Spanish Town, March 5, 2008 – As a feature of its 25th anniversary, international charity organisation Food for the Poor is reaching out in an effort to rekindle and resuscitate the once vibrant relationship it had with the over 5,000 churches across the island.

Busy making the rounds is Chief Executive Officer and Head of Corporate Affairs & Fundraising, Bradley Finzi-Smith. Earlier today he met and had discussions with the former President of the Jamaica Baptist Union and Pastor of the Gregory Park Baptist Church in St. Catherine, Rev. Karl E. Henlin. He also met with a central figure in the apostolic churches, Bishop Tommy Holdsworth of the Greater Grace Temple Apostolic Church in Kingston.

In order to meet the needs of the poorest of the poor in Jamaica, Food for the Poor has been partnering with over 5,000 churches, plus NGOs, private sector organisation, children’s homes and service organisations through out the island.

The theme of both discussions focused on the rekindling of the relationship between the two church bodies and the charity organisation, which has been serving the people of Jamaica through various denominations for the past 25 years.

“Even though we have been in partnership for several years now, we at Food for the Poor want to know how we can further help you serve the poor in Jamaica. In other words, how can we continue to help you reach more of the poor and unfortunate people in the communities in which you serve,” said Finzi-Smith.

Other highlights of the discussions focused on how the churches were endeavouring to reach more communities at risk and helping to stem the tide of crime and violence, and teenage pregnancy.

According to Bishop Holdsworth, “we are moving big time into social intervention. We will be moving into the various communities that we serve and will be introducing a raft of programmes geared towards making positive changes in the lives of our children, youth and adults, especially those considered to be at risk. Toward this end, we will be introducing a number of children and adults’ programmes, including regular sidewalk Sunday Schools. As a church, our focus is now on education and skills training, identifying and addressing social needs, and building social capital, which is a move, we hope will help curb the many social ills that have been besetting out young people.”