Donors Build 100K Homes

Food For The Poor Surpasses 100,000 Housing Milestone

	With a new Food For The Poor home, this family in Honduras has received a second chance in life thanks to the charity's generous donors.
Related Items: Learn More about Maudiel’s Story Documentary Illustrates Housing Needs See Photos of Families in their Homes

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (March 23, 2015) – Food For The Poor’s generous donors have built more than 100,000 housing units for destitute families in the Caribbean and Latin America. The desperate living conditions of the poor inspired Food For The Poor to begin its home building initiative in 1985 in Jamaica.

Food For The Poor’s homes are well-built, safe and secure. These permanent homes not only benefit the families receiving them, but also provide much-needed work for local laborers. With the help of donors, Food For The Poor is on schedule this year to build approximately 8,000 housing units.

Food For The Poor donors constructed 7,367 housing units in 2014 and gifted them to destitute families. The greatest number of homes were built in Jamaica (2,057 housing units), Honduras (1,812), Haiti (1,774), and Nicaragua (1,594).

Special housing matches have fueled Food For The Poor’s ability to help change the dire circumstances of destitute families. Through the end of 2015, generous friends of Food For The Poor have offered to match any gift received to build homes in Nicaragua, Honduras and Jamaica. This means that every gift received to build a home in these countries will be matched dollar-for-dollar.

“The poor live in very dangerous situations and struggle with overwhelming circumstances every day,” said Robin Mahfood, Food For The Poor President/CEO. “It is difficult for many of us to imagine what it must be like to be surrounded by rain-soaked, muddy floors, and walls made of plastic on a daily basis. To escape a life of poverty, destitute families need a proper roof over their heads, clean water and sanitation.”

Click here to watch a photo documentary that illustrates the critical need for housing that exists in developing countries. 

Dilapidated shacks made of scraps of wood, metal, plastic and cardboard offer little protection from the elements, insects and rodents. As a result, illness and disease are rampant, especially among those who are most vulnerable — the young and elderly. In addition, the poor who live in these conditions are particularly devastated by natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and hurricanes.

Last year, Food For The Poor donors built then 4-year-old Maudiel and his family a new, solid home in Nicaragua. By replacing the family’s primitive shack, which was strung together with dried palm fronds and ripped plastic tarps, Maudiel can now sleep peacefully through the night. He no longer wakes scared when the wind rattles the roof, or worries that the rain will turn the floor into mud. His new Food For The Poor house keeps him safe. Learn more about Maudiel’s story here.

In 1995, Food For The Poor-Haiti began a housing program and began building homes in Cite Soleil. Since then, 11,068 double-unit homes have been built in Haiti, 5,015 of them since the earthquake in January 2010. These sturdy homes provide the poor with shelter, safety and hope for the future.

A gift of $3,200 will build a single-unit home with sanitation; a gift of $6,400 will build a double-unit home with sanitation and a water component. In countries like Haiti, where the average household has seven members, Food For The Poor builds only double-unit homes by combining two single-unit donations.

For information regarding Food For The Poor’s home building initiative, or to support the program, please call 954-427-2222 or visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/home.

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 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Kellogg Foundation grant

	Food For The Poor has received a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to build a village of 50 homes in Fond des Blancs, Haiti. Many families there are living in dirt-floor houses.
Related Item: View Photos from the Village

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (May 30, 2014) – Food For The Poor has received a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to build a village in Fond des Blancs, Haiti. Located in the Aquin district within the country’s peninsula, it is a dry mountainous region with a population of approximately 30,000 people.

Many of the families who call Fond des Blancs home are living in dirt-floor houses that have crumbling mud walls, no sanitation and rusted zinc roofs that leak. During the rainy season, many of these mud-based structures simply collapse from the weight of the water, making these makeshift dwellings very dangerous for the occupants.

