For Immediate Release                                                                               Contact: Daniela Colaiacovo

Tuesday, August 15, 2006                                                                                                     (202) 530-1060                                 

                                                                                                                dcolaiacovo@friendsofwfp.org

 

                                                                                                                                              

FRIENDS OF THE WORLD FOOD PROGRAM WELCOMES

$500,000 GIFT FROM THE NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE TO REBUILD TSUNAMI-TORN REGION

Gift Will Support Long-Term Operations to Feed Children, Women, the Elderly and Key Vulnerable Populations

 

Washington, DC – Today, Friends of the World Food Program welcomed a $500,000 gift from the National Football League to support long-term relief operations in areas affected by the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the Indian Ocean region in December 2004. 

 

“We are so grateful for this generous gift from the National Football League,” said Karen Sendelback, President and CEO of Friends of the World Food Program.  “This contribution comes at an especially critical time when most of the world’s attention has shifted from the tsunami-torn region to other stories that make the news.  We hope that this gift will help call attention to ongoing food aid and rebuilding efforts in the region and motivate others to give.”

 

The contribution will help feed millions of people left homeless and destitute by the tsunami.  In 2004, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) responded with one of the largest and most complex emergency operations in the agency’s history.  At the peak of the operation, WFP provided food aid to 2.24 million people in six countries across the tsunami zone.

 

Since December 2004, WFP’s operations have gradually shifted from emergency assistance to long-term relief and recovery, and the organization continues to provide food aid to nearly 1 million people still piecing their lives together.  In fact, large-scale operations in Indonesia and Sri Lanka will continue through 2007.

 

WFP operations focus on the most vulnerable segments of the population – children, pregnant women, nursing mothers, the elderly, and the disabled – so they don’t have to worry about day to day survival and can instead focus on rebuilding their homes and livelihoods.

 

School feeding programs continue in the region, helping keep children from tsunami-affected families in the classroom and providing them with a sense of normalcy and stability.  Over 300,000 children in schools across Aceh and North Sumatra in Indonesia, and more than 100,000 children in affected communities in Sri Lanka receive vitamin enriched meals thanks to WFP.

 

In addition, Food for Work projects in Indonesia and Sri Lanka provide rations to workers in exchange for their work rebuilding homes and critical infrastructure.  In Sri Lanka, for example, over 36,000 workers participate in Food for Work programs, receiving food for their families and expanding the reach of the program to nearly 183,000 people.

# # #

Friends of the World Food Program is a non-profit organization dedicated to building the public commitment and political leadership necessary to alleviate world hunger. For more information, visit www.friendsofwfp.org.  

 

The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) is the largest international food aid organization in the world and the United Nations’ frontline agency in the fight against hunger.  Every year, WFP feeds an average of 90 million people, two-thirds of them children, in over 80 countries.  For more information, visit www.wfp.org.