Taiwan Aids Haiti

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (October 2, 2008) —In an outstanding humanitarian gesture to Haiti, the government of Taiwan, through their International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF), committed itself for the last three years to provide 800 tons of rice every month to Food For The Poor. Hundreds of thousands of people in precarious economic situations receive a hot meal six days a week, thanks to this food program. During the recent hurricanes and storms that have destroyed so much throughout the country, this donation has been life saving for so many of the poor.

For nearly three years, Taiwan has been aiding the people of Haiti with magnanimous donations of rice. Taiwan, working through the international relief agency Food For The Poor, has been sending 40 containers of rice every month to the island nation. This monthly donation of 800 tons of rice, which translates to 7,000,000 generous servings, feeds hundreds of thousands of school children and adults in the most destitute areas of the country.

“This rice is a donation of the Government of Taiwan through the ICDF and Food for the Poor pays for the transportation to bring it from Taiwan to Haiti, as well as the distribution costs in Haiti,” declared Mien Sheng Hsu, the Ambassador of Taiwan in Port-au-Prince. The rice is valued at over 96 million dollars. The Ambassador declared that his country will continue to aid Haiti in numerous ways.

The Food For The Poor management and Haiti Board of Directors met with the Ambassador and his delegation to express their sincere gratitude for the donation of rice. According to Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor, “This gift of 40 containers of rice per month has been a godsend to the poor of Haiti and a true blessing during this time of extreme crisis. On behalf of Food For The Poor and the people of Haiti, I would like to thank the people of Taiwan and the ICDF for their generosity.”

The Executive Director of Food for the Poor in Haiti, Mme. Raymonde Pun, expressed sincere appreciation to the Embassy of Taiwan for the trust placed in her institution. “A good part of the National School Feeding Program is served by this donation from Taiwan,” declared Raymonde Pun. “Of each 40 containers of rice that we receive, we give 10 to the Ministry of Education for the National School Feeding Program,” she declared. In addition to the schools directly involved in the feeding program, orphanages, health centers, homes for the handicapped, and homes for the elderly throughout the country benefit from the program as well. “More than fifteen thousand people in Cite Soleil and the area surrounding the feeding center located on our premises are served a hot cooked meal every day. Food For The Poor has been aiding the most destitute people in Haiti since 1986,” the Director of Food For The Poor Haiti said.

Food For The Poor, the second-largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than simply feed the millions of hungry poor in 16 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. Since 1982, we have provided clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and emergency relief, with more than 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For additional information please visit our Web site at www.foodforthepoor.org.

Contact:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Public Relations Coordinator
(954) 427-2222 x 6054
[email protected]