FFP, partners continue legacy of love in building homes
Published:Monday | April 17, 2023 | 12:05 AMAsha Wilks/Gleaner Writer
Through its Build Back the Love for Jamaica campaign, charity organisation Food For the Poor (FFP) Jamaica is building on its long tradition of assisting underprivileged Jamaicans.
In conjunction with the FFP’s efforts, Boom Energy Drink recenty launched its Boom with Love campaign at the charity’s headquarters in Spanish Town, St Catherine. Boom has committed to sponsoring the construction of 10 homes for Jamaicans in need, bringing the total number of houses they have sponsored since 2020 to 30.
“We want to continue the legacy of love,” declared Andrew Mahfood, chairman of the FFP, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.
During his remarks, Mahfood reflected on the impact of his late uncle, Ferdinand ‘Ferdy’ Mahfood, who founded the FFP, detailing how passionate he was about caring for the less fortunate.
“Forty years later, we’re celebrating this legacy, his legacy of love and compassion, which started with his dream to break the cycle of poverty. It’s that 40-year journey that has taught us that with God, all things are possible,” he said.
Through its collaboration with donors from across the diaspora and Jamaica, FFP has constructed roughly 37, 000 homes and contributed to the construction of more than 300 schools in Jamaica since it was founded in 1983.
The latest campaign seeks to improve socioeconomic circumstances of the less fortunate by providing them with shelter and a way to become self-sufficient, through income-generating projects, while also contributing to the development of a more sustainable nation.
The FFP seeks to attract, as part of this campaign, a minimum of 400,000 global donors, including churches, businesses, and private citizens, to donate J$1,000, US$10, CDN$10 or £10 each to help to provide aid.
“As we celebrate our 40th year of serving the poorest of the poor, we reaffirm our pledge and our continued unwavering support to the people of Jamaica,” said Mahfood.
Million-dollar donations
Craig Hendrickson, director of sales and marketing at Continental Baking Company Limited, declared that he would donate $1 million to help the charity. This prompted Mahfood, who also serves as chief executive officer of Wisynco Group Limited, to announce that he would also contribute $1 million.
Francois Chalifour, director of marketing at Wisynco Group Limited, which manufactures and distributes Boom Energy Drink, challenged corporate Jamaica to get on board and “do more and use Food for the Poor more as a vehicle to contribute [and] give back”.
“I think Jamaica doesn’t necessarily appreciate, really well, what Food For the Poor was able to achieve,” he said, noting that the charity’s impact in food, housing and education has been underestimated.
Hendrickson, for his part, said that being so moved by founder Mahfood’s vision, the company, through its National Baking Company Foundation, decided to partner with the charity a decade ago. It will be sponsoring the construction of 12 houses through the FFP’s Build Back the Love for Jamaica campaign.
He expressed that it was “such a beautiful thing” to witness the lives of Jamaicans being changed through the actualisation of the charity’s campaigns.
“Hearing from the recipients, many whom have nowhere else to turn, and seeing the improvements that can be done to when we all get together as corporate Jamaica is really something that’s eye-opening,” Hendrickson said.