COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Feb. 20, 2019) Food For The Poor donors have been transforming the lives of the poor for more than three decades. Like the translucent alabaster stone associated with 37th anniversaries, the charity has remained strong, yet soft enough to allow its compassionate spirit to shine.
“Every anniversary is to be celebrated because each year comes with its own set of challenges that we must be ready to face,” said Food For The Poor President/CEO Robin Mahfood. “It takes tremendous compassion, hard work and genuine love for people to accomplish what our donors and staff have done in these past 37 years.”
Since its inception in 1982, Food For The Poor has built more than 83,550 homes, completed 2,391 water projects, and sent more than 87,000 tractor-trailer loads of essential goods to help families in the 17 countries the charity serves.
Food For The Poor also has built, repaired or expanded more than 500 schools. Donors have built community centres that provide technical training, and implemented animal husbandry, agricultural and aquaculture projects, which are supplying the poor with ways to earn money to provide for their families.
In times of natural disasters, Food For The Poor rushes to assist.
On June 3, 2018, the Volcan de Fuego (Volcano of Fire) erupted and released a stream of lava and a cloud of hot rocks and ash over nearby Guatemala City. The eruption killed 194 people, according to published reports. Because of Food For The Poor’s continued support in Guatemala, various supplies were available to allow the organization to respond immediately with aid, which were distributed by the Order of Malta and Caritas.
On Oct. 6, 2018, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Port-de-Paix, Haiti. Hundreds of structures were damaged and 18 people were killed, according to published reports. Food For The Poor airfreighted kerosene stoves, canned sausages, blankets, flashlights with batteries, personal hygiene kits and tarps to the charity’s offices in Port-au-Prince and Cap-Haitien.
Food For The Poor believes in second chances. For two decades, the charity has honoured the tradition of freeing non-violent offenders from Guyana, Haiti, Honduras and Jamaica’s prisons by paying their fines during the Easter and Christmas seasons. Thousands of former prisoners have been granted the opportunity to transform their lives thanks to the generous donors who support the charity’s prison ministry.
“Food For The Poor has developed into a multifaceted organization over the decades, allowing us to reach far and wide to help as many people as we can,” Mahfood said. “Because we are a faith-based organization, we always will give God the glory. Without God, none of what we do would be possible.”
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor primarily in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for orphaned or abandoned children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Jamaica Highlights 