“The goal of this grant is to address the overwhelming need for housing, sanitation and income-producing projects for the people within the community,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “With the support of the Kellogg Foundation, Food For The Poor soon will begin the construction of 50 concrete block homes for families who are in desperate need of housing.”

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. The foundation also works with international organizations that are committed to improving the lives of the materially poor with self-sustaining opportunities. 

“This is an integrated project that incorporates income-generating activities and the provision of decent homes for families in Fond des Blancs. It is an opportunity to learn and to explore how to enable communities to build safe living environments for families,” said Alix Cantave, Program Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. “It is also an exercise in community collaboration, since Food For The Poor is collaborating with two organizations in the community.”

Food For The Poor will be working with in-country partners from the St. Boniface Haiti Foundation, a Massachusetts-based organization with a 31-year history in Fond des Blancs. Each of the 50 homes built in the St. Boniface Community Village will have solar lighting, a cistern for water, and an indoor toilet with a dual-chamber sanitation system.

With the potential risk of cholera ever present, hygiene and sanitation classes will be provided for the residents living in the village, along with vocational and animal husbandry training. The animal husbandry projects will include 52 goats and 600 layer hens, along with shade covering and cages for the livestock. Feed, medicines and supplies will be provided for the health of these animals, which will become a source of food and income-generating assets.

Haiti imports 17 million eggs per month from the Dominican Republic. Local egg production can provide a substantial income for residents of the St. Boniface Community Village, who can sell their eggs for profit. Fond des Blancs also has very fertile soil. With the proper tools and agricultural training, the farmers can better cultivate their main crops of corn, millet, banana, avocado, bean, yam, orange and manioc.
The hope of the grant is that this new village in Fond des Blancs will provide families with the income needed to pay the tuition fees of their children. It is also the hope that opportunities for an advanced level of education will soon become available, so the town’s young people will want to stay in the region and not move to Port-au-Prince in search of better opportunities.

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 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Couple to Build Village

Ellie and Marv Walworth speak with a staff member who helps to care for 36 boys who live at the Christian Boys Home in Kingston, Jamaica. The Walworths, longtime supporters of Food For The Poor, took their first mission trip to the Caribbean country with the organization in July and will be building a village consisting of 39 two-room houses with the relief and development organization in McCooks Pen this fall.

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Oct. 1, 2013) – Jamaica is famous for its beautiful beaches and vistas. But head inland, about an hour’s drive from the capital city of Kingston into St. Catherine’s Parish between Spanish Town and Old Harbour, and you will find McCooks Pen. The rural community is just off a busy roadway, and is a world away from what beckons visitors to this tropical paradise.

Hidden on a back dirt road, nestled between overgrown weeds and a muddy creek, is a row of dilapidated houses. In the doorway of one of the unsound structures, stood an enthusiastic 22-year-old woman who dreams of attending college. Vanessa Brown talked about what life is like for her and the nine other family members living in the tiny space. She spoke candidly with Marv and Ellie Walworth, who were listening intently to her every word.

“Life here is hard, very hard,” said Brown. “But, I will not let my living conditions define who I am as a person. I refuse to give up on myself.”

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The Walworths, longtime supporters of Food For The Poor, took their first mission trip to the Caribbean country with the organization in July. While there, the couple got to witness true destitution as they visited with families in McCooks Pen.

“The attitude of the people here is truly fascinating. They may not have much, materially, yet they are amazingly optimistic about the future and tend to see good where most would see misery,” said Marv.

Moved by what they saw and heard, the Walworths have decided to build a village of 39 two-room houses. Each house will have a living space, a personal sanitation unit with a flush toilet and shower, kitchenette and access to electrical power. The village also will have a community center, which will be built in a cleared out sugar cane field in the center of town.

“Words can’t begin to express the gratitude we feel for the gift of opportunity the Walworths have decided to give to these families who are in desperate need,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “We understand that we cannot fix all the problems in Jamaica, but we are making life-changing improvements one family at a time with God’s help, and with the help of our donors. The Walworths’ legacy will live on for generations to come for those families in the McCooks Pen community.”

