From 600 to 1400 fed every day in Romania

Visiting new developments for our feeding program is never easy,. Conditions for giving the go ahead would not at times meet normal criteria for governmental standards of Hygiene, Health and Safety, and many other criteria that we would class as essential within our daily environment.

Very near to the centre of Bucharest we visited one of the proposed new city sites for providing a feeding program for children in some of the poorest areas that I have seen in Romania. Located in an alley way off the main street, it was a surprisingly big church that had an attendance of around 80 people. To reflect on the nature and outreach that the church was reaching into, the pastor described how one of the mafia type gangster’s wives had recently come to the Lord.

The heart of the church was to reach out to the people in the area and bring hope to the children that lived in squalor and chaos, to provide food yes but also an education and a hope that they could have life beyond their current circumstance.

Poverty here could be measured within a contained environment of blocks of flats, streets and communities that could be identified with and be appalled at. Our next port of call was to an area called Love Field which took our emotions to a deeper level and one of admiration for those who are called to work there and a heartfelt pang for the situation of those who lived there. Unable to take the vehicle onto the site for the mud, we had to walk down a path strewn with human faeces.

A shanty town built on reclaimed land once used for a dump for construction material, with a ramshackle collection of clay brick, pallet wood patchwork walls and tin roofed huts, with no electricity or mains water, right in the middle of Bucharest. In the midst of the squalor sat a hut used as a church which will be turned into a feeding centre by the congregation, run by a young man, who had spent 7 years in prison who now had a vision to work with ex convicts, who the majority of those who lived in the commune where, having to live under such conditions as they had no support and less opportunity to find a mainstream job.

Rejected by society, they have not turned against it, but having found hope in Christ, turned to look at how they could reach out to the local community to help, provide food and an educational program to the most vulnerable of children in the surrounding area. What love is this that breaks down walls of human reasoning, core values that resonated with us at Feed The Hungry, to help the unloved and rejected, and to bring a hope and a future to those in need.

Read more about the different places visited and the new  feeding locations opened on our full report on http://www.feedthehungry.org.uk/ . The difference you can make today will pour out an avalanche of grace on these children for with every £4 donated we can provide 100 meals to provide meals to over 35,000 children Every day

Thank you 

Gwyn Williams

Operations Manger

UK and Ireland

Romania Snow Crisis

Subject: Romanian Crisis


To the Feed The Hungry Team.
I need to present a situation to you for your advice. In Romania we have many requests for help from churches, families, and from the village officials and CPS department. Entire villages are covered with snow, cutting off the people from deliveries of food and basic supplies. The army is now digging some of these houses out of the snow but it is a slow process.

We have a good supply of food and winter clothing at our warehouse in Bucharest that we could use to help the most desperate of these people. But before we try to make our way through the ice with snow chains on our truck, I wanted to first get your guidance concerning our supplies. Do we hold back the food for future use at our Feeding Centres or could we have a quick response now to the most desperate requests for help? If we do help now, what is the extent of the help? What is the limit? I can send you the money for the container of beans that we spoke about but this will not arrive until later, possibly to help replace some of the food that we use for the crisis now. But even with the bean container, we will still be low on can goods and soup mix.

I want to stay within the guidelines that FTH sets for using the food. I can raise a little money to purchase bread and other necessities but I could do much more if we could use a portion of our supplies at our Bucharest warehouse.




Please let me know your suggestions. We will stay within the limits and guidelines that you set.

God bless you and all of the staff at FTH

We received this request from Bread of Life in Romania asking if we could release some of the ECED inventory in their warehouse (soup mix, beans, canned goods) for emergency distributions to people trapped by the snowstorms outside of Bucharest. Of course we said “Yes” and told BOL to use up to 50% of our goods for emergency relief.


We have a lorry ready to go from Germany but is as yet unable to get through safely. We are also looking at what we can do to supplement this by sending a container of Food , clothing and blankets from the UK, if you can help please let me know. email me at gwilliams@feedthehungry.org or if you would like to donate towards thids crisis please go to http://www.feedthehungry.org.uk/
 
 
Gwyn Williams
Operations Manager

Every Child Every day program up 28%

Our Every Child Every Day program has seen a 28 PERCENT INCREASE in the number of children who rely on us for a daily meal since last year!

We have extended the feeding program in Romania from 600 to 1200 children and  we are aiming to increase it, to 2000, in this coming year.

In Bulgaria, new doors are opening and we hope to add another 350 children to the EveryChild EveryDay Program.

 In Uganda we have established the East African Resource Centre to look at supplying aid into Rwanda, the Congo and Zambia, as well as maintaining a supply of food into the Horn of Africa.

In the UK we have are involved in provding emergency food packs to families in need 

Also launched will be a new long term feeding  program to orphaned children in Sendai, Japan ,  where we are committed to helping vulnerable children to receive love and hope amidst tragedy.

Every £4.00 you share will feed a hungry boy or girl every day for a month and help us to expand our outreach to reach more children in need.

With every meal you help provide,  these hurting children will see God’s love in action and learn more about how He cares for them.  Together we can save children’s lives and transform their future!

Our aim is to increase our outreach  to a total of  50,000 children in 2012.   Together we have a choice to make this happen.  You have already chosen to help the EveryChild EveryDay go from feeding just over 4,300children five years ago to feeding 35,081 daily this year.

Your continuing support does make a difference to children around the world, not only in providing food, but in providing the children with educational or vocational opportunities, and through our partner ministries bring the good news of Christ’s salvation to them, their families and the communities that they live in.

