During National Hispanic Heritage Month, Food For The Poor is proud to spotlight team members of Hispanic descent who share our mission to help impoverished people in the Caribbean and Latin America.
Working at FFTP Satisfies Her Passion for Media and Storytelling to Help People in Need
Diana Corrales finds her work at Food For The Poor to be a fulfilling way to nurture her spiritual growth and utilize her passion for media and storytelling to assist underserved Latin American communities.
Diana was born in Nicaragua in 1983 amidst the struggles of a developing country. When she was 8, she saw people walking barefoot near busy intersections and knew she wanted to help.
“We all need to give away a pair of shoes!” she told her mother. “Let’s go to the radio station and spread the word!”
At that young age, she already recognized the media’s potential to magnify the act of giving. Growing up, she and her younger brother pretended to host a remote radio show called “Radio Viajera” (Traveling Radio) and imagined traveling the globe to help those in need.
After graduating from high school, Diana realized she wanted to pursue a career that would empower her to reach many people and involve them in charitable initiatives. She enrolled in university to acquire a bachelor’s degree in marketing. During her undergraduate studies in Nicaragua, Diana discovered her desire for nonprofit work when she and a group of students formed an organization to support youths.
“I was just an undergrad student, and we were already receiving funds to implement development projects,” she said. “It was a nonprofit we started from scratch.”
After graduation, Diana worked as a marketing coordinator at Pepsi in Nicaragua. Although she found the work stimulating, she felt no sense of purpose and yearned for a greater opportunity to create positive change. She returned to the charity she and her friends created and took a yearlong marketing position funded by a major donor. The job focused on promoting youth development through media and entertainment.
“We worked with big brands, sponsoring concerts and TV programs, and with local celebrities and musicians to bring everyone together,” she said.
Once the campaign ended, Diana pursued her MBA in Argentina. She went to New York University for a semester abroad, focusing on media entertainment. After earning her master’s degree, she moved to Washington, D.C., and worked with the World Bank Group on environmentally sustainable projects in the Middle East and North Africa.
Eventually, she returned to Nicaragua, continuing her work in nonprofits. She developed a passion for storytelling, which led her to pursue a Social Impact Storytelling certificate from Georgetown University and ultimately work with the American Nicaraguan Foundation (ANF), a former FFTP in-country partner. As Director of Development at ANF, Diana was responsible for the organization’s marketing and fundraising strategy, collecting stories about impoverished families to generate support to improve their lives.
“That opened my eyes to understanding poverty,” she said. “It’s not just children at stoplights asking for money – it’s more than that. It’s a family struggling because they don’t have access to clean water. It gave me a more in-depth perspective.”
Last year, ANF closed its doors. Heartbroken to leave behind so many people in need, Diana found grace in September 2022 when she became FFTP’s Media Director. Some of her responsibilities at FFTP include supervising the broadcast media department, including radio, TV, and studio production, and spearheading income-generating initiatives across the United States by harnessing the power of storytelling.
Although Nicaragua is no longer among the nations FFTP supports, Diana is grateful to be able to help improve the lives of people in other Latin American countries.
“I always dreamed of using my experience and passion for media and storytelling for a greater good,” said Diana, who works remotely from her home office in Nicaragua. “It wasn’t until I joined Food For The Poor that everything came together.”
Still, she’s most grateful for what she’s achieved spiritually. “The mission of Food For The Poor is close to my heart – during my days at American Nicaragua Foundation, I saw with my own eyes the impact it has on impoverished communities,” she said. “But what I enjoy most is the spiritual growth I’ve experienced, sharing the gospel with my team and co-workers every day. We are nurtured in a culture of faith that inspires us to embody Christ’s compassion and cultivate humility. It fosters an unwavering commitment to serving those living in poverty by amplifying their voices.”
Love and Marriage Brought Her From Guatemala to Florida and FFTP
For Maricarmen Anguiano Jacobs, working at Food For The Poor (FFTP) is part of a love story that began in 2020 in Guatemala and continues in South Florida where she now lives with her new husband.
Maricarmen, who joined FFTP as a volunteer in December 2022, started her new position as the charity’s Community Engagement Coordinator on Sept. 25.
She previously spent nine years working with Caritas Arquidiocesana, FFTP’s in-country partner in Guatemala, where she most recently was Institutional and Hospital Administrator at Children’s Hospital Juan Pablo II. During her tenure, she frequently collaborated with FFTP team members in the charity’s Coconut Creek, Fla., headquarters.