Married 51 years, the Walworths have four adult children and seven grandchildren; he is a retired electrical mechanical engineer and she is a retired elementary school teacher from Grand Junction, Colo. The couple learned about Food For The Poor when a speaker from the organization spoke at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church six years ago. No strangers to giving back, the Walworth family has volunteered and opened up their home to help others within their own community, but felt the calling they needed to do more.


“Our family background is one of service. Both of our mothers have led us to have a spirit of service, and we have done the same with our children,” said Ellie. “Here in America there are services available for those who avail themselves of them, but in Jamaica they don’t have the big umbrella of social services, they just don’t have that. That’s why we wanted to help the poorest of the poor.”

Construction of what will be the “The Walworth Family Village” is expected to begin in the fall in McCooks Pen, St. Catherine, Jamaica, and is expected to take eight months to complete. Marv says he plans to volunteer some of his time to help in the building of the village.

“One of the biggest things that impressed me is the use of the local people in the building of these construction projects – it’s fantastic,” said Marv.

It also is Marv and Ellie’s desire that their children and their grandchildren join them in Jamaica when the village is completed and presented to the families. The Walworths believe their gift to these families living in extreme poverty is symbolic of Jesus’ words, “As often as you did it to one of the least of My brothers and sisters, you did it to Me.” (Matt. 25:40)


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 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
                                                         

Boca Grande Committee Keeps Its Promise - Friendship Village II is Now Home for Dozens of Families in Michaud, Haiti

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Nov. 5, 2012) – It’s difficult to believe, but it’s been almost three years since a powerful earthquake rattled Haiti. More than a million people were left homeless, and the country’s capital was quickly peppered with tent cites as far as the eye could see. But since that fateful day, the wheels of progress have been turning, and more than half of those in tents have been relocated out of Port-au-Prince. Unfortunately, a reported 400,000 remain in desperate need of permanent housing.

Thanks to the caring support of the Boca Grande Hope for Haitians Committee and Food For The Poor’s dedicated donors, funding for the Boca Grande Friendship Village II has been completed.  Forty families have been relocated from the tents in Port-au-Prince, to their very own homes in Michaud. To date, Boca Grande’s committee members have helped with the construction of 115 homes, several schools and community centers.
“After the earthquake in Haiti, my wife and I had the opportunity to see what these tent cities are like first-hand, and after that experience we knew we had to help,” said Ben Scott, chair of the Boca Grande Hope for Haitians Committee. “We met with the committee and decided that our second village would be designated for families living in the tents. We are very grateful for the opportunity to help these families to get a new start in life.”

Friendship Village II is a community of 40 two-room houses and each house is equipped with a sanitation unit and kitchenette.  Each family was given two solar-powered lanterns. Four solar-powered street lamps were also installed for added security. The village also has a community center, 200 fruit trees, 80 goats and a water filtration unit.
“It’s hard to find the words to describe how thankful we are for this new village in Michaud, Haiti,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “Forty families with safe homes became 40 families who are given a hand up towards self-sustainability. Forty self-sustaining families will give hope to many others living in deplorable conditions, while inspiring many compassionate people here to help them in the same way.”

Scott feels it is important for donors to see for themselves how their donations are being used to change the lives of families in Haiti. There will be an inauguration of the Boca Grande Friendship Village II in Michaud, Haiti on January 14 -17, 2013. Committee members and anyone who has a desire to experience this joyous celebration are being invited to join Scott on the three-day trip with Food For The Poor.

Scott also will address the Boca Grande Committee at a reception on Feb. 21, 2013, at the historic Gasparilla Inn Beach Club, located at 445 Gilchrist Avenue in Boca Grande, Fla., where he will announce plans for Boca Grande Friendship Village III in Manneville, Haiti. 

