Charity Presents Powerful Stories of Children Who Struggle to Survive in Developing Countries
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Malnourished Nacheline, 5, of Haiti, weighs as much as a normal 2-year-old child. | |
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Jan. 25, 2011) –For the first time ever in long-form programming, Food For The Poor will share with viewers in the United States the desperate plight of children who suffer horrific living conditions in developing countries. The personal stories of children in Haiti and Guatemala show the harsh realities of extreme destitution, while simultaneously providing viewers the opportunity to be a true blessing to the poor and hungry, by becoming an Angel Of The Poor.
Every day, millions of children are forced to go hungry, thousands suffer from severe malnourishment, and their parents are helpless to save them. When children cry out in pain, it breaks the parents’ hearts because they do not have food, clean drinking water, and medicines to give their children – in some cases, to save their lives.
“Food For The Poor donors have been saving lives for 29 years in the Caribbean and Latin America,” said Robin Mahfood , Food For The Poor’s President/CEO. “Our donors have empowered us to be the premier providers of aid in Haiti, Jamaica, Guyana and almost all countries of Central America. This aid takes the form of life-saving food, water, permanent housing, education, medicine, micro-enterprise and self-sustainability projects – all this while maintaining an administrative cost ratio of less than 4 percent.”
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Maria and Juan search for items to sell, eat and recycle at the dump in Guatemala. | |
During the program, spokesperson Cheryl Ladd, who starred in “Charlie’s Angels,” asks viewers to consider giving monthly to the nonprofit Food For The Poor.
The charity partners with suppliers to stretch the purchasing power of your monetary donations, so lifesaving resources can reach even more precious children.
“Despite our efficient, effective and impactful work funded by a solid number of generous and loyal donors, we still remain strangers to a large part of this country’s population,” said Angel Aloma , Food For The Poor’s Executive Director. “I am confident that this exciting initiative in the medium of television will introduce our work to a larger audience and gain us a plethora of new friends with a heart for serving those who live in extreme poverty.”
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Shedeline married at 14, but her husband abandoned her. She now struggles to raise her children alone in Haiti. | |
Based on viewers’ unique life experiences, everyone will be moved differently by the personal stories. Some will identify with the young mother who is unable to provide for the two children God gave her – who escapes from her painful reality of parasites and her children’s cries of hunger by praying to God. Others will identify more with the siblings’ struggles to provide food and as little as $1 – $2 by scouring dangerous garbage dumps in Guatemala for materials to be recycled, repurposed or eaten.
Through their suffering they pray for refuge in God’s love and comfort.
The program includes donor testimonials to inspire and remind viewers that every gift, regardless of size and value will help Food For The Poor provide food, medicine, shelter and access to safe drinking water to the poorest of the poor.
Learn how you can become an Angel Of The Poor.
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Carmelina, 11, and her sister, Aracely, 5, take a treacherous path to fetch water daily. | |
Food For The Poor, the third-largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of hungry poor in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian agency 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 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.
For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Contact:
Jennifer Leigh Oates
Public Relations
954-427-2222, ext. 6054
[email protected]
