Kingston, Jamaica – December 14, 2017: There was much Christmas cheer on Thursday, December 14, when Food For The Poor (FFP) partnered with the Salvation Army to host its annual treat for Jamaica’s poor and indigent at Kingston’s Emmet Park. The event was one of a series of activities designed to bring hope, and an opportunity to celebrate this special time of the year with disadvantaged Jamaicans.

 
The over 2000 homeless and severely challenged persons from across Jamaica gathered at Emmet Park to enjoy a hot meal and lively entertainment in a relaxed environment. At the end of the day, everyone received with a gift package containing food and other items.

 
David Mair, Executive Director, FFP observed, “Our Christmas Treat at Emmet Park with the Salvation Army is a very special day for us. It means so much to us. We can share not only food but also music, entertainment and gifts for our less fortunate brothers and sisters. It’s something we look forward to every year and we work hard at making it a success.”

 
Major Selbourne Oates, Administrator for The Salvation Army’s William Chamberlain Centre added, “This day is a very big and meaningful day. It is a great time to come together, share a common meal and give gifts for the Christmas. It is an opportunity for us to share with FFP. This is one of the ways we spread the love of God together, giving people something that they will never forget. The people who come to this event talk about it all year and look forward to it before the tickets are even ready. Not only the Salvation Army and FFP, but other organizations who want to come in and share join in, helping to serve the food – such as students from the various schools and Salvation Army colleges. We welcome the idea of them partnering with us…We plan for months to make this event very special.”

Featured Photographs

Welcoming Guests from Across The Island: (from left) David Mair, Executive Director, Food For The Poor Jamaica, Major Selbourne Oates, Administrator For The Salvation Army, William Chamberlain Centre and Craig Moss-Solomon, Director of Wooden Houses, Food For The Poor welcome one of the over 2,000 attendees at Food For The Poor and the Salvation Army’s Annual Christmas Treat at Emmet Park in Kingston on Thursday, December 14. Attendees from across the island, including residents of clusters D and G of The Golden Age Home, were treated to a hot meal and lively entertainment in a relaxed environment.  At the end of this one-day event, everyone was presented with a gift package containing food and general items, courtesy of both charities.

Clapping Hands and Praising God: Two members of the elderly community enjoy singing along and clapping to prayer songs as they await the delicious meal served to the over 2,000 homeless, less fortunate and severely challenged persons at Food For The Poor and the Salvation Army’s Annual Christmas Treat at Emmet Park in Kingston on Thursday, December 14.

Salvation Army Band Provides Lively Entertainment: Members of the Salvation Army band provide festive music and live entertainment to the over 2,000 homeless, less fortunate and severely challenged at Food For The Poor and the Salvation Army’s Annual Christmas Treat at Emmet Park in Kingston on Thursday, December 14.

Attendees Share Sentiments of Gratitude

Esmie Dixon, who attended the event, expressed her appreciation. “I’m glad to be here today to see some of my friends, especially the Salvation Army and Food For The Poor people,” she said. “We are very grateful for what they have done for us this year and in the previous years. I thank them very much and may the good Lord guide them and protect them.”

 
Another attendee, Munchie Hinds added: “It’s a pleasure to be here because I am disabled and there aren’t that many people or organizations that do what the Salvation Army and FFP are doing today. The food was delicious. I probably would never get another treat like this, so I look forward to this every year. There’s nothing else as good as this treat.”

 
Clair Reid, who also benefited from the treat, said it was a blessing for her to share the day with FFP and the Salvation Army. “Some of the people that come here really need it because they don’t have anything like it. People don’t look out for them so these little things help them. That’s why you see the place so full. They are so glad for it because they get a nice package and some good food. I enjoy it myself and I am going to dance all day even though I am disabled! Thank you for everything. It is good for you to be here every year. We love you with all our hearts.”

By: Kimberley Hibbert

CHRISTINE Ryan could have decided that her painful experiences would hinder her progress in life, but instead, she fought long and hard until her passions became a reality.

Born and raised in St Catherine, Ryan, 39, told All Woman that her parents separated when she was six, and she went to live with her father. It was there that she suffered the misfortune of being molested by a close family member. After being labelled a liar by those whom she actually told, Ryan was afraid to tell her father, so she eventually ran away from home at age 14 and went to live with her older siblings in Newlands, Portmore.