Manneville is a small town near Thomazeau in the community of Croix-des-Bouquets, and is surrounded by two lakes: Etang Saumatre and Lac Azuei. It has an estimated population of 52,000.  People of Manneville mainly make a living from farming, although it is seasonal. The most common crops cultivated in this area are millet, sugar cane, and onions.  However, many do not have the proper farming tools or methods to establish a successful farm. There is a local market and a few small boutiques, but not enough to create employment opportunities for the masses.

Boca Grande Friendship Village III will have the following:

• 35 two-room houses with sanitation. Each house will be built with a guttering system on the roof that will be connected to a water cistern, which will provide families with immediate access to rain water.
• 2,000 trees will be planted around the community to reforest the land and also increase fruit bearing trees.
• 100 goats will be distributed to residents in the community. The residents will be properly trained on how to care for the animals.
• 50 residents will receive agricultural tools to help them become more productive farmers.

The Boca Grande Hope for Haitians Committee has been working through Food For The Poor to build homes since 2009.

The first community built by Boca Grande through Food For The Poor was the Friendship Village in Pierre Payen, in the Artibonite Region of the country.  In 2010, 40 double-unit homes equipped with kitchenettes, sanitation and 200-gallon plastic water cisterns to collect rain water were constructed.  In 2011, they completed a school there, added 22 double-unit homes, fruit trees, solar-powered street lights, and added more than 20 cows. In addition, 16 women were given the opportunity for small business ventures.

Committee members include: Ben and Louise Scott, the Rev. Gary Beatty, the Rev. Brian Brightly, the Rev. Jerome Carosella, the Rev. Read Heydt, George and Lois Castrucci, Patricia Chapman, Ray and Iliene Corcoran, Charlie and Florita Field, Evelyn Finnegan, Lou and Corie Fusz, Stephen and Susan Jansen, Tom and Nancy Lorden, Colvin and Madelaine McCrady, and Peter and Elsa Soderberg.

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 and secure homes for families in Jamaica

The government of Jamaica is going to help Food For The Poor double the number of homes it builds each month for the poor. This grant will provide hundreds of destitute families the opportunity to have safe shelter for the very first time.

“I cannot put into words what this project will mean for the homeless and families who are currently living in inadequate structures with no running water and no sanitation,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “This is the harsh reality for many on the island, and I truly believe this project is a step in the right direction in providing assistance to Jamaicans in need.”

The 1,200 homes scheduled to be built by Food for the Poor over the next year will be given to poor families  island-wide. Beneficiaries will be drawn from the organization's existing list of applicants, as well as those recommended by churches and community groups. More than 2,000 applications have been submitted for homes through the Food For The Poor office in Jamaica.

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.

Contact:
Kathy Skipper
Director of Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6614
kathys@foodforthepoor.org

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

Orlando residents to present findings from Haiti at annual gala

Residents from the Orlando area are committed to rescuing Haitian families who call garbage-filled swamps “home.” Central Florida residents interested in Haiti’s rebuilding process are encouraged to attend Food For The Poor’s 12th annual fundraising event, A Celebration of Hope, Nov. 12, at Buena Vista Palace Hotel & Spa. Proceeds from the annual Orlando gala have built homes for more than 586 families.

“The impact of sheltering just one poor family reverberates from the heart of that family directly to the heart of God,” said Lynne Nasrallah. “I never tire of seeing a rusty tin shack being replaced by a sturdy Food For The Poor home. I have witnessed many fathers’ hands trembling with emotion and many mothers’ tears streaming from their eyes as they are given keys to their new front door. This scene is ‘a celebration of hope’ – a hope that tells the poor that God has indeed remembered His People.”

The evening will include live music, a silent auction, house rally, dancing, and a memorable dinner with friends. Bidding on silent auction prizes offers opportunities for guests to shop and donate to the cause at the same time. Prizes include exclusive art and collectibles from the Caribbean and Latin America, designer jewelry, vacations, golf and dining packages.

