Food For The Poor, Taiwan ICDF Forge New Commitment to Address Poverty
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (May 2, 2023) The top leadership of the Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) visited Food For The Poor (FFTP) on Monday to renew their commitment to working with the charity to find better solutions for those who live in poverty.
Ambassador Timothy Hsiang, Secretary General of the Taiwan ICDF, and FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine talked about the importance of combining the expertise of the two organizations on a bigger scale.
Raine and Hsiang signed a memorandum of understanding outlining how FFTP and the ICDF will work together to develop projects centered around agriculture and food security, public health and medicine, enterprise development, climate resilience, gender equality and humanitarian assistance.
Raine expressed gratitude for Taiwan’s lifesaving donations of rice provided each year to Haiti and for the Taiwan ICDF’s technical assistance.
“Your generosity saves thousands of people from dying,” Raine said. “I want you to feel pride in what you enable us to do through your generosity. We couldn’t do it without you. And if we didn’t do it, so many people would suffer.”
Hsiang praised the partnership and FFTP’s “people-centered approach” and desire to focus on projects that empower people and teach them how they can help themselves.
“Food For The Poor is a very valuable partner to us,” Hsiang said. “We have built strong cooperation and a foundation as we come up with new solutions together to address these issues. We are trying to make the world better.”
Hsiang was joined by Alex Shyy, Deputy Secretary General; Shang-Yi Huang, Special Assistant to the Secretary General; Minghong Yen, Director, Technical Cooperation Department; and Yunching Tseng, Director, Research, Development and Evaluation Department.
Charles Chi-Yu Chou, Director General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Miami (TECO), Antonio Fan, Deputy Director General, and Claire Chen, Senior Consul, accompanied the group. Chou and Fan had visited the charity on April 20.
The leaders followed the tradition of exchanging symbolic gifts.
Raine also presented Ambassador Hsiang and Director General Chou with an award highlighting Taiwan as one of FFTP’s 40 significant partners and donors. The charity marked its 40th anniversary in 2022.
After an hourlong roundtable discussion, the group toured FFTP’s Coconut Creek headquarters and warehouse.
Over the years, the two entities have cooperated on numerous projects. More recently, the Taiwan ICDF funded the third year of a pilot program and quality education initiative, in partnership with P4H Global, providing training for teachers and administrators in northern Haiti.
Watch a video with FFTP President/CEO Ed Raine and Ambassador Timothy Hsiang, Secretary General of the Taiwan ICDF, talking about their partnership: https://youtu.be/jbOksKcwkbc
In cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taiwan continues to provide rice to Haiti.
This year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is sending 8,800 metric tons of rice in seven shipments – equal to a total of 440 tractor-trailer loads or 40 containers a month over 10 months. The gift is equal to the same amount as the generous gifts provided in 2022 and 2021, and 22 percent more than the gift provided in 2020.
The Taiwan ICDF serves as Taiwan’s dedicated international development and cooperation organization, focused on boosting socioeconomic development, enhancing human resources and promoting economic relations in a range of developing partner countries. The Taiwan ICDF shares Taiwan’s development experience with partner countries, and assists developing nations in their efforts to become self-reliant, enabling them to emerge from poverty.
Raine said FFTP has evolved to focus on more than just building things and providing aid and from not just lifting one person or one family at a time, but entire communities.
“We’re looking for other organizations and people who have the expertise, who can teach us,” Raine said. “You have already demonstrated to us through your words, actions and financial support that you can help us design great solutions to well-defined problems. The spirit of the memorandum of understanding signed today is all about how we continue to engage with one another.”
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, 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 www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Michael Turnbell
Communications
954-471-0928
turnbell.michael@foodforthepoor.org