New Fishing Villages

Food For The Poor Opens First Fishing Villages in Honduras

	The delivery of 12 yellow fiberglass boats signaled the opening last week of three fishing villages in Omoa and Puerto Cortes, along the Caribbean coast of Honduras. These are the first fishing village projects in Latin America to be selected and supported by Food For The Poor and its generous donors.
Related Item: See Photos from the Fishing Villages

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Sept. 5, 2014) – The delivery of 12 yellow fiberglass boats signaled the opening last week of three fishing villages in Omoa and Puerto Cortes, along the Caribbean coast of Honduras. These are the first fishing village projects in Latin America to be selected and supported by Food For The Poor and its generous donors.

Many of the fishermen who will benefit from the project have spent decades skimming the reef in decaying wooden boats with makeshift fishing equipment, only to come up empty on most attempts. These new vessels offer new hope for the neighboring communities that depend on the sea for sustenance.  

“We are very happy and we’re very grateful to everyone who made this project possible. We’ve been waiting a long time for this donation and now we have it,” said Juan Vega, an Omoa fisherman. “With the support of the fishing teams, we can now take better care of our families. Thank you.”

Each fishing village received four boats, which will be shared by a team of 16 to 28 fishermen. All of the fishermen will receive engine maintenance training. In addition to the boats and motors, the villages will be equipped with coolers and freezers, locking storage sheds, fishing tackle and safety equipment.

“Words cannot describe the satisfaction Food For The Poor has for the establishment of the three new fishing villages in Honduras. Now these men have the ability to fish in deeper waters in order to catch quality fish to eat and to sell,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “These boats are a necessary resource and will take each of these communities closer to self-sufficiency and better nutrition.”

This opening comes at a time of renewed importance on providing life-sustaining projects and hope for those at risk of leaving their home countries in search of a better life.  Food For The Poor has had many successes in providing safe housing, clean water, education and projects such as these fishing villages.

The fishermen also will receive training in deep-sea fishing techniques that will best protect the marine environment, while learning how to catch mahi-mahi, yellow-tail snapper, tuna, and kingfish, which can then be sold to regional markets, hotels and restaurants.

The international relief and development organization selected these small towns after learning about the overwhelming need there, and the cooperative reputation of their fishermen. Each team will be required to donate a portion of their catch to organizations within their own communities that help orphans, the elderly and the sick. 

                                                                                                                                                        

“The expression on the faces of these men as the fishing boats were delivered to the villages made my heart swell with pride. But watching the fisherman proudly return with their first catch to shore in their new boats, made me cry tears of joy,” said Linda Coello, Founder/President of CEPUDO.  “We are so honored to be the channel through which Food For The Poor is able to provide this blessing to the people of Honduras. We thank you, and it is our hope that God will continue to bless the donors who made this possible.”  

Plans also are in the works for Food For The Poor to install three more fishing villages in the region later this year.

Food For The Poor began serving in Honduras in 1999, one year after the Central American country was slammed by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. The charity works very closely with its partner CEPUDO (Capacitación, Educación, Producción, Unificación, Desarrollo y Organización), which is based in San Pedro Sula, in order to reach those in need throughout the country.

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.

Honduras Fishing Village

Food For The Poor Creates Fishing Villages Along Honduras Coast

	Fishing is the primary source of income for hundreds of families living in the coastal communities of Omoa and Puerto Cortes, Honduras. Food For The Poor soon will replace rickety wooden boats and makeshift poles with fiberglass fishing boats with engines, modern fishing tackle, and safety equipment.
Related Item: See Photos of the Rickety Boats

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (July 10, 2014) – Omoa and Puerto Cortes, two coastal communities less than 10 miles apart along the Caribbean side of Honduras, have been selected by Food For The Poor as the sites for its first fishing villages in Latin America. The charity selected these small towns after learning about the overwhelming need there, and the cooperative reputation of their fishermen.

For generations, fishing has been the primary source of income for many of the families in the region. But rickety wooden boats and makeshift equipment are threatening the fishermen’s livelihoods and the health of their children, whose primary source of protein is fish. With hopes of a more lucrative catch, the fishermen fell into the rut of renting bigger boats and spending more of their already-limited income, making it very difficult to support their families.

“Food For The Poor is very excited about the establishment of these fishing villages in Honduras. The fishermen within these communities will have their own boats to share and their own equipment to safely navigate the deeper and more bountiful waters of the Caribbean,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “There are currently 16 fishing villages in operation in Jamaica and 42 in Haiti. We see the benefit of these projects in those countries, and thanks to the support of our donors; we believe the result will be the same in Honduras.”

