Food For The Poor Celebrates 20 Years of Service in Guyana

During the past several years, Food For The Poor has constructed six Amerindian Villages in Guyana.

Residents of Kwakwani assisting Food for the Poor officials in the distribution exercise.

(COCONUT CREEK, Fla.) - Thanks to the continued support of Food For The Poor donors, the third-largest international relief and development agency in the United States will celebrate two decades of service to Guyana’s poor on Friday, June 3. Food For The Poor began working in Guyana in 1991, delivering food and other basic items to Guyana’s poor.

Since then, the Florida-based nonprofit has expanded its services in Guyana to meet the growing needs of the country’s impoverished residents. Inflation and a high unemployment rate create a daily struggle to survive for Guyana’s poor.

“Few people are aware of the tremendous poverty that exists in Guyana, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere,” said Robin Mahfood, President/CEO of Food For The Poor. “I would like to thank Food For The Poor-Guyana’s staff for working diligently and efficiently to ease the plight of Guyana’s poor – one person, one family at a time.”

Through its offices and warehouse in Georgetown, Food For The Poor staff works closely with partners throughout Guyana to provide food, medical supplies, vocational training equipment, school furniture and other goods to those most in need. Food For The Poor strives to help ease the struggle of Guyana’s poor by providing nourishing meals at its feeding centers, by building homes for those without adequate shelter, and by providing for the daily care of hundreds of orphans. In addition, Food For The Poor installs numerous water and sanitation projects, offers skills training programs and animal husbandry operations, in addition to the distribution of critically needed relief supplies.

In 2010, Food For The Poor sent more than $53.2 million in aid to Guyana. More recently, Food For The Poor delivered more than 480 computers to outfit schools, orphanages and technology centers throughout Guyana. The workstations will help students improve their reading skills and, for many, will provide their first experience with computer technology. Additionally, 10 marching band sets, each containing 40 instruments, have been distributed to schools in Guyana.

During the past several years, Food For The Poor has constructed six Amerindian Villages in Guyana. The most recent project, Lake Capoey, in Essequibo, consists of 50 two-room housing units with sanitation, installation of a water system, a community center, nursery school, a solar powered computer center, and 2,000 broiler chickens. This has been accomplished through the generosity of Joe and Judy Roetheli and their Roetheli Lil Red Foundation.

Source: Food For The Poor, the third-largest international relief and development organization in the nation.