Friday, December 21, 2012

Jamaican Fishermen Saved after Spending Weeks at Sea

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Dec. 21, 2012) – Two fishermen are expected back in Kingston, Jamaica, on Saturday, after a day on the water in late November turned into a three-week adventure that landed them in the territorial waters of Colombia.


Everton Gregory, 54, and John Sobah, 58, are professional fishermen from the Food For The Poor fishing village in the town of Lyssons, which is located in St. Thomas Parrish on the eastern coast of the island.

When the men boarded the 28-foot fishing boat, they went with their tackle and just enough food and water for a few days.  When the time came to head back, the boat’s motor failed.

After a day, when the men did not return, Food For The Poor sent out a search team that included a chartered plane and scanned the waters near Jamaica. When days turned into a week and when a search party turned up empty-handed, family and friends of Gregory and Sobah feared that both men were forever lost at sea. Out of radio range, the boat drifted for more than 20 days and more than 500 miles.

The men survived by eating dried fish and sipping melted ice from their cooler. Before the fishermen were saved off the Caribbean island of Quitasueño near San Andrés, they went six days without water.
“With provisions running low, I can’t even imagine what it must have been like for these two fishermen who were adrift for weeks in the Caribbean Sea without a soul or land in sight,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “We are thankful to God and to Colombia’s officials for rescuing these fishermen and for helping us to return these men back to Jamaica in time to celebrate Christmas with their families.”   

After the fishermen were picked up by a Colombian naval ship, they were taken to San Andrés where they received food and medical treatment. San Andrés is among the Colombian islands in the Caribbean Sea and is more than 400 miles away from Colombia’s mainland. It is close to Nicaragua.
The matter was reported to the Jamaican Embassy in Bogota, where the necessary paper work was processed for the fishermen to return to Jamaica. The fishing boat was towed to Providencia, which is one of several islands in Colombia’s chain of Caribbean islands.   

Both men say they are excited and grateful to be heading back to Jamaica and are calling their sea rescue a real life miracle.

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.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Food For The Poor Organizes Prisoner Releases, Nonviolent Offenders Freed in Jamaica, Guyana and Haiti

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Natalie Carlisle, a Food For The Poor staff member, washed the feet of the nonviolent inmates at St. Catherine Adult Correctional Centre before they were released.
Natalie Carlisle, a Food For The Poor staff member, washed the feet of the nonviolent inmates at St. Catherine Adult Correctional Centre before they were released.
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COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Dec. 17, 2012) – Hearing visitors’ voices in the corridor, anxious prisoners race to stretch their arms through the cell door bars; praying someone from the outside will squeeze their hand.
Fifteen prisoners from St. Catherine Adult Correctional Centre in Spanish Town, Jamaica, were escorted from their cells to a room, where they were greeted by Food For The Poor staff and donors from the United States. Just as Jesus washed the disciples’ feet – the visitors kneeled before the prisoners, and gently washed the inmates’ feet. Dressed in new shoes, the cleansed inmates learned Food For The Poor donors had paid the fines for their nonviolent offenses, and that they would be released in time to spend Christmas with their families.    
“We all make mistakes and can testify that we have received many chances from persons who love and care for us,” said Jacqueline Johnson, Food For The Poor-Jamaica’s Executive Director, to the inmates at St. Catherine Adult Correctional Centre.
Johnson encouraged each beneficiary to return to society not being bitter men, but being grateful. “If ever you should return, come back not as an inmate, but rather as an inspiration and a beacon of light to the men you’ll be leaving here today,” she said. 
“When I heard my name, I thought there was another inmate with that name in the room,” said a 23-year-old inmate released from Tamarind Farm Adult Correctional Centre in Jamaica. “I couldn’t believe it, but I thank Food For The Poor and the donors for a second chance.”
This year in Jamaica, a total of 18 inmates were released from prisons in Spanish Town and Kingston.
Twice a year – during the Christmas and Easter seasons – it is a Food For The Poor tradition to release nonviolent inmates who have been incarcerated due to their inability to pay the required fines for committing minor offenses. This year prisoners also will be released in Guyana and Haiti.
In developing countries, the destitute sometimes have no way to feed their families other than to steal food. The consequence often is imprisonment without first appearing before a judge, or receiving a prison sentence. Sometimes, by the time they are tried, they have spent years longer in jail than their prison sentence requires.
“When you visit a prison, desperate eyes peer out of the dark cells, into the light, pleading silently for help,” said Robin Mahfood, Food For The Poor’s CEO/President. “They want to feel a connection with the outside world, to be a brother in Christ, to be prayed for – and not to be forgotten.”
Food For The Poor’s Prison Ministry Program is based on the scripture, “When was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you…” (Matthew 25: 31-46).
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.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Atlanta Residents Travel to Haiti to Inaugurate Development Projects

