Republic of China (Taiwan), Food For The Poor Sign Agreement for Rice Donation to Haiti
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Feb. 23, 2017) Lifesaving shipments of rice soon will be on their way to feed Haiti’s hungry poor, thanks to the kindness of the Republic of China’s (Taiwan) Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) represented by Tsai-Chiu Hwang, Ambassador to Haiti, and Bishop Ogé Beauvoir, Executive Director of Food For The Poor-Haiti, signed a memorandum of understanding today at the charity’s office in Port-au-Prince. The agreement spells out the details of the partnership to deliver the rice.
The Republic of China (Taiwan) is sending 5,600 metric tons of rice in seven shipments of 40 containers each in May, June, July, August, September, October and November.
The latest donation of rice will provide 49 million meals.
Food For The Poor will distribute the donated rice to sponsored programs, one of which is the charity’s feeding center in Port-au-Prince. Approximately 15,000 hot meals are cooked and distributed from this location six days a week.
This donation comes at a critical time as the number of Haitians facing hunger and food insecurity has increased due to the impact of Hurricane Matthew, coupled with the effects of years of drought and severe flooding. The hurricane slammed into the country’s southern peninsula on Oct. 4, wiping out crops, drowning most livestock and destroying critical infrastructure.
“Taiwan has been a tremendous partner, consistently providing lifesaving food for hundreds of thousands people in Haiti for many years,” said Robin Mahfood, Food For The Poor’s President/CEO. “We are so very thankful to receive this bountiful blessing on behalf of the poor that we serve. The lifesaving food will nurture children and their families.”
Food For The Poor, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Taiwan) and the Ministry of Agriculture (Taiwan) have partnered on multiple projects since 2005 in Central America and in the Caribbean.
Since 2007 alone, Food For The Poor has received more than 72 million pounds of rice for Haiti through Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor primarily in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. Over the last 10 years, fundraising and other administrative costs averaged less than 5% of our expenses; more than 95% of all donations went directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Michael Turnbell
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
[email protected]