Event proceeds will be used to construct critically needed homes and water projects in Haiti. Last year’s event raised enough funds to build 42 two-room Food For The Poor homes in Haiti.

For additional information regarding A Celebration of Hope event, sponsorship levels, and tickets, available at $150 per person, please call 1-888-404-4248 or visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/orlando.

A Celebration of Hope event sponsor, Winter Park Construction and their staff, will build a prefabricated, 12-by-12 foot house in the ballroom, to afford guests the opportunity to appreciate the significance a modest house makes in the lives of the truly destitute. For $6,400, Food For The Poor can build a safe, permanent two-room house with access to water and sanitation. A certificate of appreciate will be mailed to donors along with a photo of the house and housing recipients.

Committee members include: Anibal & Maritza Beltran, Linda Bonnewitz, The del Campo Family, Janice Chong, Cynthia Hawkins, Jackie Heaps, Dr. Aida Jimenez and Isabel Jimenez, Kathy Kinchla, Donna Larson, Tom Murphy, Paul Mylod, Desirae Nasrallah, Nicole Nasrallah, Robin Neel, Nancy Padilla, Lisa Padilla, Patricia Perfito, Amira Rivera, Diane Rogers, Roseline and Pelfrine Saint-Fort, The Santana Family, Marie Schwarz, Kelly Wilkes, Jean and Donna Wilson, and Holly Wilson.

In September, two Orlando residents traveled to Haiti on a Food For The Poor mission trip to witness first hand the conditions of the people and to see how the nonprofit continues to improve lives and living conditions throughout the country. The visitors traveled through swamps, blessed Emmanuel Village V, visited a home for handicapped children and the neonatal unit at Bernard Mevs Hospital, and learned how sustainable initiatives empower villages and increase in-country production of food. These initiatives include tilapia ponds, chicken rearing and animal husbandry projects.

“As pilgrims with Food For The Poor, we begin to personally understand the command: Love one another,” said Nasrallah. “We show our love by the way we look into the eyes of the poor, or by the way we greet them or by the way we clasp their hand. This love lends value to our action.”

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

Young Philanthropist Wins National Award For Building Homes in Haiti

A South Florida fifth grader who raised more than $162,000 to build homes for Haiti's poor has been named one of Florida's top two youth volunteers for 2011.

Rachel Wheeler, 11, was recognized by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program to honor young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The Lighthouse Point resident raised enough money to build 25 two-room Food For The Poor homes in Haiti. Rachel, who attends Zion Lutheran Christian School in Deerfield Beach, launched the campaign two years ago.

Rachel also has qualified to receive the President's Volunteer Service Awards, a prestigious national award that recognizes Americans of all ages who have dedicated their free time to serve both their country and their community. The awards will be distributed to more than 2,800 local honorees this year on behalf of President Barack Obama.

Rachel’s house-building initiative started when she visited Food For The Poor’s South Florida-based office and heard President/CEO Robin Mahfood speak about the desperate living conditions in Haiti, where mothers sometimes feed their children mud cookies to quell their hunger pangs.

“When I saw the before and after pictures of the families he has helped, I knew he was doing God’s work and I had to help,” said Rachel.

As donations flowed in, Rachel decided that instead of just reaching her original goal of building 13 houses, she would build an entire village, complete with sanitation, kitchenettes and potable water. Rachel’s village has been constructed in Leogane, Haiti, near the epicenter of the January 2010 earthquake.

“I would tell other young people that we are the future, and we need to stand up for those who have nothing,” said Rachel, who hopes to visit the village she has helped to build in Haiti later this year.

“From the first time we met, I knew to expect great things from Rachel,” said Mahfood. “Rachel has provided more than 25 families with more than a key to a permanent Food For The Poor house. Thanks to Rachel and her supporters – lives have been changed and saved.”

