News

A story we received via email and a letter of thanks we want to share with you.

Aljobert, one of the tenants in a farmland in Ormoc, Philippines lived in a small makeshift nipa hut with his wife. Like most of the homes in their barangay (village), their home was made up of very light materials. They lived with his wife’s parents, both above sixty years old, and one niece who just turned one. When the winds picked up at seven in the morning on Nov. 8, 2013, their house was the first to go. Roof, walls, posts…all gone. They couldn’t take shelter from their neighbors, because every house in their area had been flattened. So they made a decision to seek shelter at a concrete house a couple hundred meters from theirs. Because visibility was poor at the height of the storm, they couldn’t be sure if the house they sought for shelter to was still standing. Worse, the direction of the house they were attempting to reach was the exact opposite of the direction of the howling winds.

With two elderlies and his wife, Aljobert had no choice but to place the one-year old child inside his shirt. That way, he could shield the child from the cold rain and at the same time use his free hand to carry one of his wife’s parents who wasn’t well during that time.

A walk which normally took less than five minutes took about thirty, and the dangers of metal sheets, steel railings, falling trees and other debris were life-threatening obstacles to hurdle with each step they took.

Fortunately, they were able to reach the home of their landlord, and even though the structure didn’t have a roof anymore, they were already far from danger.

This is the kind of testimonies we constantly hear when we distribute relief goods to people. That is why it is not surprising to see their happy reactions every time they receive help from various foundations and private donors. They appreciate the help so much that you can sometimes see tears streaming from their faces upon receiving the goods. When we ask them why the sentimental reaction, a single question will normally illicit a long story as to how much they suffered during the storm and how even after the calamity, the hard days don’t seem to stop. The after-effects of the damage brought by the storm are still strongly felt by all victims. Most of these recipients are tenants of a farmland, and their day-to-day sustenance rely on their work as farmhands. Nowadays, with almost a 100% of the farmlands destroyed by the typhoon, land-owners cannot offer them work. Thus, they rely mostly on the relief goods coming in to survive.

Aljobert’s tale is not a rare story. Most of the survivors have the same harrowing tales and life-altering experiences. Most people, if not all, just consider themselves fortunate that they simply survived the storm.

On behalf of all the recipients, we thank you, Food For Kidz, as well as all the people involved in sending the rice packs. They may not know who all of you are, but they are very thankful for the help you’ve all sent. Thank you for thinking about their survival. Thank you for your aid. Thank you for your efforts. Most of all, thank you for your concern. I hope you will continue your humanitarian work and that all of you will be continually blessed.

The Ebola outbreak is in the news a lot lately. Efforts are underway to help those who have been affected or are trying desperately to keep the virus at bay. While there is a number of things health care and government officials are trying to put in place, one thing is certain. Nutrition plays a key role in helping those battling Ebola, and we need to work together to get healthy food to those in need.

Food For Kidz, along with Kids Fighting Hunger and Harvest Pak have cumulatively sent 356,000 meals to Liberia from Stewart, MN…

According to an article in The Economist.com, “Unintended Consequences” on September 6, 2014, “The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation says the epidemic is endangering harvests and pushing up food prices. The creation of quarantine zones has created labour shortages, hampered cash-crop production and led to panic buying.” Hunger and proper nutrition is already playing a leading role in the crisis spreading across several countries.

Steve Holt wrote in TakePart.com an article entitled “There’s No Cure for Ebola, but This Commonsense Fix Could Prevent the Next Outbreak” discussing the critical need for better nutrition in these Ebola outbreak areas. He quoted Bruce Ribner, a medical director of the infectious diseases unit at Emory University Hospital, “If you have somebody who is well nourished and you have somebody who is poorly nourished, and they suffer the same illness, infectious or otherwise, the person who has better nutrition has a better survival outlook.” Providing nourishment to people is one area where we can all work together to help!

What’s Been Done to Help in Liberia

Food For Kidz, along with Kids Fighting Hunger and Harvest Pak have cumulatively sent 356,000 meals to Liberia from the Stewart, MN warehouse in recent days. Partner organizations MatterMore and Outreach are coordinating with health organizations on the ground in Liberia to help with food distribution.

How You Can Help Now!

For us to be able to respond when the time comes, we need to have food packaged and ready to ship! We need those interested in helping to get started with organizing a packing event! People who are willing to assist by scheduling and coordinating a packing event as a response to the needs in Liberia should call us. We also have monthly packing events in Stewart; just show up and help!

In cooperation with the Bayat Foundation, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation & Development (MRRD) and coordinated by Food for Kidz partners, Host Nation PerspectivesSWA and AZ Corp., together we are able to transport, deliver and distribute 45,000 meals and 28,000 bottles of water to the victims of the flooding and landslide survivors in northern Afghanistan. The Food for Kidz supply of food that was quickly available was from an initial donation from Food for Kidz to the Bayat Foundation for their work with the impoverished in Afghanistan. The Bayat Foundation graciously made available what remained from 500,000 meals that airlifted from the 437th Air Wing, MPLS in early spring. A response for humanitarian aid following a natural disaster has to be well planned and coordinated through many channels to affect the best results. Every point of contact, from the warehouse pickup, logistics transport, organizational support and the planned and well-orchestrated distribution, needs to be in sync and with all prepared to perform their respective duties. The coordination of these events was masterfully handled by Todd Cline, CTO of Host Nation PerspectivesSWA.

Afghan survivors wait for food donations Tuesday, May 6, near where a double landslide struck in the northeastern province of Badakhshan. More than 2,000 people were killed when a mass of rock and mud came crashing down Friday, May 2, in the village of Abi Barak.

According to a recent CNN article published on May 5th  “White tents line the sides of the valley where the landslide struck. Some villagers weep, others pray. The remnants of their shattered community lies buried below, submerged under as much as 60 meters of mud. In the space of one devastating week, natural disasters killed more people in Afghanistan than they did all last year. At the heart of the destruction was the double landslide that engulfed a village in a remote northeastern province on Friday, killing more than 2,000 people.”

“The scale of this landslide is absolutely devastating, with an entire village practically wiped away,” said Richard Danziger, the chief of mission for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Afghanistan. “Hundreds of families have lost everything and are in immense need of assistance.” (quoted from CNN article)
Food for Kidz is also currently working with Richard Danziger’s staff at International Organization of Migration to provide solutions for further aid and redevelopment in the future. Food for Kidz, along with ImpactLives is donating over 500,000 additional meals in response to the needs not only in the landslide area, but the northern region devastated by the flooding.

On January 4, 2014, The New York Times published an article about the state of affairs in Afghanistan regarding severe malnutrition of children. The situation is indeed bleak, as so many areas of the country are overwhelmed with similar stories of children and families needing relief long before (and after) the story ran here in the United States.
In response, in part, to the article, “Afghanistan’s Worsening, and Baffling, Hunger Crisis”  and a better global understanding of the magnitude of the crisis, the largest humanitarian airlift since 1999 was sent to Afghanistan from the 437th Airlift Wing. Meals packaged by Food for Kidz, Impact Lives and Kids Fighting Hunger volunteers were sent along with quilts made and donated by women of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church of Buffalo Lake, MN. In fact, the airlift from 437th Airlift Wing consisted of 150,000 pounds of food and goods.
Food for Kidz is able to put 100% of donations toward food and maximize the efforts of so many people in order to act quickly when the need and opportunity to respond presents itself. Thank you to volunteers and our partners, ImpactLives (St. Louis Park) and Kids Fighting Hunger (Sartell/St. Cloud) for helping feed many children in Afghanistan.
“Together is a wonderful place to be.”