Feed the Children Takes an International Approach By Lily Morgan At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Feed The Children is an internationally recognized organization that has been working since 1979 to provide children in America and abroad with the food and assistance they need to survive and thrive. Founded by Larry and Frances Jones, the Oklahoma City-based organization has offered its assistance in more than 110 countries around the world.

Feed The Children is a Christian-based relief organization that focuses not only on food, but also providing other necessities to children. It has delivered such essentials as clothing, medicine, medical care and food to areas torn by poverty, famine, war and natural disasters. Through one particular program in Nairobi, Kenya, the organization provides direct, around-the-clock care to abandoned infants.

Considered one of the earth’s largest private institutions dedicated to assisting people with basic sustenance needs, Feed The Children delivers some 135 million pounds of items to children and families throughout the United States and the world on an annual basis.

In the United States, Feed The Children operates using a network of corporate partners that provide surplus food and supplies. It also relies heavily on individual donors to help with food and transportation costs. The nonprofit organization has six regional distribution centers in the U.S. that deliver food directly to more than 50,000 relief centers in various parts of the country. It also provides educational assistance through its Homeless Education and Literacy Program, or H.E.L.P. initiative. This effort provides books, school supplies, food and other items to elementary and middle-school aged children in need.

International outreach is also a focus for Feed The Children. The organization provides such things as direct food, clothing and medical assistance to impoverished children all over the world. Its medical team, for example, visits third world countries to provide such assistance. Members perform minor surgeries, give eye examinations and even provide dental care. The group’s Builders for Children program also provides the bricks and mortar often needed to assist families and communities in need.

Perhaps one of the most notable efforts of Feed The Children on the international level is its Abandoned Baby Center, or ABC Program. Through this outreach effort, Feed The Children provides orphanage care to children in Kenya. This compound is designed with four cottages to house children based on age and provides around-the-clock care. The ABC program not only provides care, but also seeks to reunite children with their own biological families. It also encourages adoption into local families. International adoption is not out of the question, but must meet the legal requirements of the country of Kenya.

Relying on donations, volunteers and in-kind contributions, Feed The Children provides millions of dollars in assistance each year.

The organization has come under fire in the past. The American Institute of Philanthropy, for example, gives it an “F” rating for its unwillingness to disclose information about in-kind donation distributions, among other things. Despite some negative press, Feed The Children continues to be one of the largest organizations of its kind in the world.

For more information about Feed The Children and its programs, visit www.feedthechildren.org.

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