Happy New Year to you all and may 

God bless you for 

your continuing support in 2012

 Feeding the Hungry with you,   

Peter Sumrall

President

Call on 0845 519 6025

or Donate online

http://www.feedthehungry.org.uk/

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to you all on this wonderful celebration of God’s Gift of Life , thank you all for giving your time prayers and hope for people and especially kids who have suffered this past year, without you we would not have been able to extend our program from 26,000 kids to 35,000 kids this year, already your commitment is opening doors to new opportunities next year. Every Blessing Gwyn

Visit http://www.feedthehungry.org.uk/ to learn more about our EveryChild EveryDay program and how you can make a difference

Thank you from Kenya

Thank you for your outpouring of love and compassion toward the people of northern Kenya and east Africa. With your support, Feed The Hungry has sent another 8 ocean going container of rice meals, maize, and beans to provide much life-sustaining aid to thousands of women and children who are suffering. Another 40 tons of maize has been purchased in country to offer immediate relief!

Feed The Hungry Australia Director, Ben Evans, reports from the field,

“Traveling north you are lulled into a false sense of security. Southern Kenya is rich, vibrant, lush and full of life. In stark contrast, the Turkana region of northern Kenya is dry, dusty, and desolate. In Nairobi, children were playing carefree in fountains while just a few hundred miles to the north, people are dying from a lack of water. Feed The Hungry is there! Already in a few short weeks the difference we are making is amazing. Where once the people waited in misery and despair, Feed The Hungry teams were greeted with joy, appreciation, and deep gratefulness. Yes…we are feeding empty bellies, but even more importantly, we are showing the Turkana people that God has heard their prayers through generous donations. Hope has sprung once again in their weary hearts. They know that they are no longer alone.”

£16 provides an entire family of five with emergency rations for a month

£64 provides a month of rations for

twenty people

£160 will keep fifty people from the brink

of starvation

Connect with East African people today and donate online by visit http://www.feedthehungry.org.uk/

Australian Cricket Team visits Sri Lankan Orphanage

The EveryChild EveryDay program supports 28 different ministries around the world.

Child Action Lanka (CAL) in Sri Lanka is one of our trusted ministry partners. The heart of their ministry is transform the lives of disadvantaged children in Kandy. Hunger, neglect, exploitation and abuse are just a few of the many challenges that face the children who live and work on the streets as beggars.

CAL uses two centres to provide breakfast and lunch to the children. The facilities also provide education to children considered worthless by their own community. This is an attitude that says that children are born 'bad' and cannot be redeemed. The purpose of this ministry is to enable disadvantaged children to realize the possibilities.

"Child Action Lanka was started out of a desire to give kids hope and a future," explains CAL Director, Ms Debs Edirisinghe. "We work with street kids and underprivileged kids - kids who have a very high risk of falling onto the streets... (we) educate them, care for them, clean them and love them - make sure they reach their dreams."

During the September tour of Sri Lanka, the Australian Cricket team, led by Captain Michael Clarke visited the CAL centre in Kandy. The full 15 member squad and 12 man support staff arrived to present signed shirts and bats and played a game of backyard cricket with the children. The children, aged from 2 to 18 years, were keen to impress their heroes with some big hitting and inspired fielding.

"This is a dream they could never possibly dream of; I think it has made their day," Ms Edirisinghe said. "It's a big moment in their lives. It's going to be a very special moment for them that they'll always remember. It's not everyone who comes to them; it's not everyone who treats them with special care. It's very touching to see the Australian team here with them... I think they've touched a very deep part of their heart."

In media interviews the next day, many of the cricket team admitted the game of backyard cricket was probably the highlight of their busy tour. For the Child Action Lanka children, this could well be the highlight of their lives. However this simple gesture shows the children that no dream is impossible. watch the interview with Michael Clarke onutube
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=_2vf4x9dMXc

CAL relies on us to reduce the burden of providing enough food each day, but with rising costs of food the pressure to make ends meet is mounting. Debs depends on us to help feed the children that their own community has abandoned. Next year, she plans to open 3 more centres in North Sri Lanka - in Galle, Batticaloa and Kilionchi. These centres will serve the children who lost their parents during the civil war.

Because of your past support the EveryChild EveryDay program has been able to provide daily meals to 35,081 children in 20 countries through 28 ministries. Please prayerfully consider supporting our EveryChild EveryDay program so that we can continue to feed children around the world.

There are more children trapped in the poverty cycle. There are more children who have no hope for the future. There are more children who are considered 'worthless' by people who should be their guardians and protectors. Tragically there are more children who are simply dying from hunger & its related causes.

According to a recent UN study, 10.9 million children under five die in developing countries each year. Malnutrition and hunger-related diseases cause 60 percent of the deaths. That means that 17,918 children die from hunger every single day!

That statement continues to shock me every time I think about it.

You can help!

For just £4, the cost of just one take-away, you can provide 100 hot, nutritious meals to hungry children in the world's poorest countries. If you gave £4 every week you could provide 5,200 meals every year!



I can't do everything to solve that problem on my own, but I can do something to reduce that number. I ask you to prayerfully consider whether you can join me and do something too.

Will you help take away hunger?  Donate today at www.feedthehungry.org.uk or call 0845 519 6025

TAKE AWAY HUNGER DAY

Want to listen in to America and the work FTH do over there??
Pulse FM's TAKE AWAY HUNGER DAY HAS BEGUN! Listen in live at pulsefm.com
Let's take away hunger for 500 kids today...