A thank you to Food For The Poor donors

“I call heaven and earth as a witness this day, that I have set before you life and death...Therefore choose life...” 

(Deuteronomy 30:19a)

In many of our countries children die on a daily basis, not because of horrible, debilitating illnesses, but simply for lack of food. In Haiti, it used to be that one out of every eight children did not live to see the age of five for this reason, but because you have chosen life, now it’s one in fourteen.

Thank you for choosing life!

In Guatemala, many children are afflicted with diarrhea because they are forced to drink contaminated water from the only sources available to them. This treacherous malady is responsible for the dehydration and high fevers that put the children’s lives at risk, but because you have chosen life we are able to bring clean water to many communities, saving more than 66% of even those children who are in most danger.

Thank you for choosing life!

In Honduras, Nicaragua and Haiti, thousands of families live in huts that we would not consider fit even for our animals – dirt floors, sticks, mud, cardboard, plastic, rusted metal, termite mounds, insects, roaches and rodents – all conditions that, combined with inclement weather, would gravely endanger the lives of children there. But you have chosen life, and by supporting our house-building programs in these countries you have invited the attention of an international financial institution that is willing to match, dollar for dollar, every home that you help build.

Thank you for choosing life!

In Jamaica, there are children infected with HIV that would not be alive today, but because you have chosen life you have given them the opportunity to live happy, joy- filled lives in a loving environment. You also provide hope to HIV infected mothers who come to a hospital we support that specializes in the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMCT) and where 97% of all their babies are born HIV negative because of the administration of a special drug cocktail immediately before delivery. And for those who are in the final stages of their journey, your choice for life helps them to take that final step with dignity, hope, peace and spiritual comfort.

Thank you for choosing life!

Illiteracy is a terrible scourge in many of our countries. Even when education is free, those who live in extreme poverty cannot afford the shoes, the uniforms and the books required by the schools for attendance, but because you have chosen life thousands of those children who would have grown up in the darkness of ignorance now have an opportunity to enjoy a future brimming with luminous success – literate, eloquent and well acquainted with the world of technology.

Thank you for choosing life!

In some of our countries, unemployment and underemployment are higher than 80 percent. At times that segment of the population earns less than $2 per day, with almost half of these earning less than $1 per day. Because you have chosen life we have been able to support many self-sustainable projects. These return dignity and hope to parents who are now able to properly feed their children, send them to school and seek medical attention for them when needed. Self-reliance eliminates the shame of poverty and replaces it with self-respect.

Thank you for choosing life!

I want you to understand that every time you have supported any of our programs or projects that you have chosen life.

We can never repay your kindness, but we do assure you of our prayers and the prayers of the vulnerable people that your generosity has served so well.

For the poor,

Angel A. Aloma

Haiti: Six Months Later

Our Farewell Dinner
The night before we departed on this greatly anticipated trip, I invited the group traveling to Haiti to my home for dinner. Included were Don Moen, the well-known Christian music composer and performer whose inspirational songs have graced our prayer-room at Food For The Poor (FFP) for many years, his son Michael , whom I would meet for the first time that night, and Jesse Sproul, Don’s general manager. Alice Marino, FFP’s director of marketing, Sydney Henry, our radio manager, and Leann Chong, our missions’ director. Toby Brooks, a friend and past student of mine who was invited on the trip as photographer, brought his lovely girlfriend Liann. Ian Wood, our new videographer, was at work late and was not able to make it.

Believing that a good meal can elevate the spirit and encourage good fellowship, I cooked all day to prepare a delicious meal fit for a king, followed by five desserts. I was pleased that many enjoyed second helpings (and some thirds) and that the desserts were welcomed with unabashed enthusiasm. The mood was celebratory and, although the ages in the group varied widely from 24 to 60, everyone got along very well, which is a good thing as we were about to embark on an experience that would truly bond our hearts and souls in a very special way.

Haiti Diary: After the earthquake

THE BEGINNING

About two hours before the “sinister” hit Haiti, I was on my way to the Miami Airport to take a flight to the Dominican Republic (DR) to meet with the country’s president. On my way there, I received a call advising that he would not be able to meet with me. I decided to cancel my flight.

When we first learned of the earthquake, we could not have imagined the extent of the devastation, despite the announced 7.0 magnitude. Food For The Poor had a missions group traveling in Haiti at that time including 12 Lynn University students, two faculty advisors and our director of Food For The Poor’s (FFP’s) Mission and Travel Department, Leann Chong, who was leading the “Journey of Hope.” As part of their curriculum, Lynn students had established a program with us which included their students traveling with us to Jamaica and Haiti, their purpose being to see first-hand and come to better understand the extreme poverty of developing nations and learn more about some of the possible solutions. This was their third trip with us.

Their first trip to Haiti with FFP, one that I was fortunate enough to share with them, inspired them greatly. Upon their return, they formed an organization on campus called “Students for the Poor.” This organization would bring awareness to others of the suffering of the poor which they had witnessed, as the members would organize activities to raise funds for different projects that would help alleviate the tremendous suffering.