Food For The Poor Responds to the Crisis in Haiti: Charity Addresses Urgent Needs and Plans for Long-Term Recovery

UPDATE #6- June 27, 2024

• The first U.N.-backed contingent of foreign police, including a couple hundred officers from Kenya, arrived in Haiti on Tuesday, June 25 to launch a peacekeeping mission. Kenyan police in Haiti will be joined by police from the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Chad and Jamaica for a total of 2,500 officers. They will be deployed in phases at a cost of some $600 million a year, according to the U.N. Security Council.

• An estimated 1.6 million Haitians are on the brink of starvation, the highest number recorded since the devastating 2010 earthquake, according to the U.N., the Associated Press reported on June 27.

• Since May 27, FFTP-Haiti’s Central Office in Port-au-Prince resumed normal working hours.

• So far in June through June 26, 41 containers of aid have been cleared and received at FFTP-Haiti’s Central Office in Port-au-Prince and five at Caracol. One of the containers, arriving by air shipment, contained 3,840 hygiene kits from FFTP partner Heart to Heart International.

• So far in June through June 26, FFTP-Haiti’s Central Office in Port-au-Prince has provided aid to more than 200 organizations.

• From June 20-26, FFTP-Haiti dispatched 12 trucks of aid to regional distribution centers in the southern region of Haiti. FFTP is preparing to send trucks of donations to distribution centers in Artibonite, Port-de-Paix and Plateau Central, using the barge service provided by the World Food Programme

UPDATE #5- April 12, 2024

• More than 1,550 people have been reported killed and more than 800 have been injured through late March, and another 17,000 have been left homeless, according to the U.N.

• On March 11, CARICOM, a regional trade bloc, announced that Haiti would set up a transitional council to lead the nation. The creation of the council is imminent, the Associated Press reported on April 11.

• Between April 3 and 6, FFTP-Haiti successfully retrieved 26 containers from the Caribbean Port Service in Boulevard La Saline.

• In March, FFTP-Haiti’s central office in Port-au-Prince provided assistance to 148 organizations, while 57 organizations received aid from the Caracol office.

• On Friday, April 5, FFTP received nearly 20,000 hygiene kits from partner Heart to Heart International. The charity also has a commitment for 3,200 family emergency kits from partner GlobalMedic. The family emergency kits contain hygiene items, water purification sachets, buckets and a solar light.

• FFTP has identified a major need to help internally displaced persons, in particular women in need of food and hygiene items. FFTP has procured supplies for 15,000 women’s care kits.

• Volunteers in FFTP’s Coconut Creek headquarters began packing 10,000 disaster hygiene kits for Haiti during the week of March 18. Items for the kits were supplied by MAP International. As of Friday, April 12, volunteers have packed almost 7,700 disaster hygiene kits and 2,010 women’s care kits.

UPDATE #4- April 3, 2024

• More than 53,000 people have fled Haiti’s capital in less than three weeks, the vast majority to escape unrelenting gang violence, according to a United Nations report released on April 2.

• More than 1,500 people have been reported killed up to March 22, and another 17,000 have been left homeless, according to the U.N.

• On March 11, CARICOM, a regional trade bloc, announced that Haiti would set up a transitional council to lead the nation. The council would enable the pending deployment of a multinational security force led by Kenya. Deployment is on hold until a new government is formed in the Caribbean nation, officials in Kenya said, according to news reports.

• After being closed since Feb. 29 due to the violence,FFTP-Haiti’s offices reopened on a limited basis the week of March 25 and distributed aid to about two dozen institutions on March 25, 26, 27 and 28 and again to 30 institutions on April 1 and 2. The institutions are comprised of community organizations, churches and health centers that came to FFTP-Haiti’s warehouse in Port-au-Prince.

• On Friday, March 28, FFTP-Haiti shipped four tractor-trailers of aid via a barge to replenish FFTP’s regional distribution center in Baie-de-Henne, which had not received deliveries since August. The barge service was provided by the World Food Programme. This donation facilitated assistance to 13 schools, 11 parishes, and 4 hospitals.

• FFTP-Haiti’s office in Caracol in the northern region of Haiti also reopened twice the week of March 18 and again the week of March 25 to serve people in need with aid.

• Volunteers in FFTP’s Coconut Creek headquarters are packing 10,000 disaster hygiene kits for Haiti beginning the week of March 18. Items for the kits were supplied by MAP International. As of Tuesday, April 2, volunteers have packed about 6,600 hygiene kits and 760 women’s care kits.

UPDATE #3- March 22, 2024

• Ten days have now passed since CARICOM, a regional trade bloc, announced on March 11 that Haiti would set up a transitional council to lead the nation, but no one has been named to it, CNN reported on March 22. The council would enable the pending deployment of a multinational security force led by Kenya. Deployment is on hold until a new government is formed in the Caribbean nation, officials in Kenya said, according to news reports.

