Taiwan ICDF Honors Commitment to Nonprofit

The government of Taiwan, through their International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF), has partnered with Food For The Poor to outfit schools and orphanages in Haiti with 1,020 computer workstations.

The Taiwanese embassy will work closely with the international relief and development organization to select schools that are eligible to receive the computer workstations. Recognizing that education and technology are crucial to break the cycle of poverty, the Taiwan ICDF has pledged technical support, and to develop grade-level specific software to assist teachers and students in the classroom.

In addition to educational supplies, Taiwan ICDF also is donating much-needed rice. At one time, Taiwan ICDF shipped 40 containers of rice a month to Food For The Poor-Haiti for distribution. Through this joint initiative, hundreds of thousands of school children and adults in the most destitute areas of the Haiti were provided life-saving food.

Since the catastrophic Jan. 12 earthquake, Food For The Poor continues to feed an ever-increasing number of Haitians who are in desperate need of assistance. Joint initiatives with Taiwan ICDF include in-country production of food through agriculture, farm-raised fish and livestock breeding – self-sustainable initiatives that teach people how to earn a living.

A Taiwan ICDF tilapia expert worked with Food For The Poor this year to increase the production of tilapia and basa in Haiti. These fish ponds both eliminate hunger and provide an entire village with a sustainable source of food and income. Currently there are more than 30 ponds in Haiti.

“The Taiwan ICDF humanitarian commitment to Food For The Poor on behalf of the poorest of the poor has been an incredible blessing to millions,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “We are extremely grateful to the people of Taiwan and Taiwan ICDF for all they have done to help our poorest brothers and sisters.”

In October 2009, Taiwan ICDF delegates traveled to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to meet with Food For The Poor’s President/CEO and Executive Director to discuss opportunities for future partnerships. During the trip, Taiwan ICDF delegates rolled up their sleeves to help serve some of the more than 15,000 hot meals that are cooked and distributed at Food For The Poor’s warehouse and complex, six days a week. Delegates also visited Food For The Poor-sponsored schools, orphanages and handicapped homes.

Taiwan ICDF cooperates with Food For The Poor in agriculture, aquaculture and animal husbandry projects in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua.

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.