She dropped out of school in third form as she said she lacked confidence and believed no one would understand what she was going through. But instead of sinking into depression, she used her skills to develop a T-shirt line at age 14, and worked at it until age 17 when she had her first child.

She became a producer at KOOL FM in 2001, which saw her being recognised by UNICEF for a programme that she did on children’s rights.

She also came across the Global Institute for Transformation (GIFT) 10 years ago — a cross-denominational ministry which supports the spiritual, material and physical needs of people around the world — where she did a personal development course that helped to align her spirits.

In the midst of working at KOOL, Ryan had to cope again with a mystery illness which she had been battling for a few years, and which became worse at that job. This limited her ability to work. This illness saw her taking 18 medications three times a day, but after meeting physician Dr Clement Williams who adjusted her diet and lifestyle, her symptoms vanished.

She eventually started a natural juice business based on her new lifestyle, but was forced to close owing to competition from the larger players.

Ryan, a mother of three, was now unemployed, and yearning to earn for herself to help her husband contribute to the household.

“I began praying about it, and I met a lady who sold honey on a retail basis. She encouraged me to try my hand at it, but the earnings were thin and there were too many bills to pay. Also, when the bee farmers did not have honey I couldn’t earn,” she said.

But Ryan was undaunted. She managed to save enough to buy her own two boxes of bees which she split into six units, but four were stolen by praedial thieves. She eventually moved her supplies to Hellshire, where ants invaded the hives and killed all her bees.

Others would have given up, but Ryan was made of sterner stuff. She decided to rebuild, and obtained training through the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA). An experienced beekeeper mentored her in the craft and taught her how to use burnt gas oil to keep away ants, as well as how to breed the queens and reap honey.

Having participated in a beekeeping training programme through RADA, Ryan was recommended to Food For the Poor (FFP) through the St Catherine RADA office in 2013. In 2016 a field investigation was done and she was considered to be eligible for help based on her financial situation, training and experience in beekeeping, and her determination to get involved in beekeeping as a business to take care of her family.

In June 2016, FFP gave her 10 colonies of bees along with tools and equipment to pursue her craft. She has since harvested over six five-gallon buckets of honey and increased the apiary to 13 colonies.

Ryan has been making a wide variety of products under the Pure Natural Mystik brand, using the by-products from her hives to infuse natural herbs like spirulina, guinea-hen weed, moringa and cinnamon in her honey. She also has a line which makes hair and body butters, soaps and oils.

She was also assisted by Kwao and Agape Adams of Yerba Buena Farm in St Mary, who obtain grant funding to bring trainers from abroad to facilitate farmers in product training and development.

This entrepreneur, who home-schools her children, trains other mothers in beekeeping so they can have an option to provide for their children who are also being home-schooled.

Overall, Ryan is passionate about helping people in the trade and getting over hardships as she has done.

She believes that all her trials happened for a reason, and it is now her turn to help others to overcome their difficulties.

Source: Jamaica Observer

Recently, Food For The Poor packed four tractor-trailer loads of relief items for shipment to Puerto Rico from its warehouse in Coconut Creek, Fla., with the following items:

• Nonperishable food
• Batteries, flashlights and lanterns
• Two-burner liquid petroleum gas (propane) stoves
• Tarps
• Blankets
• Baby diapers and hygiene items
• Five-gallon buckets with cleaning supplies
• Commercial-grade and standby generators

One container of water will be shipped from our partner Gleaning For The World.

Food For The Poor also sent four pallets of critical medical supplies such as pain relievers, antibiotics, wound-care kits, along with disaster and personal hygiene kits via airfreight to Puerto Rico, with the assistance of Kansas-based partner Heart-to-Heart International. The pallets arrived in Puerto Rico today.

Food For The Poor is working with the Catholic charity Caritas to assure the distribution of the relief items. Caritas Puerto Rico started in 1969 under the name Catholic Social Services of Puerto Rico. In 2009, it changed its name to Caritas Puerto Rico.There are 200 parishes in 60 municipalities on the island that work on projects. Food For The Poor also will be assisting the Episcopal Church, which has 52 parishes throughout the island, and warehouses and transportation, both critical in distributing aid in the rural areas. Two longtime Food For The Poor partners, Ohio-based Matthew 25: Ministries and Operation Compassion, a Tennessee-based ministry, are assisting with this humanitarian relief effort.

