COCONUT CREEK – Food For The Poor, the largest international relief organization working in the Caribbean, is responding to the needs for assistance in the islands battered by Hurricane Dean. Nine people have been killed, and thousands have been left homeless. Damage in Jamaica, where the 145-mph hurricane passed just to the south, includes collapsed buildings, flooding, landslides, and impassable roads.
Food For The Poor staff members are assessing the damage across Jamaica and have encountered many downed power lines and trees blocking the roads. Staff members have successfully reached Portland Cottage, which sustained the worst damage.
Susan James, a Food For The Poor staff member on site in Jamaica, said current reports show that Portland Cottage, which suffered the closest brush with Hurricane Dean, is “worse than after Hurricane Ivan, and Ivan was terrible. The water level was higher than in Hurricane Ivan and three-quarters of the village is gone.
Shipments of 120 containers of relief supplies are en route to St. Lucia, Dominica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica. Supplies will be distributed through Food For The Poor’s extensive network of churches, hospitals, schools and orphanages. Food For The Poor’s centrally-located warehouse facilities in Spanish Town will serve as the staging point for relief operations in Jamaica.
According to Robin Mahfood, President of Food For The Poor, “Roofs were ripped off homes. The poor have lost all their belongings, and people fled for their lives. This hurricane has affected many of the countries we serve. So many countries are in dire need of emergency supplies.”
In order to ship and distribute 5.5 million pounds of water, food, blankets, lumber, roofing materials, generators, kerosene lanterns and other emergency supplies, Food For The Poor needs to raise $2 million. Additionally, new housing and housing repair materials have become an immediate priority. Food For The Poor is able to construct new homes for a cost of $2,600 per house.
To assist with the work of Food For The Poor, visit the Web site at www.foodforthepoor.org or call 800-487-1158.
