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CENTRAL AMERICA |
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Guatemalan
Drought Victims to Receive Urgent Relief
Four cargo containers with desperately
needed food will be sent to Guatemala's
drought-stricken regions to help stave off
malnutrition and starvation due to the worst
drought in this
country in 30 years, the Pan American
Development Foundation (PADF) announced.
Three of the four containers are filled with
fortified rice and soy protein meal
packages. Each of the three containers holds
270,864 servings of dehydrated fortified
rice meals. The fourth container has 48,500
pounds of corn. The first container with
fortified rice and soy protein meal packages
is scheduled to arrive to Guatemala on Oct.
28.
Chevron, operating in the region under its
Texaco brand, the Organization of American
States (OAS), Feed My Starving Children,
International Services of Hope/IMPACT and
the U.S. Southern Command are working
together to support PADF's shipment of
emergency food. The entire humanitarian
relief effort is valued at more than
$250,000.
"Thanks to PADF's swift action, and the
joint effort of our partners, it is our hope
to be able to provide relief to thousands of
people in the drought-stricken areas of
Guatemala," said Mauricio Nicholls, general
manager, retail and commercial and
industrial, Caribbean, Central America and
Andean regions for Chevron Products Company.
More than 2.5 million people Guatemalans
have been affected by the drop in food
reserves, while the UN predicts the
situation will worsen during the nextfew
months. PADF's containers will be sent to
Guatemala's eastern region, which includes
the provinces of Baja Verapaz, El Progreso,
Zacapa, Chiquimula, Jutiapa, Santa Rosa,
Jalapa and El Quiche.
"This grave situation becomes even more
compelling because young children are the
first victims of malnutrition," says
Assistant Secretary General of theOAS
Ambassador Albert Ramdin.
Chevron is supporting the humanitarian
relief efforts through PADF's
DisasterManagement Emergency Response
Program (DMERP). Since the launch of the
DMERP in 2007, Chevron has provided disaster
relief materials to the Dominican Republic,
Ecuador, Peru, Haiti and Nicaragua. It has
also supported agricultural recovery
projects in Jamaica and Dominica.
Chevron's efforts in natural disaster and
humanitarian relief will be recognized by
PADF during its 2009 Heroes of the
Hemisphere event in Miami on Saturday, Oct.
24.
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