla. on March 2. Their mission was to bring awareness about the agency and the wider international community it serves to their peers on the Boca Raton campus.

As an introduction to Food For The Poor, the group was shown a video documenting the charity’s 30 years of service to the destitute. The ministry, through its dedicated donors, has built more than 77,000 homes, sent more than 60,000 containers filled with essential goods to the 17 countries it serves, and has delivered more than $9 billion in aid since its inception. Optimistic about the challenges that lay ahead, Food For The Poor shared its goal for 2012 to build 12,000 homes, dig 1,200 water wells, and ship 1,200 containers of food to help the destitute.

During the group’s orientation, they heard about the harsh realities of life in developing countries and firsthand accounts from the South Florida-based charity’s President/CEO, Robin Mahfood. One of the photos shared with the group was of a young Nicaraguan girl. Mahfood explained how destitute families do not enjoy the luxury of access to water in their homes with the simple twist of a faucet. As part of their daily chores, little girls in developing countries often have to carry heavy water buckets on their heads for miles over rocky ground to gather water for the family to drink, cook and clean.

“Her chore of fetching water perpetuates poverty,” said Mahfood. “If you are not educated, it is hard to rise above a life of poverty.”

Through the installation of water wells in remote villages, and the implementation of school feeding programs, students from Saint Andrew’s learned how the charity is working to eradicate poverty – one person, one family at a time.

Michelle Blum, one of the Saint Andrew’s faculty members, said the idea of not having access to clean, safe water is hard for most people to imagine.

“Tonight, I ask all of you to tell your parents that you are a philanthropist,” said Paul Kane, Food For The Poor’s Manager of Church, School and Community Development. “To be a philanthropist means, to love human beings. We at Food For The Poor do all that we do because we love others.”

The orientation concluded with a tour of Food For The Poor’s facility and distribution center.

You can learn how to involve your school in Food For The Poor’s mission by calling 1-877-654-2960, ext. 6641 or emailing churchschool@foodforthepoor.com.

Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.

For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Contact:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com

Food For The Poor, partners move 2,000 into Haiti homes

Food For The Poor joined with key partners on Feb. 27 to move 400 families displaced by the 2010 earthquake into sturdy homes. The Inter-American Development Bank, and Fonds d' Assistance Économique et Social, along with Food For The Poor committed to building the homes on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince in the fall of 2011.

“The people who will live in these homes are among the poorest of the displaced people directly affected by the earthquake, and living in tents and other makeshift shelters around the city,” said Alvaro Pereira, Executive Vice President of Food For The Poor. “This development is not only providing the dignity and safety of homes, but also offering hope through jobs. Local residents have found jobs building the homes, and with those skills they are able to go find other work.”

More than 2,700 two-room homes have been built by Food For The Poor in Haiti since the January 2010 earthquake. While 1.3 million people were initially left homeless by the earthquake, about 500,000 are still without shelter, according to the United Nations’ shelter committee. Moving the people out of the makeshift tents pitched in the city’s parks, plazas and public places is a challenge because most have no place to go. Through the charity’s housing initiative, about 13,500 people have a safe place to live.

The Inter-American Development Bank funded the site development in Orangers and a portion of the cost of every home, while the balance is being matched by caring donors of Food For The Poor. The original plan for 100 homes built by Food For The Poor was increased by 40 when the other two partners expressed their satisfaction at the quality of the homes, and the speed with which they were built.

The colorful homes in the Orangers development have poured cement foundations, cement block construction and sturdy metal roofs. Each house has two rooms, a cooking area, a bathroom and connections to a septic tank, water and electricity services. The neighborhood also has paved roads, playgrounds, a community center and areas for shops. Based on an average family size of five, the 400 homes in the development will house about 2,000 people.

Those who will live in the homes expressed their gratitude, as they were handed the keys by President Michel Martelly and offered a new chance at life.

Meaningful change in Haiti will come through self-sustaining programs, allowing Haitians to take the reins of their own future by providing jobs that will help support the country’s people and local economy. That kind of economic impact is evident in the Orangers project. More than 75 people who are heads of households helped to build the homes, directly impacting the economic wellbeing of almost 300 people. Another 140 or so are benefitting from selling supplies, foods and other commodities in the local markets.

“Since the quake, we have escalated our homebuilding in Haiti,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “It is heartbreaking to see the conditions in which people are living, and it is dangerous to their health and safety. By working together with IDB, FAES and our loyal and generous donors, we have been able to get some of the displaced out of the tent cities. There are so many more that urgently need our help.”

