Canadians Raise Funds to Build 60 Homes for the Village of Derac, Haiti
Food For The Poor Canada launched the It Takes A Village to Build A Village campaign in September 2018 with the goal of building sixty homes in the village of Derac, Haiti. This is part of a larger project, working in partnership with Food For The Poor Haiti and Food For The Poor US to build a village of 120 homes with access to clean water, a new school, a community center, playground, soccer field and income-generating projects to change the lives of 3000 Derac residents. Over the last year, with the help of many generous Canadian donors and two lead donors, the funding goal for 60 homes has been reached.
Lead donors are philanthropists Alan Quesnel and Grant and Alice Burton. Alan Quesnel’s Windsor family foundation donated $565,000 to the project. He has been working for the people of Haiti since 2001 and is committed to joining forces with Food For The Poor to continue to change and save the lives of families there. Grant and Alice Burton donated $75,000 towards Derac in 2019 with a commitment of $120,000 for early 2020. The Burton’s have supported Food For The Poor Canada for the last 10 years and has been instrumental in helping grow the organization’s capacity as well as in impacting the lives of many in the Caribbean.
Travelling from Haiti to attend FFPC’s Fundraising lunch in October was the Executive Director of Food For The Poor Haiti, Bishop Oge Beauvoir. The Bishop thanked Canadians for making justice a priority, and for helping to provide dignity and hope for Haitian families. The Executive Director of Food For The Poor Canada, Samantha Mahfood, continues to reach out to Canadians, asking for help in completing additional requirements for the sustainability of the community, which includes a playground, a soccer field, water wells and revenue-generating agricultural projects.