From April 30 to May 3, Rachel and the other 101 state honorees will travel to Washington, D.C., where they will tour the capital’s landmarks, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. In addition, 10 of them – five middle level and five high school students – will be named National Honorees on May 2. These honorees will receive $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies, and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for nonprofit, charitable organizations of their choice.
To continue to support Rachel’s house building initiative, tax-deductible donations can be made through the charity’s secure website.

Food For The Poor, the third-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 agency 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
954-427-2222 x 6054
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com

Orlando Residents Replace Haiti’s Tents and Shacks with Permanent Homes

At the 11th annual Food For The Poor Orlando event, supporters gave the people of Haiti New Hope, New Beginnings. Event proceeds will be used to construct critically needed homes and sanitation in Emmanuel Village V, in Cap-Haitien, Haiti. The village will house those who have been displaced by the earthquake, and those who are living in the Prolongé swamp and the slums of Shada.

“The situation in Haiti is very serious,” said Robin Mahfood, CEO/President of Food For The Poor, at the Oct. 22 event. “The people of Haiti need everyone’s help to build safe, permanent homes in Haiti.”

Food For The Poor’s building of homes in Haiti is limited only by the nonprofit’s funding.

“I pray Food For The Poor receives a donation for $50 million so we can build as many homes as possible throughout Haiti,” said Mahfood. “There are so many people who are suffering in Haiti. Their anguish truly hurts my heart.”

New Hope, New Beginnings event sponsor, Winter Park Construction and its staff, used drills and hammers to build a 12-by-12 foot house in the hotel’s ballroom at Buena Vista Palace Hotel & Spa. As guests walked through the modest house, they were able to visualize and appreciate the significance that receiving a Food For The Poor home makes in the lives of the destitute. Food For The Poor can build a safe, permanent house for $2,600; one with a latrine costs $3,100.

During the past 10 years, the passion and commitment of the Orlando community has built more than 500 housing units in Haiti through the Emmanuel Village Home Building Project in Cap-Haitien, Thomazeau and Gonaives.

“More than 1 million people were displaced by the earthquake, some of whom have been forced to live under tarps, blankets and tents,” said Dr. Lynne Nasrallah, Event Chairperson. “You restore hope each time you are able to move families from their dilapidated shanties, and give them the key to a home with a concrete foundation and a roof that does not leak.”

At the gala, Nasrallah gave a detailed and compelling account of her recent journey to Haiti. In July, a handful of Orlando residents traveled to Haiti with Nasrallah on a Food For The Poor-sponsored mission trip to witness firsthand the conditions of the people and to see how the nonprofit continues to improve their lives and living conditions throughout the country. Together they journeyed through swamps, inaugurated a village, served hot meals at Food For The Poor’s distribution center in Port-au-Prince, visited a home for handicapped children, and learned how self-sustainable initiatives empower villages and increase in-country production of food.

The evening included live music, a silent auction, house rally, and a four-course dinner followed by dancing. Bidding on silent auction prizes offers opportunities for guests to shop and donate to the cause at the same time. Prizes included exclusive art and collectibles from the Caribbean and Latin America, designer jewelry, vacations, golf and dining packages.

Committee members include: Anibal & Maritza Beltran, Linda Bonnewitz, Vendla Daverman, The del Campo Family, Cynthia Hawkins, Jackie Heaps, Dr. Aida Jimenez and Isabel Jimenez, Kathy Kinchla, Donna Larson, Tom Murphy, Paul Mylod, Desirae Nasrallah, Nicole Nasrallah, Nancy Padilla, Lisa Padilla, Amira Rivera, Diane Rogers, The Santana Family, Lee Sayago, Marie Schwarz, Gandy Thomas, Jean & Donna Wilson, Kelly Wilkes, and The Winger Family.

Food For The Poor, the third-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 agency 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.

Atlanta Residents Reflect on Blogged Travels of Water-Life-Hope in Haiti

Atlanta residents Edward Buckley and John Beasley traveled to Haiti, Sept. 13-15, with the nonprofit Food For The Poor to visit remote communities in desperate need of clean, safe drinking water. During the trip, daily blog entries and photos were posted online in an effort to bring Haiti’s reality to the comfort of Atlanta residents’ homes.

