Boca Grande Hope For Haitians Supports FFTP’s Response to the Crisis in Haiti
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (March 18, 2024) – Food For The Poor (FFTP) is poised to launch a massive humanitarian aid campaign in Haiti as the charity watches for signs that security has been restored amid escalating gang warfare that has seized Port-au-Prince for months.
The charity’s focus will be on areas with severe food insecurity, prioritizing families displaced by gang violence.
“The need is far greater in Haiti than we’ve ever seen,” FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine said. “With secure roadways, we will be able to respond and do everything we want in a very significant, meaningful way. We are aiming big.”
Longtime FFTP donors Ben and Louise Scott, natives of Piqua, Ohio, and wintertime residents of Boca Grande, Fla., are watching the events in Haiti closely and are grateful for the significant role FFTP is playing in response to the crisis.
The ongoing gang attacks and the prevailing turmoil in Haiti have posed significant challenges to the Scotts’ annual Boca Grande Hope For Haitians housing campaign.
For 15 years, Boca Grande Hope For Haitians, under the leadership of Co-Chairs Ben and Louise Scott, has provided hope and homes in Haiti. This year, the Scotts are continuing their fundraising drive to build 25 two-bedroom homes with water and sanitation and solar-powered light kits for families in Terre Cassée.
A school in Laotchikit also will be expanded with new classrooms and space for community gatherings.
“Food For The Poor is playing an instrumental role to serve the people of Haiti in this crisis,” Ben Scott said. “The challenges are immense, but Food For The Poor is doing everything it can to continue its work to feed people, build homes and villages, and provide medical supplies to hospitals. We want to ensure our donors that Food For The Poor has been in Haiti a long time and has a huge footprint and will continue to be there for the Haitian people through their rough times.”
Beyond an initial push for humanitarian aid, FFTP is collaborating with its team on the ground in Haiti to develop a long-term strategy for sustainable community development post-crisis. The priorities include housing, agricultural support, education, health care, and youth engagement strategies.
Ken Michel, FFTP-Haiti Chief Operating Officer, said FFTP is the best positioned nongovernmental organization (NGO) in Haiti to respond to the immediate needs, with goods already in its Port-au-Prince warehouse, at the port, and en route to Haiti.
Supplies are continually distributed and then restocked. Additional containers of aid in the charity’s Coconut Creek, Fla., warehouse are ready to be shipped.
“But we will need so much more to help the huge number of people who need help now and in the future,” Michel said.
The surging violence in recent weeks has driven nearly 15,000 people from their homes in Port-au-Prince, 80 percent of which is controlled by armed gangs. That’s in addition to the more than 360,000 people forced to flee their homes, according to Jean-Martin Bauer, the U.N. food agency’s director in Haiti. The United Nations says half of them are children.
FFTP’s distribution centers and partners have remained secure through the recent wave of violence.
FFTP has been actively involved in Haiti since 1986, with offices, warehouses, and a dedicated team on the ground. With almost 400 staff members and 13 distribution centers, FFTP’s extensive network enables the charity to reach displaced families in remote areas in addition to Port-au-Prince.
In the last year, FFTP has maintained its commitment to Haiti, shipping over 800 containers of food and essential items. The charity also responded to a cholera outbreak in 2022.
FFTP has continued to ship tractor-trailer loads of aid to Haiti so they can be cleared at the port in Port-au-Prince. Currently, nearly 150 containers of food, medical supplies, and cleaning, hygiene, and household items are at the port, with more en route.
Since 2009, Boca Grande Hope For Haitians has built 640 homes, eight community centers, two schools and two dormitories, and a clinic on the island nation through FFTP. Thousands of fruit trees have been planted, goats and farm equipment have been provided, and a fishing village was outfitted with several boats and a fish house with a solar-powered freezer.
To support the Boca Grande Hope For Haitians campaign, please visit: foodforthepoor.org/bocagrande24
“Despite the obstacles we face, we remain committed to our mission of providing sustainable housing solutions for the people of Terree Cassee, Haiti,” Scott said. “Our campaign aims to not only provide shelter but also restore hope and stability in the lives of those affected by the crisis.”
Boca Grande Hope For Haitians committee members include Co-Chairs Ben and Louise Scott, the Rev. Gary Beatty, the Rev. Jerome Carosella, the Rev. Michelle Robertshaw, Henry and Ginny Bryant, George and Lois Castrucci, John Denneen, Lou and Corie Fusz, Jim and Lynda Grant, Stephen and Susan Jansen, Tom and Nancy Lorden, and Janice and Wayne Hursen.
Patricia Chapman is an honorary committee member.
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry children and families living in poverty primarily in 17 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for vulnerable children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit foodforthepoor.org.
Michael Turnbell
Communications
954-471-0928
[email protected]
