Whether it’s food or, just recently, farm equipment, Langley-based Canadian Food For Children, B.C. Division keeps on giving to people living in impoverished nations.
A registered charity with the Canadian government, CFFC B.C.’s mission is to help the suffering and starving children of the world by raising funds to purchase food for the hungry in developing or disaster stricken countries.
President of CFFC — B.C. Division Joe Krentz, a retired dairy farmer, noted that “so far this year we have shipped 600,000 pounds of food to Haiti, Sierra Leone, and Kenya. We have sent a half a million pounds of food to Bo Diocese in Sierra Leone for the past three years, at a cost of $100,000 a year.”
About two months ago, Sierra Leone was declared Ebola free, allowing the public to travel and gather freely.
“I was informed that the Bo Diocese has 150 acres of farmland in St. Mary’s Parish and Rev. Fr. John Jo Sandi would start an agricultural program if they had the required farmland equipment needed,” Krentz noted in a newsletter.
“They are farming the land by hand at present.”
Krentz said the CFFC — B.C.’s decision to supply equipment to the program “was unanimous.”
“The board agreed that it was more advantageous for the people to raise their own food rather than us sending it to them,” Krentz said.
He added that the cost of food, including shipping costs, was approximately $100,000. The cost of sending equipment, including shipping cost, is $125,000. All the equipment is new and should last for many years.
Equipment being supplied included tractors, bottom plows, pasture harrows, a fertilizer spreader, and scarifiers.
“We currently have a request from Bishop Philip at the Homor Diocese in Kenya for farming equipment,” Krentz said. “Farming equipment in Kenya is tax free. We will research the situation and, if approved by the board, we intend to ship the equipment that we can afford.”
Donations can be made through canadianfoodforchildrenbc.com or by mailing it to:
Canadian Food For Children — B.C. Division
3218 224 St., Langley B.C. V2Z 2G8
Charitable #890170798RR0001