• About 17,000 are homeless after fleeing neighborhoods raided by gangs in Port-au-Prince amid the recent wave of violence, the Associated Press reported on March 21. That brings the total number of displaced people in Haiti to over 360,000, according to Jean-Martin Bauer, the U.N. food agency’s director in Haiti, and the U.N. says half of them are children.

• Volunteers in FFTP’s Coconut Creek headquarters are packing 10,000 disaster hygiene kits for Haiti beginning the week of March 18. Items for the kits were supplied by MAP International. Read our press release here.

UPDATE #2- March 15, 2024

• FFTP has identified a major need to help internally displaced persons, in particular women in need of food and hygiene items. FFTP is purchasing items for 15,000 women’s care kits.

• FFTP has 140 pallets or 5,040 cases of MannaPack rice meals from partner Feed My Starving Children, ready to ship to Haiti. In addition, FFTP has commitments for 20,000 hygiene kits from partner Heart to Heart International, and 3,200 family emergency kits from partner GlobalMedic. The family emergency kits contain hygiene items, water purification sachets, buckets and a solar light.

• Volunteers in FFTP’s Coconut Creek headquarters will pack 10,000 disaster hygiene kits for Haiti beginning the week of March 18.

• FFTP has 10,000 disaster hygiene kits on hand and is purchasing supplies for an additional 20,000 kits.

• Mario Nicoleau, FFTP-Haiti Executive Director : “We have had more egregious violence than I’ve ever seen. We’ve gone through periods of two to three weeks without fuel, people can’t send their children to school. They don’t know where they’ll find food. Right now, getting water to drink and food to eat is extremely difficult.”

“We have closed the office because we can’t distribute goods or risk beneficiaries coming to the office. For the past two weeks, we’ve shut down. We have goods to be distributed from our warehouse but can’t risk sending them out. It is not safe to send our trucks out.”

“About 40 percent of our employees in Haiti have been ousted from their neighborhoods, from their houses. They’ve run out of their houses with the clothes on their back.”

UPDATE #1

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (March 7, 2024) – Food For The Poor (FFTP) is closely monitoring the rapidly changing situation in Haiti and is poised to respond to the crisis while simultaneously preparing for a comprehensive, long-term recovery strategy.

Haiti’s government said Thursday that it was extending a state of emergency and nighttime curfew to try and curb violent gang attacks that have seized the capital of Port-au-Prince, according to news reports.

An escalating humanitarian emergency follows recent violent attacks and a mass escape of more than 4,000 violent offenders from the country’s two biggest prisons over the weekend.

The Situation in Haiti: Unprecedented Challenges

The surging violence over the last several days 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 300,000 people forced to flee their homes in recent years, according to the United Nations World Food Programme.

FFTP’s distribution centers and partners have remained secure through the recent wave of violence.

The United Nations estimates that nearly half of Haiti’s 11 million people need immediate assistance.

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.

FFTP’s Unique Position and Preparedness

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 is poised to launch a humanitarian aid campaign as soon as security is restored. The 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.”

Frequent Distributions of Aid

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, cleaning, hygiene, and household items are at the port, with more en route.

Despite the obstacles of recent months, FFTP continues to look for windows of opportunity to get those goods to families in need.

• • In late February, FFTP-Haiti responded to a request from Réseau National de Défense des Droits de l’Homme, an NGO in Haiti. FFTP provided 200 cases of family food kits, 12 cases of water, 25 cases of blankets, and 25 bags of rice from partner The Republic of China (Taiwan) to displaced families from Carrefour-Feuilles, Cité Soleil, Canaan, Solino, Bel-Air, and La Saline.

• • In mid-February, Fondation Saint Luc distributed 5,100 food kits from FFTP to displaced families. MannaPack rice meals from our partner Feed My Starving Children were also distributed to three hospitals caring for malnourished children. The organization is supporting about 8,000 people forced from their homes.

• • On Saturdays, FFTP-Haiti has opened its doors to safely distribute food to families in need. During the week, the charity provides items such as rice, beans, MannaPack rice meals, water purification tablets, hygiene products, and baby items to pregnant women and nursing mothers from the Nutritional Recovery Center.

Responding to the Crisis and Beyond: FFTP’s Comprehensive Approach

In collaboration with FFTP-Haiti, the organization is developing a long-term strategy for sustainable community development post-crisis. The priorities include housing, agricultural support, education, health care, and youth engagement strategies.

Raine said FFTP remains committed to providing hope, assistance, and a path toward a brighter future for the people of Haiti.

“We have been able to restock the warehouse abundantly to have distributions when we can,” Raine said. “It’s not always predictable when we get a window of opportunity, but the point is our team has kept going ensuring the aid gets through to those that need it.”

Donors can support Haiti relief efforts by visiting foodforthepoor.org/helphaiti

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]