FOOD FOR THE POOR SURPASSES 100,000 HOUSING MILESTONE - News Release - March 31, 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
03/23/15

COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (March 23, 2015) – Food For The Poor’s generous donors have built more than 100,000 housing units for destitute families in the Caribbean and Latin America. The desperate living conditions of the poor inspired Food For The Poor to begin its home building initiative in 1985 in Jamaica.

Food For The Poor’s homes are well-built, safe and secure. These permanent homes not only benefit the families receiving them, but also provide much-needed work for local laborers. With the help of donors, Food For The Poor is on schedule this year to build approximately 8,000 housing units.
Food For The Poor donors constructed 7,367 housing units in 2014 and gifted them to destitute families. The greatest number of homes were built in Jamaica (2,057 housing units), Honduras (1,812), Haiti (1,774), and Nicaragua (1,594).

Special housing matches have fueled Food For The Poor’s ability to help change the dire circumstances of destitute families. Through the end of 2015, generous friends of Food For The Poor have offered to match any gift received to build homes in Nicaragua, Honduras and Jamaica. This means that every gift received to build a home in these countries will be matched dollar-for-dollar.

“The poor live in very dangerous situations and struggle with overwhelming circumstances every day,” said Robin Mahfood, Food For The Poor President/CEO. “It is difficult for many of us to imagine what it must be like to be surrounded by rain-soaked, muddy floors, and walls made of plastic on a daily basis. To escape a life of poverty, destitute families need a proper roof over their heads, clean water and sanitation.”

Click here to watch a photo documentary that illustrates the critical need for housing that exists in developing countries.

Dilapidated shacks made of scraps of wood, metal, plastic and cardboard offer little protection from the elements, insects and rodents. As a result, illness and disease are rampant, especially among those who are most vulnerable — the young and elderly. In addition, the poor who live in these conditions are particularly devastated by natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and hurricanes.

Last year, Food For The Poor donors built then 4-year-old Maudiel and his family a new, solid home in Nicaragua. By replacing the family’s primitive shack, which was strung together with dried palm fronds and ripped plastic tarps, Maudiel can now sleep peacefully through the night. He no longer wakes scared when the wind rattles the roof, or worries that the rain will turn the floor into mud. His new Food For The Poor house keeps him safe. Learn more about Maudiel’s story here.

In 1995, Food For The Poor-Haiti began a housing program and began building homes in Cite Soleil. Since then, 11,068 double-unit homes have been built in Haiti, 5,015 of them since the earthquake in January 2010. These sturdy homes provide the poor with shelter, safety and hope for the future.
A gift of $3,200 will build a single-unit home with sanitation; a gift of $6,400 will build a double-unit home with sanitation and a water component. In countries like Haiti, where the average household has seven members, Food For The Poor builds only double-unit homes by combining two single-unit donations.

For information regarding Food For The Poor’s home building initiative, or to support the program, please call 954-427-2222 or visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/home.

Food For The Poor, named by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as the largest international relief and development organization in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor 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, with more than 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visitwww.FoodForThePoor.org.

Jennifer Leigh Oates
Public Relations Associate
6401 Lyons Road,
Coconut Creek, FL 33073
954.427.2222 ext. [6054]
954.426.6857 (fax)
www.FoodForThePoor.org

50 SCHOOLS IN LESS THAN 50 MONTHS - Jamaica Observer - March 22, 2015

Veronica Baker, principal of New Testament Early Childhood Development Centre in Wynters Pen, St Catherine, and Dr John Buuk, a donor representative with Food For The Poor (FFP) cut the ribbon to officially open a new building for the school. Witnessing the moment are (from left): Reverend Bruce Farrell, the school board chairman; Andrew Mahfood, Chairman of FFP Jamaica; David Mair, Executive Director of FFP Jamaica, and the Very Rev Burchell McPherson, Bishop of Montego Bay and FFP board member. (PHOTOS: PETRI-ANN HENRY)

FFP HANDS OVER LAST BUILDING AHEAD OF SCHEDULE

VERONICA Baker, principal of New Testament Early Childhood Development Centre located in Wynter's Pen, St Catherine, is elated to have received the final basic school building under Food For The Poor's (FFP) 'Jamaica 50' campaign.

The new building which comprises three classrooms, an office, a sanitation facility, a lunch room and a sick bay, was handed over earlier this month by Minister of Education Reverend Ronald Thwaites, Dr John Buuk, donor, and Andrew Mahfood, Jamaica's chairman of FFP.

"Today, I am feeling blessed to have received the 50th building from Food For The Poor. I am feeling good because Food For The Poor has been there for us and has brought us out of a major struggle," Baker, who has been associated with the school for 36 years, told Career & Education following the handover.