Food For The Poor donors have agreed to provide one dozen 25-foot fiberglass fishing boats with engines for three fishing villages, two in Omoa and one in Puerto Cortes. Each fishing village will receive four boats, which will be shared by a team of 16 to 28 fishermen. All the fishermen will receive engine maintenance training. In addition to the boats and motors, the villages will be equipped with coolers and freezers, locking storage sheds, fishing tackle and safety equipment.

Instead of catching fingerlings from the reef, the fishermen will be trained in deep-sea fishing techniques that will best protect the marine environment. The fishermen also will learn how to catch mahi-mahi, yellow-tail snapper, tuna, and kingfish. These deep-sea fish can then be sold to markets, hotels and restaurants in San Pedro Sula, Honduras’ second largest city. The teams will be required to donate a portion of their catch to organizations within their own communities that help orphans, the elderly and the sick.

“Our goal has never been, nor will it ever be, to rule over people’s lives; we are simply putting faith into action. By providing individuals in the countries we serve with an opportunity to get out of poverty, we’re not giving people fish, but teaching them how to fish,” said Mahfood.

Food For The Poor began serving in Honduras in 1999, one year after the Central American country was slammed by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. The charity works very closely with its partner CEPUDO (Capacitación, Educación, Producción, Unificación, Desarrollo y Organización), which is based in San Pedro Sula, in order to reach those in need throughout the country.

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.

All-Nighter Empowers Students, Unites Campuses, Fights Hunger

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Oct. 18, 2012) – In South Florida, students at Broward College (BC), Florida International University (FIU) and the University of Miami (UM) are organizing campus events to commemorate World Food Day in partnership with the international relief and development organization Food For The Poor.

“I am eager to work with this organization to help raise funds for Guatemala through All-Nighters for the Poor,” said Javonia Robinson, a freshman majoring in public relations at BC’s South Campus. “No matter how different our geographic regions or cultures, we all affect one another in a major way.”

On Thursday, Oct. 25, BC South Campus will host A Taste of Guatemala from noon to 2 p.m. for $5 a plate. At 12:45 p.m., history professors Edward Cornejo and Rudy Jean-Bart will lead a discussion on the historical and current economic and political issues in Guatemala. Participating groups include ENC1102, ASPIRA and Phi Theta Kappa. Plan to enjoy traditional Guatemalan dishes and a slice of flan with your friends in the Southern Breezes Café in Building #68 at 7200 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines, Fla.

FIU’s Student Alumni Association is organizing All-Nighter events to take place Friday, Nov. 9, at the Biscayne Bay Campus in North Miami and Modesto A. Maidique Campus in western Miami-Dade County. That same night BC North Campus’ Caribbean Student Association (CSA) will host their All-Nighter. UM’s CSA and Butler Center for Volunteer Services and Leadership Development will schedule the campus’ All-Nighter in either November or December.

Students are encouraged to promote these campus events via social networking sites, and to register online at www.AllNighterForThePoor.org.
The goal of the All-Nighter program is to encourage students nationwide to host events on their campus to increase awareness about malnutrition and to fund self-sustaining solutions to poverty – such as tilapia ponds and animal husbandry projects – to alleviate hunger in developing countries.

“Throughout the world there are people that are not as fortunate as we are,” said Pratima Ramdeo, BC North’s CSA President. “CSA wants to give these families in Guatemala the privilege of not having to worry about where they'll get food to feed their kids or even themselves.” 
Funds raised during the 2012 All-Nighter for the Poor will provide destitute families in Guatemala Everything for Families with Nothing, including:
• Safe and secure homes with sanitation
• Rice and beans for one full year
• School supplies for two children per household (including books and uniforms)
• Clothing and shoes
• A self-sustainable project for a source of income and nutrition.

The campus that raises the most funds will have a street in the new Food For The Poor village named in its honor.

Are you ready to change the world? To learn more, visit www.AllNighterForThePoor.org. For more information, please call 1-877-654-2960, ext. 6069 or email moniques@foodforthepoor.com.
Funds from past events have gone to life-saving projects, such as:

• All-Nighter I (2009):   Funded the Harvesting Hope For Haiti Tilapia Farm in Delogner, Haiti. It is a four-pond tilapia farm, with each pond accommodating up to 7,000 fish.
• All-Nighter II (2010):  Funded the Renewing Hope Tilapia Farm in Fond Des Blanc, Haiti. This four-pond tilapia farm has a submersible pump powered by solar panels.
• All-Nighter II (2010):  Funded the Renewing Hope II Tilapia Farm in Cuperlier, Petite Goave, Haiti.
• All-Nighter III (2011): Funded a pangasius farm in Haiti.

“The farm in Delogner alone can provide about 1,800 pounds of fish every four months,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “This is vital protein in a country that so desperately needs nutritious food. In addition, the farm provides work for villagers who cultivate and harvest the tilapia, and then use the fish to barter for necessary goods.”

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.