A generous donation to a Langley non-profit organization, the Food For Famine Society (FFF), will fill two containers with much-needed food for malnourished children in Malawi.
Sylvie and Phil Vandekerkhove donated $100,000 to the organization at a corporate breakfast Oct. 15, the day before World Food Day. Food For Famine organized a special event at Langley Events Centre on Oct. 16.
The society seeks cash donations to help purchase supplies of individual packets of Ready-To-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF), which is used to help treat children under the age of five who are suffering from severe malnutrition. Thousands of children in Africa are suffering the effects of extreme malnutrition as a result of drought conditions in areas where rain has not fallen in any significant amount for over two years.
“As Canadians, we often forget how lucky we are to live in one of the most beautiful and bountiful countries in the world,” says Mary Martini, founder of the Food For Famine Society. “For thousands of children who are fleeing the drought and political instability in southern Somalia to refugee camps elsewhere in the region, RUTF can mean the difference between life and death.”
The Food For Famine Society is collaborating with World Vision in its efforts to help children and their families in the Horn of Africa. Money raised by the society will be used to purchase RUTF from an internationally approved supplier. The RUTF supplies will be donated to World Vision to distribute through its established relief and development network.
Martini said that each container shipped contains more than 1,600 boxes of this life-saving food.
Langley City Mayor Peter Fassbender, who is also on the board of World Vision Canada, said the $100,000 donation will save the lives of hundreds of children. More information on the society is available at www.foodforfamine.org.