Poverty in the Caribbean moves believers to action.

Haiti (MNN)–In less than two months, Haiti will celebrate the 200th anniversary of its independence from French rule.

The troubled country also faces one of the highest poverty levels among the Caribbean nations coupled with an extreme unemployment rate.

Tensions are turning bloody as the people are demanding an accountability from its government, and food security is fast becoming a troublesome issue.

Against that backdrop, Food For The Poor is stepping up their humanitarian response. FFP’s Angel Aloma says this spring, they got an 11-million pound dried milk grant from the United States Department of Agriculture. “We are flooding all the countries with a tremendous amount of milk. We are also increasing our shipments of food to all our islands and our Central American countries, particularly in Haiti, which is, of all the countries we serve, it’s by far, the poorest.”

Aloma says their humanitarian aid serves as the backdrop to evangelistic ministry. “We work almost exclusively with Christian churches in Haiti. By doing that, we are empowering those churches to be able to spread the Gospel in a more acceptable manner.”

The churches, says Aloma, are working not only to share the hope of Christ with the adults, but targeting the children. He explains the concern stems from the coming celebration of Haiti’s independence in less than two months. At that time, voodoo ceremonies will rededicate the island nation to Satan.