Jamaica's Golden Jubilee Inspires Investment in Island's Youth
In Jamaica, there are 17 fishing villages throughout the island that provide local fishermen with a self-sustaining source of food and income.
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COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (Aug. 1, 2012) — Jamaica will celebrate 50 years of independence from British rule on Aug. 6, 2012. Jamaica's golden jubilee anniversary is especially meaningful to Food For The Poor, which earlier this year commemorated its three decades of service to the hungry, destitute, and abandoned. In 1982, the nonprofit started out as a feeding program in Jamaica, and since then has grown exponentially to become the largest international relief organization in Jamaica and the United States.
Housing, education and agriculture are now also major areas of focus for Food For The Poor, all with the goal of meeting the immediate needs of the poorest of the poor and helping the destitute rise out of poverty. Some Food For The Poor accomplishments in Jamaica:
The charity continues to replace dilapidated shacks across the island with safe, permanent housing. Since inception, the nonprofit has built 33,389 housing units in Jamaica. Today, thousands of poor remain on the waiting list to receive a Food For The Poor house.
More than 18,500 containers of essential goods have been shipped to Jamaica since 1982. These items have been distributed to clinics, prisons, schools, and underserved neighborhood institutions.
Seventeen fishing village initiatives, fruit tree planting projects, animal husbandry and agricultural programs provide food and income, which help to create self-sustaining communities.
Food For The Poor continues to provide clean water, build schools, training centers, and clinics, and to support nursing homes and orphanages.
To mark the island's golden anniversary, Food For The Poor launched the "Jamaica 50 Campaign" to build 50 schools in 50 months. The initiative will work like this:
In August of 2012, the first school will open, and then a new school will open each month for the next 50 months.
Food For The Poor will replace schools that have been deemed as an unfit space for children to learn.
"It is important for those who have decided to leave Jamaica to pursue their dreams abroad to remember their homeland, the homeland of their parents, their grandparents," said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. "The best gift of all is the gift of knowledge, and those who are in a position to help can do so by providing the children of Jamaica with safe and inspiring places to learn."
The Consulate General of Jamaica Miami Sandra Grant-Griffiths, will honor Food For The Poor and Robin Mahfood, on Saturday, Aug. 18, for the charity's long-term commitment to Jamaica.
Other honorees include Bevan "Duke" Earle, CEO, The Duke of Earle Group; Wayne C. Golding, Sr., Principal, The Golding Law Group; Pauline Grant, CEO, Broward Health North Broward Medical Center; Marlon Hill Esq., Partner, DelancyHill LLC, Miami; Honorable Dale V.C. Holness, Commissioner, Broward County Board Commissioner; Captain Barrington Irving, Aviator, Experience Aviation Ltd.; Dunbar McFarlane, General Manager, National Building Society of Cayman; Honorable Hazelle P. Rogers, Florida State Representative, District 94; Robert W. Runcie, Superintendent of schools, Broward County; Marlene Williams, Vice President, XEROX Corporation; and Clinton F. Wong, President, Skymark Development Company.
The Jamaica Nurses Association, Florida (JNAF) will also be honored.
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 96 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor.
Jennifer Leigh Oates
jennifero@foodforthepoor.com