190,080 Meals Shipped to Haiti

Leal scrambled to find a truck big enough to ship 20 palettes of food. The truck was secured but it lacked a lift. Saying a prayer, Leal went door-to-door looking for a local business willing to offer up a forklift. After two “No’s”, a company said they would be able to help. But, there was still the issue of packing the boxes onto pallets. When Leal explained her dilemma to 20 kids in the warehouse preparing for the Valley Christian Art Show the next day, she received an enthusiastic response of help. By the grace of God, the last piece of the puzzle fell into place. The truck arrived at 12:30pm on Friday and nearly 30,000 lbs. of food was loaded and ready to roll an hour later. Not even rain showers hindered its progress.

The packaged food is being shipped through Project Handclasp, a U.S. Navy program that accepts and transports educational, humanitarian and goodwill material donated by America's private sector on a space-available basis aboard U.S. Navy ships. When it arrives in Leogane, Haiti, it will be received by Extollo International, who will distribute it to needy organizations. The 190,080 meals will provide enough food to feed 520 children for a year.

Extollo International trains, educates and facilitates the building of homes, churches and schools in areas of the world affected by disaster or poverty. Extollo is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to serving people and communities, creating jobs by training nationals with employable skills. Using unique design/build techniques and over 40 years of experience, the organization builds structures that are high-quality, permanent and cost-effective.