FFTP and Minuto de Dios Reaffirm Partnership to Fight Poverty in Colombia

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (June 11, 2024) – Food For The Poor (FFTP) and Minuto de Dios, two leading charitable organizations dedicated to alleviating poverty, have reaffirmed their commitment to collaborate in efforts to lift families out of poverty in Colombia.

The pledge was solidified during a two-day visit by top leadership from Minuto de Dios to FFTP’s Coconut Creek headquarters.

Minuto de Dios is the largest educational institution in Colombia, serving 150,000 students in its classrooms at the elementary, high school, and university level every day.

In 2012, the organization created the Social Innovation Science Park as a commitment to social innovation channeled to responding to social needs.

Fr. Camilo Bernal pledged to share Minuto de Dios’ technical expertise with FFTP not only in Colombia, but throughout Latin America and the Caribbean where FFTP is fighting to alleviate poverty.

“This gift is of huge value to us and continues to cement our relationship,” FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine said. “We are truly excited about all that we can accomplish together.”

Raine expressed admiration for Minuto de Dios’ influence in STEM education (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), not just in Colombia but also in other Latin American countries.

Fr. Bernal, an engineer and mathematician by trade, emphasized the importance of STEM education in transforming communities.

“We have been able to witness how families come out of poverty because sons and daughters have been able to gain an education in different ways,” Fr. Bernal said. “This has helped many families we serve come out of the poverty they had lived in for generations.”

FFTP began serving in Colombia in 2014. Since 2019, the charity has partnered with Minuto de Dios to bring relief to families, including tens of thousands of Venezuelan migrants who have fled to escape shortages of food, water, and medicine. In addition, FFTP and Minuto de Dios have worked together to build Palma Real, the first large-scale sustainable community development by the two organizations with a total of 60 homes and an integral development center where the families and potentially hundreds of others in the surrounding area will receive education, training and the tools to help them flourish on their own. The two organizations also have worked to provide water to the communities of Charco Trece, Meta and La Guajira who residents had relied on collecting rainwater or making daily trips to bring back buckets and cans of water.

In November 2022, FFTP received one of Minuto de Dios’ highest honors at the organization’s annual Banquet of the Million in Colombia.

The Rafael García Herreros Order of Social Merit, named after Minuto de Dios’ beloved founder, was presented to the charity.

During the two-day visit, Raine reflected on the growing partnership between the two organizations.

“We’ve been talking and developing the partnership over the last five years,” Raine said. “Today, we have come together to really connect and plan for the future.”

FFTP leaders presented the charity’s strategic plan for the next three years and its theme on refining the charity’s approach and enhancing programs that will bring greater efficiency and efficacy in fulfilling its mission. FFTP’s five primary goals include maximizing fundraising efficiency, shifting toward building lives rather than building things, sharpening program delivery, elevating accountability for stronger stewardship, and enhancing capacity and capabilities.

To achieve its goals, the charity has invested in capacity building and partnered with innovative organizations like Minuto de Dios that share its philosophy.

“Your plan truly represents a change in mentality, a change in direction,” Fr. Bernal said. “I believe FFTP is positioning itself into the 21st century with a new way of thinking. You are continuing to do the basic elements of assistance, but you are incorporating elements of development which are key to transforming families.”

The alignment between FFTP and Minuto de Dios extends beyond shared goals. Both organizations, Raine said, are aligned in many areas, such as in recognizing how education is essential to developing sustainable programs that will help families overcome generational poverty.

“Both want to serve God and serve the poor, which is truly expressed in both of our missions from the foundations of our organizations,” Fr. Bernal said. “We see the importance of the small things and we preserve them on a daily basis.”

The foundational pillars of Minuto de Dios’ work include the presence of God, the importance of education, and social impact.

“From our founder, communicating the existence of God is of most importance to Minuto de Dios and the work that we do. Emphasizing education is a very important part of what we do,” Fr. Bernal said. “It’s what transforms families out of poverty.” In this excerpt of an interview with FFTP, Raine and Fr. Bernal talk about the importance of education and innovation:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cp7Jbadw-t0

About Food For The Poor

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 15 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]