Dear Friends,
When Marie, Jacques, Sonia, Samson and 55 other farmers graduated from our training program last season, we were celebrating much more than their hard work during the semester. We were celebrating their future, one with healthier, more abundant harvests, and more income for their families. We were celebrating the future of Meds & Food for Kids, one with dozens more Haitian farmers who can sell us peanuts to make our life saving products. And we were celebrating you, our donors, whose support makes all this progress happen.
If ever there was a year that demonstrated the effectiveness of our programs, 2021 was it. With supply chain disruptions, we relied more than ever on local farmers for our key ingredients. The assassination of Haiti’s president in July and its ensuing civil unrest, followed by an earthquake in August, meant more families lacked stability and reliable sources of food. MFK responded, producing and distributing our nutritious food to infants, school children, mothers, and families throughout the country.
MFK exists because of times like these.
Our donors have rallied around our Solution Soleil capital campaign, funding our future with solar energy, replacing our reliance on diesel fuel. Thank you! Our factory staff continued their diligent work in production, quality, maintenance and administration, keeping our machines running while managing the pandemic protocols that have kept our workforce safe going on 2 years now. And our nutrition team pressed on, ensuring our programs were running efficiently and effectively; providing consultation and our therapeutic foods to partner clinics, orphanages and schools. Kenbe la!
We continue to build on the foundation that Dr. Pat Wolff, MFK’s founder, established 18 years ago, serving Haiti’s most vulnerable population while building economic capacity in Haiti for sustainable change.
As we review our past year, we must recognize that growth happens despite the surrounding darkness, and sometimes because of it. Like the peanut seeds that Marie, Jacques, Sonia and Samson plant in the dirt: they will be nurtured, they will push toward the sunlight, and they will grow.
Mèsi Anpil,
Suzanne Langlois
Interim Chief Executive Officer