“The image from our trip to Haiti that I can vividly picture happened while driving through a relatively upscale community,” said Buckley. “A man, completely naked, suddenly leaped out of a storm sewer dripping wet – and ran to hide in the bush. To our horror, he had been bathing in the sewer. Imagine the indignity of having to bathe in front of the world. Millions of people in Haiti literally have nothing. Whatever deprivation we as Americans think we are suffering on most days pales in comparison.”

Considering their trip, Buckley and Beasley said they would like to raise Atlanta’s awareness about continuing deplorable living conditions in Haiti. Community members are encouraged to take action to give the gift of water to Haiti. A donation of $205 made through Food For The Poor will provide a village with a water pump, and $5,298 is enough to drill and install a well.

While in Haiti, the group visited some of the water projects they have funded.

“The contractor that installs the wells guarantees them for life and fixes any wear and tear for free,” said Buckley. “The seven wells we looked at are just a few of the many funded by our project, Water-Life-Hope in partnership with Food For The Poor. The wells are dated and I noticed that one of them was built on my birthday this year – a nice present.”

At another site, the well’s cement basin had just been poured. In a couple of hours, the well would be operational – instantly improving the living conditions of residents within a several-mile radius. A Food For The Poor-Haiti employee used a stick to write Buckley’s name in the wet concrete.

The travelers drove through rivers, down narrow mud roads and were required to move boulders during their journey. They saw glimpses of life in tent cities that house those displaced by the earthquake, and feared for families living in shacks made only of bed sheets, sticks and tarps in an 8-foot-wide stretch of median. Together they learned how self-sustainable initiatives empower villages and increase in-country production of food and living conditions. These initiatives included tilapia ponds, fishing villages, animal husbandry and agricultural projects.

Buckley and Beasley have previously traveled to Haiti with Food For The Poor and continue to do so based upon a firm belief that access to clean water is a fundamental human right. Their most recent trip reaffirmed for them that the installation of more water wells is of paramount importance. This need can be seen throughout Haiti – in the earthquake ravaged city of Port-au-Prince, in the north of Haiti, where many of the displaced victims of the earthquake fled, and in the south, where natural impediments restrict access to clean, potable water.

On the last day of their trip, Buckley and Beasley visited the construction site for the “Journey of Hope Memorial Village” in Anse a Veau. There they saw poured housing foundations, the delivery of rebar by the truckload and workers on-site manufacturing concrete blocks for family housing. The village, scheduled to be inaugurated in January 2011, is dedicated to the 12 Lynn University students and two faculty members who were on a Haiti mission trip with Food For The Poor when the devastating earthquake struck.

“This village is likewise in need of an adequate clean water source as well as water catchments for each of the family homes and will be added to the list of funding necessities for the Water-Life-Hope project,” said Buckley.

“On the last night of our trip, I had the perfect opportunity to reflect on what it is that Haiti needs, the amazing things that Food For The Poor is doing, and what we can do to help by providing something as basic as clean water,” Beasley blogged his last night in Haiti. “Our trip is scheduled to end tomorrow but the work to help Haiti’s poor will obviously continue. We plan to be part of that work and hope others are encouraged to join us in an endeavor that is truly making a difference and changing this small part of the world.”

For seven years, Buckley, Beasley and their supporters have raised money to drill and install lifesaving water wells in Jamaica and throughout Haiti with the assistance of Food For The Poor, the largest international relief and development organization in the United States. Recently, the group completed the funding of more than 100 artesian wells in north, central and southern Haiti. Each well serves an average of 5,000 people.

If you would like to provide a village in Haiti with the gift of water, please make checks payable to Food For The Poor and include the special source code “SC# 70245” so the money can be tracked to the Water-Life-Hope initiative. Donations can 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 Web site.

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 agency 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.