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Dec. 12, 2012) – Embraced by students at Lycee Charles Belair School in Arcahaie, Haiti, Paula Adesokan reflected how just two and a half months earlier she and her husband committed to fund the school’s water project at Food For The Poor’s Dreams Across The Sea Gala in Atlanta. She was astonished to witness how their gift of life-giving water already was available to approximately 2,000 grateful students.

The Adesokans attended the gala as guests when they learned about the nonprofit’s mission to provide clean drinking water to children and their families in Haiti. Paula Adesokan was part of a group of 12 from Atlanta-area communities to travel to Haiti, December 4-6, to inaugurate several water projects and a community center built in collaboration with Food For The Poor.

“For nearly a mile we danced our way into Vialet, stopping to see the water filtration system funded by Water-Life-Hope,” said John Beasley, a partner at JF Beasley, LLP. During the trip Beasley posted photos on the group’s travel blog.

Atlanta attorney Amanda Farahany was inspired to raise money to build a community center for residents in Vialet, when she visited the village in Dec. 2011. A year later, she and the group were welcomed back by a marching band and grateful residents holding signs that read, “Justice at Work a project of Food For The Poor.”

At the inauguration of the center, Farahany gave a heartfelt address commending the residents for their strength. The Association de Peches des Deuxieme Plaine (ADP) is the community group that will supervise the care of the community center.

“The Haitian people inspire hope in me,” said Farahany, a partner at Barrett & Farahany, LLP. “Their daily struggles are so great, and yet they celebrate life with joy and love. And with each visit here, I can see how the Haitians have used our helping hand to lead themselves to the next level of self-sufficiency.”

Food For The Poor donors Edward and Patricia Buckley also traveled to dedicate the water treatment unit they raised the money to install in Vialet. The unit provides approximately 1,500 residents access to life saving water. The Living Water Treatment System, manufactured by Water Missions International, treats up to 10,000 gallons each day and helps to prevent the spread of waterborne illnesses.

“Throughout history, the Haitian people have had to make do with what they had,” said Beasley. “Today in Vialet, a place I visited on one of my first trips, I saw that resilience and determination multiplied by the compassion of Food For The Poor and Water-Life-Hope donors.”

The next stop for the group was Grand Boulage. Schoolchildren sang welcome songs as the group arrived at the top of the mountain, 2,000 feet high, to dedicate the 25,000 gallon concrete cistern. Hundreds from the community gathered to praise God and celebrate the water project that will serve approximately 10,000 families. The people of Grand Boulage lined up to assist group members as they walked the steep, rocky slope to the stream where the 25,000 gallon reservoir will pump the fresh water to the neighboring communities. Children ranging in age from five to 12 marched up the mountain with water buckets balanced on their heads.

The installation of this water project guarantees children access to safe drinking water, allowing them to spend more time in the classroom learning, rather than walking miles to gather water to drink and cook with that might be contaminated.

“For it is our belief that the right to clean drinking water is the most fundamental of human rights, for without clean drinking water we cannot fully exercise our other God-given rights,” said Edward Buckley, President of Water-Life-Hope and partner at Buckley & Klein, LLP. “For example, a child can’t enjoy her right to education with parasites roiling in her belly because she does not have clean drinking water. A woman can’t engage in commerce if she has to spend five hours a day hunting for clean water and bringing a five gallon bucket back to her home only to repeat the same thing the next day.”

Water-Life-Hope has partnered with Food For The Poor on a new project to drill 200 artesian water wells in Haiti. To support the initiative, please make checks payable to Food For The Poor and include the special source code “SC# 88473” so your donation may be tracked to the initiative. Donations may be mailed to Food For The Poor, 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, FL 33073. All gifts are tax-deductible. Online donations can also be made through the charity’s secure website at www.FoodForThePoor.org/200.

