"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see." -- Hebrews 11:1

Three-year-old Chimi’s father left shortly after he was born. The family was devastated and struggled to make ends meet with what the grandfather earned in the sugarcane fields. 

“There was a time where he was so frail we thought he would not make it,” Chimi’s mom, Carmen, said. “All we had was faith. The program from Feed My Starving Children came right on time for us.”

Chimi’s family lives in Batey 106, a small community of about 500 people in the eastern region of the Dominican Republic. It’s one of hundreds of these small communities of mostly Haitian immigrants working in the sugarcane fields.

Historically, people living in Bateyes face critical challenges related to health, education, social issues and employment, partly because of their immigration status in the country.

In December 2015, a Project Based Food Assistance program (PBFA) was launched in Batey 106 where Feed My Starving Children food and other livelihood initiatives serve as platforms to empower the people in this community.

“The project uses FMSC food as a platform to get the people from A to B,” said Junior Obrand, regional program manager for the Caribbean.

“When we say, ‘Food is hope’ that’s not just a slogan,” he said. “We’re using the food to get the people to rise up.”

Those who live and work in the Bateyes understand how crucial this partnership is.

"I frankly don't believe the people in the Bateyes would be able to survive without the MannaPack™ meals from Feed My Starving Children. Last year we had a drought that severely affected their ability to work. It was the food from FMSC that saved them,” a local pastor said.

And that’s exactly what Chimi’s family has experienced.

FMSC staff met Chimi when he was just a few months old, before the PBFA program was launched.

Chimi was frail and malnourished, and our staff didn’t think he was going to make it.

That trip to Batey 106 was where FMSC decided not only to continue providing MannaPack meals, but later to increase the amount through a long-term PBFA program.

Now Chimi is an active, vibrant and healthy little boy who loves to paint and play ball with his friends. His mother credits this to MannaPack meals.

"I have to thanks God and FMSC for their support for me and my family,” Carmen said. “It is because of them that I can now say my son has a healthy development."