Jamaica - Facts

Jamaica – Fast Facts

Food For The Poor completed more than 100 projects in Jamaica between January 2008 and June 2009.  

Housing, education and agriculture are major areas of focus, all with the goal of meeting the immediate needs of the poorest of the poor, and helping the destitute rise out of poverty.

• The charity continues to replace dilapidated shacks across the island with sturdy wooden houses with concrete slab foundations. In 2008, FFP through its donors, provided 2,400 housing units, while in 2009 more than 1,000 housing units have been produced within the first half of the year.
• In 2007, Food For The Poor embarked on a program to improve literacy and ensure that the poorest children receive nutritious meals by providing impoverished schools with the necessary physical infrastructure.  More than 40 schools were built/renovated between January 2008 and June 2009. To meet the ongoing needs of schools island-wide, the charity developed three standard structures: 

• FFP School Construction Program – self-contained wooden schoolhouse comprised of classroom space, office space, kitchen and sanitation.
• FFP School Multipurpose Facility – Used for a variety of school needs including: additional classroom space for overcrowded schools, library/reading rooms to increase literacy, labs to teach computer skills, lunchrooms to improve nutritional and health standards and guidance counselor centers to enable educators to address the psychological and emotional needs of the children in a private environment.
• FFP School Feeding Center – Enables the schools to feed children hot, nutritious meals by providing a kitchen and lunchroom.

• Agricultural development has been essential in developing food security and in helping small farmers and institutions become self-sufficient. The charity continues to monitor and train the fishermen of 17 FFP fishing villages located throughout the island to become more productive with environmentally sound fishing techniques. The Rural Economic Agricultural Program (REAP) assists over 100,000 farmers with seeds and tools.  Food For The Poor is working with local partners to help inner-city communities, farmers, schools, orphanages and other institutions provide produce to eat and to sell. Two notable agricultural projects include the Angels Of Hope Children’s Home Animal Farms and the Beekeeping Project.  The AOH Animal Farms are providing orphanages with pigs, goats and chickens to enable the homes to provide protein to the children, while the Beekeeping Project establishes income for impoverished individuals by providing tools and instructions on raising bees for honey production and to sell hives.

Additional projects include 17 ongoing projects, including: elderly homes, a medical clinic, and skills training centers that receive monthly financial support to cover operating costs; 16 children’s homes supported by the Angels Of Hope Program; the Marching Band Program aimed at reducing inner-city violence, and the Computer Distribution Program developed to provide computer literacy to marginalized communities.

Project Examples: