Facts About Our Work in Barbados
Food For The Poor (FFTP) began serving in Barbados in 2015. The international relief and development organization is working primarily with The HUB People-Helping-People, a nonprofit organization that was developed and launched in April 2014, at the request of then Bishop Jason Gordon of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgetown, Barbados. The HUB serves as an initial point of contact between people in need and community service organizations.
In 2021, FFTP shipped five containers of much-needed supplies, including rice and soy, medical equipment, and hygiene and children’s activity kits, to Barbados.
On April 9, 2021, the La Soufrière volcano on the northern tip of the island of St. Vincent erupted, followed by a series of eruptions over the next few weeks, with some of the ash making its way to Barbados, blanketing homes, and closing the airport at times.
The charity purchased cleaning supplies that were shipped to St. Vincent and Barbados.
Shortly after the eruption, the charity airfreighted a disaster relief kit to Barbados, and those goods, along with relief items from FFTP’s partners in Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada and St. Lucia, were shipped to the island of St. Vincent and are being distributed by the Catholic Diocese of Kingstown.
FFTP quickly responded to the crisis caused by COVID-19, a respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus:
- FFTP assisted its in-country partner in Barbados with their COVID-19 response by providing funding for local purchases of food and other items.
- Items sourced through the donation were packaged by volunteers for distribution to help families most impacted by COVID-19.
- In 2021, approximately 200 care packages were distributed through care ministries and other social assistance agencies to people in need.
Current COVID-19 stats (as of 2/8/22)
Total Cases: 48,658
Deaths: 286
Vaccinated: 306,675 (55.4% at least 1 dose; 51.4% fully vaccinated)
In 1966, Barbados became an independent state and Commonwealth realm with the British Monarch as hereditary head of state. Due to its colonial history and connection to the United Kingdom, even after independence, it is sometimes referred to as Little England.
The island has 11 parishes and a population of approximately 301,865 people, predominantly of African descent.The Barbados literacy rate is ranked close to 100 percent. The mainstream public education system of Barbados is fashioned after the British model.
Historically, the economy of Barbados had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but since the late 1970s and early 1980s it has diversified into the manufacturing and tourism sectors. Despite being classified as an Atlantic island, Barbados is a part of the Caribbean, where it is ranked as a leading tourist destination. The island saw a construction boom in the early 2000s with the development and redevelopment of hotels, office complexes and homes. This slowed during the 2008 economic crisis. The GDP per capita is $12,900.