She said the school, which was started by Carmen McLeggon 41 years ago in the community, was in a previously deplorable condition.

"We were located behind the church and it was not comfortable. When the rain fell, we had to move out, put up tarpaulins or end school before the scheduled time. When it rained, we had to be tucking the students together in an effort to not let them get wet. The students and teachers were not comfortable," she said.

Baker told Career & Education that with the new building, she envisions the school population growing every year.

"We see ourselves going further, getting more children and we will become better equipped to offer them the knowledge that they need to enhance their progress while transitioning to the primary level of the education sector," Baker said.

The new school building was constructed on the land where Carmen McLeggon lived before she died.

Minister Thwaites thanked FFP for fulfilling its promise to Jamaica, and more so, the education sector.

"I want to begin by expressing, on behalf of the Ministry of Education, our sincere gratitude and appreciation to Food For The Poor for its continued support for education. Specifically, we commend the organisation for sticking to its commitment to build and upgrade 50 basic schools in 50 months as a gift to Jamaica and Jamaicans for the island's Golden Jubilee," Minister Thwaites said.

"You not only said it, you did it! It is fitting that Food For The Poor has undertaken this project as it targets basic schools in communities across the island where the Early Childhood Commission and the Ministry of Education have identified the more dire needs for pre-primary facilities. This is in line with the Government's overall policy to lift up the weakest in the society," he said further.

For his part, Mahfood said his philanthropic organisation could not have reached the 50 schools in 50-month target without the assistance of local and overseas donors.

"Today, we can say 'mission accomplished!' However, FFP's journey in developing Jamaica's education system has not ended. We remain committed to our children and to constructing suitable structures for their upliftment. In this regard, under our ongoing projects portfolio, eight schools are currently at various stages of construction," Mahfood said.

FFP launched its Jamaica 50 campaign on June 12, 2012 as its gift to the nation to commemorate the country's 50th anniversary of Independence. The project was completed 18 months ahead of the promised 50 months.

-AINSWORTH MORRIS

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/career/50-schools-in-less-than-50-months_18587152

Students enrolled at New Testament Early Childhood Development Centre play on the new see-saw.

Students enjoy themselves on the slide.

Students enrolled at New Testament Early Childhood Development Centre play on the new see-saw.

A HOUSE AT LAST - FOOD FOR THE POOR AND OTHERS RESPOND TO NEEDY FAMILY - The Sunday Gleaner

Yvonne Reid (right) and her common-law husband Earnest Clarke are all smiles as they stand in front of their new house.

Yvonne Reid's wish to have a proper house to call home by Christmas last year was not granted, but two months later her dream of moving into a house that was not flooded every time it rains has finally come true.

Reid's deplorable living condition at the three-bedroom board structure she occupied with her common-law husband Ernest Clarke, five grandchildren and mentally ill son on Crescent Road in St Andrew was highlighted by The Sunday Gleaner last December, and several persons in Jamaica and abroad pledged to assist.

"I would just like a house. As you can see, this one is no good. When it rains, it pours in," she told our news team a few days before Christmas 2014.

Among those who responded to Reid's cry for help was the local charity group Food For The Poor (FFP) which, in collaboration with the Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme, started the process of getting her and her family a house.

Construction of the new two-bedroom structure started just a few weeks after the publication of the story and was completed in February. The family finally got to move in last week and is still trying to add their personal touch.

"I am so glad because most of all when rain falls now, anywhere I am I don't have to fret, I know that my bed not wetting and I know that the house not wetting, and nowhere not wetting; we have a dry house. If I am even in my bed at nights and rain start falling, the most I can do is cover up more, because I don't have to get up and lean up my bed or lean up my mattress."

SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS

Reid, who had to take in her five grandchildren after her two daughters died, said she is happy that the children now have better sleeping arrangements. In addition to the two rooms, the house also comes with a loft and so the family has adequate space for three beds.

"Everything is nice! What we couldn't afford, other people come in. Somebody gave us a fridge, someone gave us a TV. We got a bed. All we really need now most of all is a little dining table that the children can get to sit around to really have them food, instead of having to sit on the ground or with them plate in their hand," she said.

The house also has a bathroom and kitchenette, and Reid noted that her grandchildren are so excited that they have started to make their own breakfast and assist with preparing meals. The family is also able to sit on their donated couch and watch television together.

Director of construction ser-vices at FFP, Ron Burgess, said that construction of the house took a while because they had to make sure that no one would come and claim it after it is built. Reid currently leases the land the house is on.

