In less than two weeks, a significant amount of work has been done on the factory in Haiti! We have now installed our first pieces of steel and rebar. Below are the most recent photos of the factory. We are excited about these steps toward completion and cannot wait to begin production!
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Meds & Food for Kids saves the lives of Haiti's malnourished children by producing and distributing highly nutritious foods, including Medika Mamba, a Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food endorsed by the World Health Organization and UNICEF. Because of its commitment to Haiti's long-term development, MFK produces Medika Mamba in Haiti, with Haitian labor, and with many Haitian raw materials.
Last week MFK made a few big first steps towards reaching our goal of completing the new production facility!
A group of contractors from the US began the initial work on the mechanical, electrical and plumbing parts of the factory. All of the under slab components were roughed in and progress was made towards finalizing many decisions about the designs of those systems. Amteck is a large electrical contractor based in Lexington, KY that is donating a lot of time and energy and doing the work at cost. They have also helped get much of the electrical materials donated or at cost. They sent two people (Terry Hutchins and Ian Cogman) who did the preparatory electrical work for running the distribution wires under the floor. They also worked with Todd Richmond who's firm Richmond Mechanical is working with Amteck to design and build all of the heating ventilation and air conditioning systems. The plumbing contractors were Mike and Dennis Bieg from St Louis. Dennis runs Bieg Plumbing and his brother Mike runs ICON mechanical. They are donating their labor and plumbing fixtures.
Thank you to all of these companies for your help and kindness!
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Meds & Food for Kids saves the lives of Haiti's malnourished children by producing and distributing highly nutritious foods, including Medika Mamba, a Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food endorsed by the World Health Organization and UNICEF. Because of its commitment to Haiti's long-term development, MFK produces Medika Mamba in Haiti, with Haitian labor, and with many Haitian raw materials.
MFK is excited to announce that USAID will be providing new equipment to our factory in Haiti! Because making Medika Mamba requires nontraditional methods of production, much of the machinery has to be custom designed and made. We will be receiving a new peanut roaster, oil seed expeller, feed expeller, and equipment used for harvesting and threshing peanuts. The new equipment will increase productivity and safety, decrease costs, aid in the development of higher yielding seeds for Haitian farmers, and potentially create revenue from the peanut waste in the form of biodiesel or food for livestock. Thanks to USAID and their support in our mission to end child malnutrition and ignite economic development in Haiti!
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Meds & Food for Kids saves the lives of Haiti's malnourished children by producing and distributing highly nutritious foods, including Medika Mamba, a Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food endorsed by the World Health Organization and UNICEF. Because of its commitment to Haiti's long-term development, MFK produces Medika Mamba in Haiti, with Haitian labor, and with many Haitian raw materials.
In January, St. Louisans Mike Lewis (left), vice president of Christian World Relief, and Rick Owsley(right), president of Children's Relief Mission, visited MFK in Haiti. While in Cap Haitien, they visited the MFK factory and clinics that Medika Mamba is provided to in order to see the work that is being done there.
They also saw the process of growing the peanuts used to make Medika Mamba. Below, Mr. Lewis and Dr. Pat Wolff are posing with bags of peanuts. The bags are specially designed for drying the peanuts in order to prevent the growth of aflatoxin, a fungus that is harmful to humans.
Both agencies are hoping to raise funds in order to purchase Medika Mamba to distribute to clinics and orphanages in Haiti. MFK would like to say thank you to these men and their organizations for their support!
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Meds & Food for Kids saves the lives of Haiti's malnourished children by producing and distributing highly nutritious foods, including Medika Mamba, a Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food endorsed by the World Health Organization and UNICEF. Because of its commitment to Haiti's long-term development, MFK produces Medika Mamba in Haiti, with Haitian labor, and with many Haitian raw materials.
MFK and the team in Haiti are making progress on the new factory in Cap Haitien! A prefabricated building is scheduled to be delivered next month. The entire project is set to be finished in July. This factory will allow MFK produce 10 times more Medika Mamba and the number of children's lives saved from 8,000 to 80,000! Below are pictures of the work that is being done currently.
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Meds & Food for Kids saves the lives of Haiti's malnourished children by producing and distributing highly nutritious foods, including Medika Mamba, a Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food endorsed by the World Health Organization and UNICEF. Because of its commitment to Haiti's long-term development, MFK produces Medika Mamba in Haiti, with Haitian labor, and with many Haitian raw materials.
Dr. Pat and Celeste Vossmeyer, co-chair of the 2012 Gala, were on the local news talking about how MFK has expanded over the past two years and the upcoming gala!
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Meds & Food for Kids saves the lives of Haiti's malnourished children by producing and distributing highly nutritious foods, including Medika Mamba, a Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food endorsed by the World Health Organization and UNICEF. Because of its commitment to Haiti's long-term development, MFK produces Medika Mamba in Haiti, with Haitian labor, and with many Haitian raw materials
Alexon arrived at Danita's Children in November weighing weighing only 29 pounds. Although he is 7 years old, he was was the height of a 4 or 5 year old. The home immediately placed him on the Medika Mamba program for six weeks, taking him in to better monitor his condition.
Now, after two months, he weighs 34.6 pounds and is gaining more each day! He has much more energy and loves to dance, tell stories, and make the staff laugh. They are excited to see Alexon's continued growth in the upcoming weeks.
Danita's Children focuses on child rescue and medical care. Currently, there are over 100 formerly homeless children living in its orphanage and over 500 attending its school. They are currently building a Medical Center to be able to help more children like Alexon overcome malnutrition.
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Meds & Food for Kids saves the lives of Haiti's malnourished children by producing and distributing highly nutritious foods, including Medika Mamba, a Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food endorsed by the World Health Organization and UNICEF. Because of its commitment to Haiti's long-term development, MFK produces Medika Mamba in Haiti, with Haitian labor, and with many Haitian raw materials
