- Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
Many ideas for Jamaica's development were shared at the Food for the Poor (FFP) reception at the Terra Nova Hotel in St. Andrew, last Thursday. Discussing a few are, from left, Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce, Becky Stockhausen; Junior Dabdoub; head of the Constabulary Communication Network, Superintendent Ionie Ramsey-Nelson and Executive Director of FFP, Bradley Finzi-Smith.
Daviot Kelly, Staff Reporter
CHARITY organisation Food for the Poor (FFP) has big plans for 2004.
The organisation, 21 year old this year, has launched a programme where members of the business community will be helping it in various outreach programmes.
This year, according to Executive Director of Food for the Poor, Bradley Finzi-Smith, "We want them to roll up their shirtsleeves and and do actual volunteering."
Volunteering can take the form of either physical labour or helping out with ideas and expertise; qualities these same people used in establishing their own businesses.
So at the Pavilion at the Terra Nova Hotel, New Kingston, members of FFP and guests from various companies met to discuss and share ideas as they look to improve the lives of more needy Jamaicans.
Each table had a miniature home as the centrepiece, symbols of the 4,000 homes FFP is trying to build in Jamaica this year. Governor-General Sir Howard Cooke, who is the patron of the organisation, was present to lend his support to the new initiative.
But this was no business meeting as the organisation, according to Mr. Finzi-Smith, is directed by God in all its activities.
So the evening took on the look of a worship service at times. Father Tony Palazolli from the United States spoke to the gathering on 'Spirituality of the servant heart', which was to show the importance of first being willing to serve before being ready to lead.
Entertainment was provided by the St. Pius Catholic Church Junior Choir.
Among the communities that will be targeted is Ellerslie Pen in Spanish Town, St. Catherine.
Food for the Poor hopes to build 500 houses in that depressed community and showed a video presentation of the conditions there.
The organisation also wants to double the number of containers of goods it received last year.
