Food For The Poor Accelerates Central America Aid

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Dec. 14, 2020) One month after back-to-back hurricanes pummeled Central America, Food For The Poor continues to provide critical aid to families recovering while developing a broader strategy to help them rebuild.

Thanks to generous donors, the charity was able to purchase critically needed food and hygiene items in Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador, the Central American countries hardest hit by Hurricanes Eta and Iota, and in Colombia in South America, which also experienced devastating impacts.

Securing essential goods in those countries sped up distribution of aid to families within days after the storm and helped the charity’s partners respond quickly to the urgent needs they faced.

Approximately 91 containers of relief items have been purchased in the countries so far, which equates to about 49 in Nicaragua, 33 in Honduras, five in Colombia, three in Guatemala and one in El Salvador.

“The ability to get aid to people within days has been extraordinary and would not be possible without the unwavering support of our donors and dedicated partners on the ground in the countries. We were able to get aid to families faster than ever,” said Food For The Poor President/CEO Ed Raine. “We know the real work remains ahead, which is to help them rebuild. Food For The Poor is committed to being there every step of the way.”

FFTP has bolstered those in-country purchases by sending additional containers of aid.

To date, 128 containers of aid have been shipped, including 52 to Guatemala, 50 to Honduras, 17 to Jamaica, seven to El Salvador and two to Belize.

The two horrific hurricanes left thousands of people across Central America without homes, food, clean water and basic supplies, even as many were already struggling due to the economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Some estimates indicate recovery from the storms could take up to a decade, the head of the U.S. Southern Command told The New York Times in a recent story.

In Honduras, the charity’s donors have helped purchase new water filtration systems in coordination with Water Mission and Water With Blessings, two of the charity’s partners. Water also has been trucked into communities.

Many major roads in Honduras were severely damaged by floods and mudslides unleashed by the hurricanes. Repairs to more than 1,000 miles of highway are expected to take at least a year, according to CEPUDO, the charity’s partner.

In the Choloma community development, the plantain trees were destroyed and need to be replanted. A plantain chip factory, a bakery, and welding and sewing shops also were damaged and need extensive repairs and equipment.

CEPUDO is helping with 52 shelters providing temporary housing for 5,000 people. At least 800 homes need repairs, new beds, new stoves and water filters.

In Guatemala and Colombia, funds were used to purchase food baskets and hygiene kits, which were provided to grateful families affected by the storms. Colombia’s Caribbean islands off the coast of Nicaragua and Colombia’s Caribbean coast also were devastated by impacts from Eta and Iota.

In South Florida, residents responded to the call for help by donating food and other items at FFTP’s Coconut Creek warehouse.

Bravo Supermarkets also organized a collection drive at 12 Bravo stores in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties and one Key Food store in Hollywood. The Bravo drive netted about 90 large boxes of items. Bravo’s Lauderhill store also provided two pallets of rice.

Here are ways donors still can help FFTP deliver aid to families in Central America:

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 the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for orphaned and abandoned children, care for the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.

Michael Turnbell

Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
[email protected]

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