"We had to make sure the documents were completely okay, because we have had cases where we have built the house, only to hear somebody claiming it because we shouldn't have built on the land and all manner of things," said Burgess.

According to Burgess, it cost about $800,000 to build the house which is equipped with a sewerage system, a water tank and solar energy to power at least three light bulbs.

Yvonne Reid (right) and her common-law husband Ernest Clarke look at the delapidated structure they once called home.

http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20150322/house-last-food-poor-and-others-respond-needy-family

A SOLAR-POWERED HOME FOR MANLEY - Jamaica Observer - March 22, 2015

Manley Fritz is seated in front his new home in Main Ridge, Clarendon, along with (left to right) Collin Henry councillor/caretaker for the Thompson Town division, North West Clarendon; friend George Brown; Florette Stewart, Councillor for the Chapelton division; Kivette Silvera, director of finance, Food for the Poor (FFP); David Mair, executive director of FFP; Annette Newman, welfare coordinator in Clarendon; and Noel Rhoomes.

BY DONNA HUSSEY-WHYTE
Sunday Observer staff reporter
husseyd@jamaicaobserver.com

"You want mi turn on the light?" 71-year-old Manley Fritz said as he entered his spanking new home in Main Ridge Clarendon last Thursday.


Gone is the one-room

zinc-and-cloth hut once held together by sticks, where his only companions were two 'common' fowls and a goat. At night, when the cloth that formed his door was drawn, his companions were grass lice, rats and mosquitoes. Fritz had no modern amenities like piped water, electricity, nor toilet -- nothing to make his life comfortable. He slept on dried banana leaves for his bed, and had a fire lit in the middle of the hut 24 hours a day that served as light and mosquito repellent.

So secluded was Fritz's dwelling in Sawyers River Bottom from the rest of civilisation that there were times when he would fall ill and was left helpless in his hut, fearing that he may die before help reached him.

But last Thursday, Fritz was only too happy to give a tour of his single unit wooden house, powered by solar energy and consisting of a single bed, a table with a chair, a sofa chair, a set of shelves and a standing lamp.

The house was made possible through the intervention of Food for the Poor (FFP) after Fritz's living condition was highlighted in the Sunday Observer of February 22.

"Mi feel nice you know man," a smiling Fritz said. "Couldn't be better. I feel nice and mi can turn on mi light. Up here better, because is nuff times mi sick down there and is when mi suffer bad man come find me. Mi sick down there bad already until man had to carry mi out on pole (makeshift stretcher) to the main road."

Fritz said that the intervention of the Sunday Observer, along with all those who assisted in his moving from the woodland to his new home on the main road has changed his life for the better. Today, he does not feel alone and unaware of what is taking place in the world.

"Now mi can watch TV over Mr (George) Brown and see everything that is going on. That man direct, he is my helper at all times. I couldn't do that man anything bad," he said. "I went to Frankfield to enumerate. Ms Newman send a car for me and I went to enumerate. So I soon get my ID. I feel like a part of things now," Fritz said.

Annette Newman, welfare coordinator in Clarendon, said it took three days for the house to be erected and ready for the senior citizen to move in.

"We got in touch with Food for the Poor the Monday (after the story was published) and they sent somebody here the Wednesday, and three days after the house was built and he was able to move in," explained Newman, who was determined to get Fritz out of the condition in which that he had lived for years.

"We were worried that we could not find the material to build the foundation but then Food for the Poor told us that they would do everything. They worked around the clock. The day that they finished was the same day Mr Fritz moved in because he was waiting under a tree and as it finished we moved him in. They brought everything with them. Everything - light, furniture, everything."

Fritz's new house, erected on his property, is complete with an inside bathroom. However, there is no water in the community, and so FFP will also be donating and setting up a Rhino water tank which will supply the bathroom this week.

"All of our units that we build for our recipients are solar generated," David Mair, executive director of FFP, explained." There is a small solar panel on the top and two light bulbs inside that run off the panel. It has a small convertor inside and that's it. It's something that we have been doing for a little while now, and it's working out quite well for everybody. We have been using the solar panel for about three or four years now, but the water is an issue because there is no public water in the area."

Mair said that the house was able to be completed in three days because the organisation has its own contractors and they supply everything necessary to get the job done quickly.

He lauded the Jamaica Observer, Newman and George Brown for bringing Fritz's 'situation' to the public's attention, and the community spirit that has helped to push Fritz to where he is today.

"We want to thank the Observer also, because without you having this in the paper and bringing it to the forefront we could not act on it right away. We have to thank Ms Newman and Mr Brown who have done so much. Once we heard about it we stepped in. When you get stories like this and see how people have rallied around Mr Fritz and just lifted him up to where he is now, it is an inspiration to us as a country," he said.

