Relief Ministry Prepares to Respond as Hurricane Matthew Bears Down on Caribbean

Relief Ministry Prepares to Respond as Hurricane Matthew Bears Down on Caribbean

By Michael Ireland, Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net)

COCONUT CREEK, FL (ANS, Oct 3, 2016) – A Christian relief ministry is working quickly to provide food, water and emergency aid as Haiti and Jamaica are facing another potential disaster -- Hurricane Matthew.

The Florida-based Food For The Poor (www.FoodForThePoor.org) organization says in a media update that weather experts are forecasting Hurricane Matthew's damaging winds and torrential rains will begin to lash Haiti and Jamaica later today as it continues its path toward the eastern tip of Cuba and into the Bahamas.

"There are many people, especially in Haiti, who have no protection whatsoever from the wind, rain and potential mudslides this storm is expected to bring," said Food For The Poor President/CEO Robin Mahfood. "A hurricane is the last thing Haiti and Jamaica need right now. We will do our best to help them to recover."

In preparation for the hurricane, Food For The Poor's Haiti office has loaded trucks with rice, canned meats, rice-based nutritional meals known as MannaPack, first aid kits and blankets that will be sent to southern parts of Haiti that are expected to be hit the worst.

Over the next two weeks, the charity says it will ship 30 containers of relief to Haiti.

In Port-au-Prince, the charity is urging residents to relocate from flood-prone areas and stands ready to assist at shelters with relief supplies.

The ministry explained that Haiti appears most likely to get a direct hit, experiencing the worst of a storm that was producing winds of 140 mph at 2 p.m. Monday. Jamaica lies outside the path of the hurricane's center although it could still experience hurricane-force winds and flooding rains.

Forecasts call for Haiti to receive 15 to 25 inches of rain and 40 inches in isolated areas that could cause "life-threatening flash floods and mudslides," according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm surge could hit 10 feet, causing severe coastal flooding.

On Friday, Food For The Poor shipped six tractor-trailer loads to Jamaica in anticipation of Hurricane Matthew.

The ministry says critical items sent included 20 pallets of two burner-LPG stoves, 10 pallets of batteries and lights, 14 pallets of tarps, 19 pallets of buckets and one container of chainsaws and generators.

While Food For The Poor is ready to swing into recovery mode after Matthew passes, Angel Aloma, Food For The Poor's Executive Director, said support from generous donors will allow for the long-term continuity of this relief effort.

Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor primarily 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 95 percent of all donations going directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org. To help storm victims in Haiti and Jamaica, cash donations are best and every penny counts. To help right now, please call 1-800-427-9104 or visit www.FoodForThePoor.org/hurricane .

For those who would rather donate goods, Food For The Poor is accepting canned meats, canned fish and canned milk at its Coconut Creek warehouse at 6401 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, Florida 33073. At this time, the charity is not accepting clothing donations.

Photo captions: 1) Employees organize relief supplies at FFP's chapel in Port-au-Prince in anticipation of Hurricane Matthew (Food For The Poor photo).2) Crews at Food For The Poor's warehouse in Jamaica package rice and beans and prepare the relief goods to be shipped throughout the country in anticipation of Hurricane Matthew. (Food For The Poor photo). 3) Michael Ireland.

About the Writer: Michael Ireland is a volunteer internet journalist serving as Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, as well as an Ordained Minister who has served with ASSIST Ministries and written for ASSIST News Service since its beginning in 1989. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China, and Russia. Please consider helping Michael cover his expenses in bringing news of the Persecuted Church, by logging-on to: https://actintl.givingfuel.com/ireland-michael

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