The project will continue building more homes outside of the Port-au-Prince region this year, and about 750 homes will be built in the north, where Food For The Poor and IDB are working on a regional development plan anchored by the soon-to-be-completed Caracol Industrial Park.

Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.

To learn more, please visit www.foodforthepoor.org.

Contact:
Kathy Skipper
Food For The Poor
Public Relations Director
954-427-2222 x 6614
kathys@foodforthepoor.com

Atlanta attorneys host wine tasting to bring water, hope to Haiti

Atlanta-area attorneys will host an evening of art and wine tasting at The Art House Gallery Atlanta on March 21. Hosts Edward Buckley (Decatur), Amanda Farahany (Atlanta), and Sheryl McCalla (Avondale Estates) will talk about the realities of life in developing countries and discuss long term solutions. The event will be on the eve of World Water Day.

“In our view, the right to clean drinking water is the most fundamental human right we have,” said Buckley, who for eight years has partnered with the nonprofit Food For The Poor to drill and install lifesaving water wells throughout Jamaica and Haiti. “The water wells that have already been installed in Haiti have made an extraordinary difference to the people in the communities they serve.”

As the rainy season approaches, the Associated Press reports that Haiti may experience a surge in cholera cases. An outbreak of the waterborne disease has killed nearly 7,000 people and sickened a half-million. When the cholera outbreak was confirmed in Haiti in 2010, Buckley donated a water filtration unit to help prevent the spread of the waterborne illness. Each water filtration unit has the capacity to purify 10,000 gallons of water a day.

Photos taken during the trio’s travels to remote villages in Haiti with Food For The Poor will be on display at the art gallery as guests sip wine selections from Cellar 13 Wine Merchant. Through their journeys, they experienced how access to clean, safe drinking water is the first step in revitalizing parched communities.
“I thought that it would be worse, but in many ways, it is better,” said Farahany in December after her first trip back to Haiti since the devastating 2010 earthquake. “There is still great poverty and most don't have access to running water, but there is a lot of progress too. I saw communities of people who have taken the helping hand and have lifted themselves up.”

Attendees will be asked to donate toward the cost of a water system in the village of Grand Boulage, Haiti or to build a community center in Vialet, Haiti. To support these initiatives, and provide a village in Haiti with the gift of clean water, and a community center, donations can be made online through the charity’s secure website at www.FoodForThePoor.org/water-haiti or www.FoodForThePoor.org/JusticeAtWork.

An anonymous donor will match up to $50,000 in donations to complete the installation of the Grand Boulage water system. Buckley and his supporters have funded the construction of more than 100 artesian wells throughout Haiti. Each well provides an average of 5,000 people access to potable water.

Event sponsors include Barrett & Farahany, LLP, Buckley & Klein, LLP, Cellar 13 Wine Merchant, and The Art House Gallery Atlanta.

Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Contact:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com

Help Food For The Poor meet the “Fight Hunger” Challenge

For more than three decades, Food For The Poor has been a dedicated servant of the poor. One of the ministry’s priorities in 2012 is to ship 1,200 containers of food to feed the destitute in the countries it serves.

One way the organization is looking to meet that goal is by participating in the 15th Annual $1 Million Giveaway to Fight Hunger Challenge. Food For The Poor is one of dozens of nonprofits that will benefit from this challenge, but the more donations made on behalf of the ministry, the more money the organization will get.

Here’s how it works:

• Click www.FoodForThePoor.org/feedingchallenge to make a donation.
• Donations must be made between March 1 and April 30, 2012.

The funds for the challenge are coming from the Feinstein Foundation, which is based in Rhode Island. The money will be divided proportionately among all agencies. A minimum of $250 and a maximum of $35,000 will go to each participating organization.

Food For The Poor feeds millions a day in the Caribbean and Latin America, but rising food and fuel costs are threatening the charity’s ability to buy food and transport it to people desperate for a meal, who often have nothing to feed their children. Because of its size and reach, the charity is very efficient – it can feed a family of four for one month for just $12. A donation to the Fight Hunger Challenge will help the charity stretch its dollars even further.

“There are some truly amazing people in the world who are making a difference in this fight against hunger, in our country and around the world,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “We are so grateful to the Feinstein Foundation for providing our donors with this wonderful opportunity to make their dollars grow by taking part in this unique campaign.”

Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Contact:
Wanda Wright
Food For The Poor
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6079
wandaw@foodforthepoor.com