She met her future husband, Paul Jacobs, FFTP Radio Manager/On Air Fundraiser, in January 2020, while he was on a mission trip with radio station partners seeking to learn more about the charity’s work in Guatemala.
Born and raised in Guatemala, Maricarmen learned English as a teen while visiting her aunt in California. That skill made her the perfect stand-in for a colleague at Caritas who was unable to fulfill her role as a translator for the FFTP visitors from the United States.
During the mission trip, an unanticipated friendship developed between Maricarmen and Paul. Over time, their connection strengthened via chats on FaceTime, with each conversation ending in prayer.
“I think there’s something valuable about having a relationship in two different countries because you get to talk, share your thoughts and your story,” she said. “And it was a friendship based on God, which was even more special.”
Maricarmen moved to South Florida in December 2022 and subsequently became an FFTP volunteer. Three months later, she and Paul made their union official on March 3, 2023, exchanging vows in a ceremony in Kendall, Fla., before family, friends, and colleagues.
Since moving to South Florida, Maricarmen has been part of a cultural exchange with Paul and his father, who are of Jamaican descent. She’s developed a fondness for spicy Jamaican beef patties, while her husband and father-in-law have had the pleasure of eating mole, a delicious Guatemalan dessert made with plantains and chocolate. With Maricarmen’s encouragement, Paul has developed a great appreciation for black beans and the variety of ways the dish can be prepared – even as a dessert.
Looking back on how she met Paul, Maricarmen reflects on the other gift she received when she volunteered to serve as translator for the Americans visiting her country. It opened her eyes to the plight of the people in Guatemala who live in poverty.
“I got to see the reality of poverty in my own country – maybe an hour away from my office,” she said. “People living in homes that are only 2-by-2 meters (6.56-by-6.56 feet) in size, pregnant women getting up at 3:30 in the morning and walking two hours to get water, it was incredible. We take everything for granted and don’t realize how blessed we are.”
She’s happy to be part of an organization that is helping impoverished people in the country of her birth, and she is humbled by their resiliency, even in the face of their day-to-day challenges. “They lack so many things, but they are not lacking in faith,” she said. “They had this joy about God and trust in God. That is what was transforming for me.”
Andrea Delgado Enjoys a Purpose-Driven Job That Touches People in Her Family’s Homeland
When work slowed down during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019, Andrea Delgado took a break from the hospitality industry to help market her father’s window treatment business and to do a bit of introspection.
“I was taking my time to find something more meaningful,” she said. “I wanted to find work that would make me feel like I had a purpose.”
Andrea found that sense of purpose at Food For The Poor, initially as an administrative assistant in the Donor Relations Department and later as an assistant in the Projects Department, where she sees firsthand the impact of the charity’s work.
“It’s a great organization,” she said. “I’m so honored to play even a small role in the work that we do at Food For The Poor. I really do see the difference that we’re making in people’s lives.”
Andrea is especially proud of the work that FFTP is doing in Ecuador, the place where her parents were born and where she frequently visits her grandparents and extended family. Although she was born in Fort Lauderdale, Andrea’s family lived in Manta, Ecuador, from the time she was 5 years old until they returned two years later.
“There was a family gathering every week with lots of food and music,” she said. “We felt closer to everyone over there. Everyone knows all the neighbors and it was just a different experience.”
Andrea also recalls seeing impoverished families in Ecuador and not fully understanding their plight. She saw children her age wearing torn shoes or no shoes at all and wondered why they didn’t have decent shoes like the ones she wore, and she saw homes patched together with little more than bamboo sticks and palm fronds.
“I remember seeing houses made of bamboo with leaves on the roof and thinking, oh cool, it’s a bamboo house,” she said. “But when I grew up, I realized that when it rains, it goes into their homes and the leaves on the roof didn’t last very long. I was sad when I began to understand they were living in poverty.”
Believing that Andrea and her sister, Emily, would have access to a better education in the United States, Andrea’s parents moved their family back to Fort Lauderdale, bringing with them a bit of the culture of their Ecuadorian roots. Her father’s ceviche and her mother’s tres leches cake were among the dishes they enjoyed in their new home, which was filled with traditional music and the language of their country.
“We would always speak Spanish at home, so we’ve never lost the language,” she said. “I’m glad that I still know the language, and when I have kids, I want to follow that tradition.”
It was her family’s faith in God and their conviction to always work hard that set both Andrea and her sister on a path to higher education and to successful careers. Andrea’s parents were not aware of FFTP until she began working with the charity and shared details about its mission.
“They were very proud of the work that we do,” she said. “And when I told them it’s a faith-based organization, they were very happy.”