"We need more people like these (Newman and Brown) because poverty is real and it is not going away. The only way we can get out of poverty is to help each other, lift up each other because Government have their problems and we at FFP have recognised it and our institution is pushing, but the people of Jamaica have that spirit where they are community-based. It really takes a village to raise a child, and it drives me to do what I do," Mair said.

Kivette Silvera, director of finance at FFP said that the single unit for Fritz cost US$4,000, while the double units which are more popular cost US$ 6,400.

"We build over 1,200 double units per year, which is a 100 per month across the island," Silvera explained.

But Mair said that the FFP cannot build a unit without proof of ownership or that the land tax is paid up, which was an initial issue facing Fritz.

"One of the requirements is that we cannot build the house for you unless you prove that the taxes are paid and that you own the land. That is one of the stipulations," Mair said. "You have to have that, because we have had cases in the past where we build the house and somebody else comes and claim the house, and the people we built it for could not get it. So we have to be very careful. We have an investigation team that does a very good job."

Newman also expressed gratitude to former Member of Parliament for NW Clarendon Michael Stern, who immediately took on the task of putting measures in place to assist Fritz when the FFP came on board. He in turn contacted councillor/caretaker for the division Collin Henry and Florette Stewart, councillor for the Chapelton division in the Clarendon Parish Council, who were both present to see Fritz in his new home on Thursday. She also thanked the people who paid the taxes.

"We want to thank the PATH programme because in three days I got him on it. I want to thank the community because they came and helped us to cook and do other things."

Brown, who is relieved that he no longer has to make the two-mile journey to take food to Fritz on a regular basis, said that he is happy that he is now living next door and he is able to do much more on his behalf.

"I feel good, good, good, to have him so close to me now," a beaming Brown said. "Sometimes we sit and talk at nights until very late."

Fritz enters his new home in Main Ridge, Clarendon, courtesy of Food for the Poor.

The place Manley Fritz called home a month ago. (FILE PHOTO)

NEW BUILDING FOR HILL VIEW EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE CENTRE - News Release - March 19, 2015

THE GIFT OF A SCHOOL: Thanks to funding provided by the Levitetz Family Foundation from the United States, students and teachers of Hill View Early Childhood Care Centre in Old Harbour, Jamaica, recently benefited from a newly-constructed school building with classrooms, a kitchen, bathrooms, an office, a sick bay, a computer room, fencing and play equipment. Representing the Levitetz Family Foundation were Jeff Levitetz (second right) and his son Tyler (far right).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kingston, Jamaica – March 19, 2015: Janet Jones, principal of Hill View Early Childhood Care Centre in Old Harbour, Jamaica, shed tears of joy on March 11, when Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica and the Levitetz Family Foundation handed over a new school building to her.

At the official handing over of the school’s newly constructed building, Jones said she had prayed for years to receive a new school, to replace the former school building which was in a horrible state. Jones has served as principal for the last 16 years. Her mother, Cynthia Gentles-Dussard, started the school on April 30, 1962.

“We had a lot of challenges,” said Jones, in an interview following the handing over of the new school building by members of FFP and the Levitetz Family Foundation. “The roof leaked during rainy periods, so our teaching aids would get wet and we were forced to reproduce them which was not always affordable. Because of how bad the school looked, people didn’t respect us. They did not even see the need to pay the required school fee at times. It’s as if we were nobodies.”

“I was laughed at and rejected, but today I cry tears of joy for the new building! This is a real blessing,” said Jones.

The new school building consists of three classrooms, a kitchen, bathrooms, an office, a sick bay, a computer room, fencing and play equipment, all paid for by the Levitetz Family Foundation.

Jones said the new building will help her three teachers to nurture and produce well-rounded students.

“The new school will help us in various ways. It is more user-friendly. The ambiance is cool, properly ventilated and the school now looks like a place where you want your child to be. The teaching and learning environment has been enhanced. The new building will also improve the children’s learning, especially in the technical areas such as computer technology, which our students were not exposed to before,” said Jones.

In his remarks, David Mair, FFP-Jamaica’s Executive Director, said the charity organization was pleased to know that the school they were handing over was in capable hands.
“I would like to applaud the efforts of the principal and all the teachers who have been providing quality education to their students despite their struggles,” said Mair.

