A Gift to Haiti: Republic of China (Taiwan) Donates Rice to Food For The Poor
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Jan. 23, 2019) The latest shipments of lifesaving rice soon will be on the way to feed Haiti’s hungry poor, thanks to the generosity of the Republic of China’s (Taiwan) Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) represented by Cheng-Hao Hu, the ambassador to Haiti from the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Bishop Ogé Beauvoir, Executive Director of Food For The Poor-Haiti, signed a memorandum of understanding Monday 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 6,100 metric tons of rice in seven shipments – equal to 13.4 million pounds – in March, April, May, June, July, August and September.
Also present for the signing on Monday was Elise Brisson Gelin, Haiti’s Minister of Social Affairs and Employment.
Food For The Poor President/CEO Robin Mahfood expressed his sincere gratitude for the partnership.
“The government of Taiwan has been a tremendous donor over the years,” Mahfood said. “They have really bent over backwards in helping us to help the people of Haiti and some of the countries we serve in Central America through Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund. This rice will be a true blessing to so many Haitians, many who depend on Food For The Poor as their only source of food for the day.”
For 12 years, the partnership with the Taiwanese government has provided Food For The Poor the opportunity to feed thousands of families and meet its mission to help the poorest of the poor.
“This ceremony has become a tradition and symbolizes the love of the Taiwanese people for the poorest of Haiti,” Beauvoir said.
“This gift of rice to Food For The Poor is an expression of the solidarity of the Republic of China (Taiwan) with the people of Haiti,” Beauvoir said. “The Taiwanese Government understood that the food situation in the country is so critical that we needed assistance a little earlier than in the past. We value this friendship very much.”
The donation will provide 53 million meals for thousands of children and adults in the most destitute areas of the country.
Food For The Poor will distribute the 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.
Food For The Poor, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Taiwan) and the Ministry of Agriculture (Taiwan) have partnered on numerous projects since 2005 in Central America and in the Caribbean. Since 2007 alone, Food For The Poor has received more than 85 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, medicine, educational materials, homes, support for orphaned or 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]