Travelers included Paula Adesokan (Buckhead), John Beasley (Watkinsville), Simone Beasley (Watkinsville), Edward and Patricia Buckley (Decatur), Christopher Curry (Atlanta), Amanda Farahany (Atlanta), Verlyn Foley (Alpharetta), Gina Fraiser (Alpharetta), Nekeidra Frederick (Alpharetta), and Garvin Stewart (Alpharetta).

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.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Building Hope Gala Committee Members Journey to Jamaica

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Dec. 5, 2012) – Huddled inside a desperate family’s dark, dilapidated shack in Jamaica, members of the Building Hope Gala committee offered the promise of new Food For The Poor homes.

“We have poverty in our country, but the levels are just so different,” said Cathy Moabery, a gala committee chair. “I feel so much for the children. It’s not their fault. How can you not give them a bed to sleep on? How can you not give them a dry home?”
On Dec. 3, committee members from Delray Beach, Boca Raton and Lighthouse Point  and Parkland traveled to Canaan Heights in May Pen, Jamaica, with Food For The Poor to meet the residents and to see the community’s deplorable living conditions.
“Families with small children live crammed together in a space smaller than some people’s closets,” said Robin Knowles, a committee member. “They have no running water, no sanitation, no electricity, leaky roofs, holes in the walls, literally just pieces of tin patched together to make a home.”

One of the small dilapidated shacks they visited was home to a mother and her six children. She shared how rough and dangerous life is for her family. At times she has thought how much easier life would be if she was to run away and leave the children behind, but she cannot imagine leaving them. Instead, she prays and has kept a detailed diary documenting her tears, fears and frustrations.

“Overwhelmingly, the women want more for their lives but they are stuck,” said Laurie Braden, a committee member. “No help, no husbands, no income, and little to feed their children. I did see hope in all of them, but at the same time how stuck they are.”  Proceeds from the upcoming Building Hope Gala in Boca Raton will build safe and secure new homes with sanitation for 65 impoverished families in Canaan Heights.
“When you hear about the poverty in Jamaica, you can’t imagine the reality until you see it firsthand,” said Knowles. “The level of poverty is just shocking. Especially when we live in a place like Boca, and even though there are places in need locally, it just doesn’t compare.”

The 2013 Building Hope Gala will be Saturday, Feb. 2, at The Polo Club of Boca Raton. Attendees will be invited to create a legacy by pledging to build critically needed houses in Jamaica during the charity’s live house rally.

“The Building Hope Gala is not just a saying – we are building hope and homes for families,” said Becky Carlsson, a gala committee chair. “I am amazed that it is 2012 and that people live in such extreme poverty.”

For additional information regarding the 2013 Building Hope Gala, sponsorship levels, and tickets, available at $250 per person, please call 1-888-404-4248 or visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/boca.

“If people can’t attend the Gala, I hope they will consider making a donation toward a house that will drastically change someone’s life. Every donation helps,” said Carlsson.
The Building Hope Gala committee will host a pre-event on Dec. 6, in time for the holiday season. Join the committee for champagne and hors d’oeuvres at Gregory’s Fine Jewelry in Delray Beach’s The Addison Shops to purchase a dazzling piece of jewelry for your loved one. A portion of the proceeds from sales will be donated toward the gala’s homebuilding efforts in Jamaica.

Committee members for the 2013 Building Hope Gala include Laurie Braden, Kelly Brauner, Becky Carlsson, Melissa Davimos, Ronda Ellis Ged, Ronda Gluck, Michele Greene, LaMae Klos, Robin Ranzal Knowles, Julie Mahfood, Rene Mahfood, Pamela Matsil, Cathy Moabery, Jill Perea, Tashia Rahl, Kara Seelye, Natasha Singh, Renee Stetler, Holly Strogoff, Allison Venditti, Patricia Wallace, and Traci Wilson.
Master of ceremonies, Jason Martinez, co-anchor for WPLG-TV ABC Local 10 Morning News and Local 10 News at Noon, traveled to Jamaica in August to cover the island’s golden jubilee.

Gala sponsors include AKA Printing and Mailing, Aljoma Lumber, American Nicaraguan Foundation, Bank United, Bluegreen Corporation, The Boca Raton Observer, Dennis Charley & Associates, Inc., Dusco Doors, Ellis, Ged, & Bodden,  Franklin Dodd Communications, GA Telesis, Gregory’s Fine Jewelry, Quadriga Art, LLC, Seaboard Marine, TD Bank, and VITAS Innovative Hospice Care.

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.