IRFF to Focus on World Hunger

International Relief Friendship Foundation, (IRFF) directors, representing several international chapters of IRFF, met October 1, 1994 for their semi-annual meeting in Rome, Italy. The highlight of the meeting was the decision to take on a common theme and concern worldwide. The area of concern that the various chapters will be working to resolve is the very serious challenge of "world hunger." From that meeting, a cornerstone of this program involves the Fish Protein Concentrate from International Seafoods of Alaska.

The various chapters of IRFF worldwide have tackled many noble and worthy areas of need and conducted numerous projects. These projects have revolved around medical, educational, and social needs of individuals throughout Eastern Europe, Africa, South America, and Indo-Asia. However, with one common concern on which to focus, IRFF can make an even greater contribution to approach the topic also with a holistic Approach.

According to this approach, the IRFF organization can fulfill it's potential in making a valuable contribution as a humble relief agency. There are many worthy and notable relief agencies around the globe. Many of these agencies have been doing what they could to end hunger throughout the world. Some more successfully than others. Many of these agencies also have a great deal of resources from which to draw.

So we asked the question: Where does IRFF fit in this international mix? In assessing many of these organizations and networks, we realized that one challenge, which these agencies face, is the depth of their approach. A very real challenge of any relief agency is to take a multi-faceted approach to any issue. In this light, IRFF in his one capacity has the opportunity to do just that. On this basis, IRFF was able to organize several operation in wich the Fish Powder was distributed and consumed by people.

Delivering the fish powder.
Varazdin, Croatia

We operated in the refugee's camps in Croatia, in support of refugees and displace persons coming from all the territories of the former Yugoslavia. Also the product was donated to the refugees camps in Rwanda and in coordination with the RYS youth camp, in Ghana.

The Fish Powder Seminar was designed to introduce Fish Powder Concentrate to Ghana as a way to supplement the people's protein needs, and especially to make it available in crises areas of the African sub-region.

Coordinating the work with other NGO's. Ghana

Mr. Serge Samouel, representing International Seafood's of Alaska, was on hand to share both the vision for fish powder as well as the technical aspects of the product. The many parliamentarians and ministers present were enthused with the fish powder, asking many questions after the presentations. The Deputy Minister for Agriculture (Fisheries) expressed his interest in the technology and offered the support of his department to explore avenues of investment.

Two tons of Fish Powder donated by ISA and IRFF was allocated to various government agencies under the umbrella of the Ministries of Social Welfare and Health. For their part, the RYS participants could see in action the religious ideal of living for others.

IRFF did also introduce the project to the Fishery Department of FAO and organized several seminars in wich representatives from International Seafood of Alaska presented a one-day seminar on the potentiality of the product. Several FAO ambassadors participated in one of this seminar.

The contribution by the Fish Powder to the fight on world hunger is substantial. Following are some elements of the Fish Powder:

After processing into fish powder, 100 Kg of fish could provide the required daily amount of protein (About 50 grams per adult or 40 grams per child for 300 children or 240 adults).
The estimate shipping cost from Alaska to the Ivory Coast for a MT: about 1.800 to 2.000 US$.

Click for more details about the Fish Powder: Kodiak Seafood
Click for details about FOOD GRADE KRILL PROTEIN CONCENTRATE

Some information's:
You will find one of mankind's best alimentary resources for the future in the sea and ocean's: Fish.
The fisheries production did increase dramatically in the last few decades. For example we did go from 18 to 75 million tons of fish, from 1950 to 1985, and today we produce more then 100 million of tons each year. The consequences are clearly connected to the protection of the environment and the decline of fish resources around the world.
In the World we have about 450,000 fisherman that operate in the industrial sector and about 15 million in the artisan-indigenous sector. The difference of capital can go from 10,000 to 100,000 US$ for those that operate in the industrial sector and from 100 to 1.000 US$ for those that operate in the indigenous sector.
In the Western World tons of fish are utilized for the animal consumption. The "home-cat", for example is a million-dollar business sector. Maybe a right to food can come first to humans rather than the right to food for cats?
Because of the market demand, basically all the high-quality fish from the underdeveloped countries will go to the markets of Japan, USA and Europe.

Homepages:

www.nvoad.org
www.eapn.org
www.humanitarian.net
www.thp.org
www.projectbread.org/walk/walk.html
www.freetheworld.com
www.thehungersite.com/index.html
www.worldvision.org
http://europe.eu.int/comm/echo/en/index_en.html