It has been a week since Hurricane Matthew made landfall in Haiti. More than 1,000 people have died in the country — and millions more are without homes, running water and basic necessities.
Since then, aid groups have been trickling into the country to offer assistance.
But, Arizona-based Food for the Hungry has been serving Haiti for 15 years. And Gary Edmonds, president of the organization, said that gives them an advantage in getting aid to affected areas quicker.
“We have known the people the people, we know them by name. And thus, it give us an ability to mobilize locally and to respond locally with knowledge that other organizations that are coming in for the first time don’t necessarily have,” Edmonds said.
Food for the Hungry has more than 30 staff members serving Haiti right now and is recruiting local volunteers to help.
Edmond said their main goals right now is to provide the necessities: shelter, food, and clean water.