Becoming a Food For The Poor Project Manager Brought Eli Kuan Back Home to Guatemala
For Eli Kuan, landing his dream job at Food For The Poor (FFTP) came through a series of twists and turns that launched him on a journey from his birthplace in Guatemala to South Korea and Haiti before he returned home as an FFTP Project Manager.
After earning his undergraduate degree in Guatemala, Eli wanted to pursue his master’s degree, but his family couldn’t afford the tuition. An online ad announcing a three-year scholarship to study in South Korea, provided the opportunity.
He spent his first year in South Korea learning the language, and then began his studies while working at a nonprofit aid organization. After earning his degree, he embraced an opportunity to transfer to his company’s office in Haiti, where he discovered FFTP and dared to dream that he might someday work for the charity.
Eli worked in Haiti as a project manager for two and a half years, along the way learning Creole and building relationships within the community. Although times were challenging, he enjoyed his life in Haiti until the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, which gave rise to unprecedented gang-related violence.
“There was a shoot-out in front of my house,” he said, “I saw my wife’s face and she was scared, and I thought to myself, we can’t do this anymore. The following morning, I submitted my resignation.”
He had little luck in his job search until his wife heard from a friend who was representing FFTP in its search for a project manager in Guatemala. Seeing this as divine intervention, Eli applied for the job and received an offer.
Then Haiti was struck by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake. At the time, Eli was the only person in his office authorized to organize emergency assistance. He felt compelled to stay.
“I said to my wife, ‘Call me crazy, but I cannot leave these people when they need us the most,’” he said. “I called (FFTP) and said I know you have other candidates, go ahead with someone else because I need to stay.’”
To Eli’s surprise, the charity waited for him to finish his work, and one month later he returned home to Guatemala and began his new job.
“For me to be able to make a difference in Guatemala through Food For The Poor, through our donors, it’s a joy, it’s happiness,” said Eli, who also manages FFTP projects in El Salvador and Mexico. “It’s an honor for me to help implement solutions to make people’s lives less of a burden. I love the idea that we are striving toward sustainability and community development because we’re thinking about structural change.”
The work has become more personal, as his family and friends have grown to understand and support his work. He’s also been embraced by the families he’s helped along the way – even becoming a godfather to a newborn baby whose mother had given birth just before her family received a home from FFTP. “In a symbolic action they wanted to make me the boy’s godfather and, of course, I agreed,” he said. “I want them to know that I am there for them, to help them, because that’s the truth.”
Family, Cuisine, and Cultural Traditions Maintained His Connection to Colombia
Juan Viveros was 5 years old when his family left Colombia, but the connection to the nation of his birth remained strong. “Even to this day, I still dream and think in Spanish.
Juan grew up in the richness of Colombian tradition. Throughout his childhood, Juan spent summers with his family in Colombia, spending time outdoors on his family’s farm and immersing himself in the culture.
“I might spend three months of summer vacation in Colombia, and I had a blast,” he said. “I loved it. Juan also enjoyed growing up in New York, where his constant contact with aunts, uncles, and cousins in the neighborhood built strong family ties and maintained his connection to Colombia.
“We grew up with all the Colombian traditions and the cooking and the parties and the soccer games – whenever Colombia was playing on television, they had to see the soccer games,” he said. “But I think it’s mainly the food, the traditions and holidays like Christmas and Día de Los Reyes (Three Kings’ Day). We didn’t open all our gifts on Christmas. We always saved gifts to open on Día de Los Reyes, which we celebrated on Jan. 6.”
Juan’s ties to the food of his heritage are so strong that even his wife, Debby, born in Philadelphia, Penn., embraced the culture by learning to make the foods he loves.
“My wife makes amazing empanadas and delicious arepas,” he said. “I love lentils. I could eat lentils every day of my life, and Debby does great Colombian-style lentils. Our family of four boys, three daughters-in-law, and a granddaughter enjoy Colombian food.”
After graduating college and having a successful career in business in the cruise and travel industry, Juan joined Food For The Poor two years ago, working for the first time as a fundraiser.
“I love the people we work with – our in-country partners, our donors,” he said. “And I really like helping Colombia and all the countries we serve. I know the conditions these people are living in – zinc roofs and dirt floors – and I love that we can help them with the support of our donors.”
FFTP is celebrating National Hispanic Heritage Month with a Facebook challenge and inviting everyone to join a special Facebook group where you can participate in fun and engaging posts about Hispanic culture. Additionally, there is the option to join in with fundraising for Latin American children. Click here to join the challenge.