He went on to thank the donors from the Levitetz Family Foundation, who funded the new building.
“It would be remiss of me to not inform you that Food For The Poor’s relationship with the Levitetz Family Foundation did not commence today. In fact, it started back in 2013 when the Foundation funded the construction of Steerfield Basic School in St. Ann, Jamaica, and in 2014, with the construction of Halkers Hall and Planters Hall Basic Schools in St. Catherine, Jamaica. This makes a total of four schools to have been donated by the Foundation so far to Jamaica,” said Mair.

In response, Jeff Levitetz, President of the Levitetz Family Foundation, said, “Our support is a demonstration of just how much we care about the local community. You are like our extended family. Ms. Jones has been a wonderful custodian of this institution. Of the 50 charities that we donate to as a Foundation, this is probably my favourite. In fact, we hope to donate at least 10 more schools in the near future. We thank all of you for being here and for being so excited about your children’s future. May God bless all of you!”

-end-

For more information, please contact:
Ainsworth Morris, PROComm. Tel: 926-6740 or 375-6136
Petri-Ann Henry, Public Relations Officer, Food For The Poor Jamaica. Cel: 564-2886

NEW SCHOOL FOR HILL VIEW EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE CENTRE: Sharing in the ribbon cutting exercise for the new building for Hill View Early Chldhood Care Centre in Old Harbour, Jamaica, on March 11 were (from left): Kim Mahfood from Food For The Poor (FFP) Inc; David Mair, Executive Director of FFP Jamaica; Janet Jones, principal; Tyler Levitetz and his father Jeff of the Levitetz Family Foundation and Rudyard Mears, Caretaker for South West St. Catherine along with students and teachers from the institution.

THANK YOU, FFP: All eyes were focused on these students from Hill View Early Childhood Care Centre in Old Harbour, Jamaica, as they performed during the handing over of the new school building on March 11. Fully engaged in the performance are (from left) Janet Jones, principal; Tyler Levitetz and his father Jeff from the Levitetz Family Foundation; David Mair, Executive Director of Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica, and FFP Inc.’s Kim Mahfood and Susan James-Casserly (both standing).

THANK YOU, LEVITETZ FAMILY FOUNDATION: Janet Jones, principal of Hill View Early Childhood Care Centre in Old Harbour, Jamaica, is moved to tears as she presents a plaque to Jeff Levitetz, President and Director of the Levitetz Family Foundation, which funded the new school building, during the handing over ceremony on March 11.

THE GIFT OF A SCHOOL: Thanks to funding provided by the Levitetz Family Foundation from the United States, students and teachers of Hill View Early Childhood Care Centre in Old Harbour, Jamaica, recently benefited from a newly-constructed school building with classrooms, a kitchen, bathrooms, an office, a sick bay, a computer room, fencing and play equipment. Representing the Levitetz Family Foundation were Jeff Levitetz (second right) and his son Tyler (far right).

FFP BUILDS HOUSE FOR TREDEGAR PARK DAD - Jamaica Observer - March 19, 2015

BY KIMMO MATTHEWS
Observer staff reporter

SPALDING HIGH GETS AGRICULTURAL EQUIPMENT DONATION - The Star - March 16, 2015

Erick Green (third left) shakes the hand of agricultural science teacher Clayton Bryan after handing over tools and equipment to Spalding High School. A group of agricultural science students share in the happy moment behind the soil tiller machine. (PHOTO: GEORGE HENRY)

GEORGE HENRY, STAR Writer

The agricultural science programme at the Spalding High School in Clarendon got a boost on Friday when a number of farming tools and equipment were presented to that institution.

The items, donated by the 4-H Club parish development officer for Clarendon, Erick Green, included shovels, hoes, pickaxes, farm rakes and a soil tiller machine.

Green told THE STAR that the donation was made possible due to the collaborative efforts of his office and Food For the Poor. He said he is impressed with the interest of students at the institution in agriculture, hence the timely presentation.

He noted that Spalding high has been involved in a number of innovative farming initiatives over the years, and especially over recent months, hence the willingness to donate whatever equipment are available to help in improving what students and their teachers do in their agriculture programme.

Clayton Bryan, agricultural science teacher at the school, was happy to have received the well-needed tools.

"The tools will go a far way in enhancing farming activities for our students. The tiller machine, which we wanted to acquire for a very long time, will come in handy; and it will certainly enhance the mechanical aspect of farm machinery in agriculture among the students, who are already excited about the whole farming thing," said Bryan.

He added that students at the school are excited about agriculture and are willing to get their hands dirty as they acquire experience to further develop themselves as young farmers for the future.

He advised persons and companies to assist with scholarships for students interested in accessing tertiary studies in agriculture, as they prepare to take over from the older farmers who will retire within a few years.

http://jamaica-star.com/thestar/20150316/news/news9.html