TORONTO, Nov. 04, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Food For The Poor Canada (FFPC) board and staff were ecstatic when their longtime partner, Food For The Poor Haiti, broke ground on October 28th, on a sustainable community in Derac, Haiti.
By the end of 2021, Food For The Poor in the USA, Haiti and Canada will build the village in northern Haiti to include 120 homes, access to clean water, agriculture projects, school and play areas, roads, sewers and communal lighting that will change the lives of 3000 residents in Derac for generations to come.
FFPC launched the It Takes A Village to Build A Village campaign in September 2018 with the goal of building 60 homes in the village of Derac, Haiti. It took one year and the generosity of hundreds of Canadians to raise the funds. Two lead donors, Alan Quesnel and Grant and Alice Burton stepped up to complete the funding for 60 homes for the people of Derac.
The ground-breaking was expected in early 2020, but the combination of riots across Haiti in 2019 and 2020, followed by the pandemic in the spring of 2020, delayed the work.
At a time when reducing overcrowding can help protect a family, access to a home is even more important. Millions of people are being pushed into poverty worldwide, so this is an unexpected gift for a small community in northern Haiti.
“2020 has brought the world so much hardship, with unexpected moments of joy. This ground-breaking is a beautiful moment for the families of Derac who will benefit from the generosity of Canadians for generations,” said Samantha Mahfood, Executive Director of FFPC.