“Food For The Poor is proud to be helping the people of Puerto Rico. We understand what it is like to be hit by a hurricane, and we are appealing to all of our donors for their support with this crisis,” said Food For The Poor President/CEO Robin Mahfood. “We understand that we cannot help everyone, but with the help of the Lord, we will do what we can for as long as we can to provide assistance for families recovering from the catastrophic disasters in the Caribbean, the United States and in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico.”

To support relief efforts for Puerto Rico and the other islands affected by the recent hurricanes, cash donations are best. Checks can be mailed to Food For The Poor at 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, FL 33073. Please make checks payable to Food For The Poor and include the source code SC#104174 to accurately route your donation to the relief effort. Or to make a donation online, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/puertorico.

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, 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.
Source: FFP Inc.

Amateur middleweight boxer Ian Derby confirmed his improving status with a sound, unanimous points decision over the rugged Guyanese Desmond Amsterdam at Alpart Sports Club in St Elizabeth on Saturday night.

Derby’s win gave Jamaica a well-earned leveller against Guyana on the four-fight amateur card in the Wray & Nephew Fight Night Boxing Series

Jamaica won the first and last fights on the night, while Guyana won the second and third.

The amateur segment was the main entertainment package of the night, and it lived up to expectation. There was non-stop action from the opening bell to the very end.

Marvin Shea overcame Clairmont Gibson of Guyana for a majority decision in the first of the three-round fights to allow Jamaica to jump out in front.

Both fighters gave as much as they received, and to the naked eye the result could have gone either way. It set the tone for what was to follow.

In the second fight, Ricardo Carter, one of Jamaica’s most accomplished lightweight prospects, took to the ring against Guyana’s Joel Williamson. The first round looked promising as both fighters looked keen heading into the second. But Carter began to look a bit jaded and was surprisingly knocked off his feet to go down via the technical knockout route.

In the third fight, the promising junior welterweight Patrick Sahadeo from the Jamaica Defence Force Gym was expected to give Jamaica the lead in the clash with the gangly Colin Lewis. But Sahadeo was outclassed.

He appeared to be not prepared to deal with the long reach of his opponent, and thus failed to withstand the barrages from Lewis and was outgunned in a majority decision.

In came Derby, the St Thomas Gym boxer who had to win his fight to salvage a share of the laurels following two unexpected losses.

He responded well with good glove work and adequately weighted punches to keep his bloody-nosed opponent apprehensive.

It was a night where the amateurs stole the spotlight, though not entirely, as Miguel “Iron Dog” Ray brought the house down to its knees against Kestna Davis in their main event clash over six rounds. Davis, as was expected, won by an overwhelming majority on all the three judges’ scorecards. It was a highly entertaining bout highlighted by the antics of “Iron Dog”.

Ransford Burton scored the bout 60-55, Eion Jardine scored it 60-54, while Lindell Allen had it 60-50.

Meanwhile, in the preliminary pro bout, Toriano Nicholas defeated Daron Weir by majority decision. All three judges scored 60-54.

Source: Jamaica Observer

A mixed reception greeted the outcome of the super-middleweight bout last Saturday night at the Alpart Sports Club in St Elizabeth between promising middleweight boxer Kestna Davis and boxer-comedian Miguel ‘Iron Dawg’ Raye.

Davis won by unanimous decision, as judges Lindell Allen 60-54, Ransford Burton 59-55, and Eion Jardine 60-50 gave him victory by a wide margin. The antics that came from Raye, his lack of boxing skills and the failure of Davis to end the fight early as he had promised, led to a spirited debate after the fight ended, and there is every indication that it will continue.

There were two professional bouts on the card, and in the other six-rounder the judges had Toriano Nicholas defeating Doran Weir by unanimous decision, 60-54.

In the amateur section of the programme, Jamaica and Guyana won two bouts each to square their series after four very entertaining and action-packed contests that gave spectators their money’s worth.

In the feature fight, there was a war of words before the fight, and Davis stated publicly that it would not go the distance. He tried to knock out his opponent, but Raye used fair and foul means to frustrate him.

REFEREE CAUTIONS

He clinched, chatted, used his head as part of the attack, and drew several cautions from referee Peter Richards. In the end, Davis was relieved when the fight ended, and said he had become frustrated from his opponent’s behaviour. He conceded, however, that he had learnt a lot from the fight.

“Iron Dawg is very unorthodox, and did not give me room to fight. My tactics were also bad, as I should have stayed outside and attack his body. Anyhow, I did not do this and he went six rounds. I learnt a lot, however, and will be better next time around,” he conceded.