Food For The Poor Preparing Haiti for Hurricane Tomas

Ten months after the merciless Jan. 12 earthquake killed hundreds of thousands and left the core of the Caribbean nation in ruins, and three weeks after a deadly cholera outbreak killed several hundred and sickened thousands, Haiti is facing down another potential disaster – Hurricane Tomas.

Weather experts are forecasting Hurricane Tomas will reach Haiti sometime between Friday and Saturday. With more than 1 million people still living in tent cities in and around Port-au-Prince, Food For The Poor is working quickly to provide aid.

“Stop and think about this situation; you have more than 1 million men, women and children living under tents. They have no protection whatsoever from the wind, rain and potential mudslides this storm is expected to bring,” said Food For The Poor President/CEO Robin Mahfood. “A hurricane is the last thing Haiti needs right now, but we can’t give up on the country and its people. We will do our best to help them to recover from these back-to-back disasters.”

Because the organization has been working in Haiti for more than 24 years, it was well-prepared to respond to the cholera outbreak last month by sending dozens of pallets of personal hygiene kits, emergency water, rehydration salts, and blankets.

Since the earthquake, Food For The Poor has shipped 1,241 containers of goods valued at $168 million and has built more than 1,500 concrete block two-roomed homes with sanitation units.

Right now, Food For The Poor is in a race against time to collect much-needed supplies: evaporated and condensed milk, canned mackerel, canned corn beef, canned chicken, sardines, Spam and Vienna sausages with an expiration date six months or longer; Powerade, Gatorade and Pedialyte; hygiene kits with soap, toothpaste, feminine personal care items and diapers. Food For The Poor is not accepting clothing, shoes or water; the organization obtains trailer loads of these items from donors.

Please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/hurricane or make a $10 donation by texting “HAITI” to 25383.

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.