The Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB) is the largest public, non-profit food and nutrition education resource in the Washington DC Metro Area. Through a network of more than 750 member feeding programs, each year the CAFB distribute millions of pounds of food to the community and educate thousands of local residents on hunger, poverty and nutrition issues.

The CAFB recovers millions of pounds of food - that would otherwise be thrown away - from bakeries, distributors, farmers, grocery stores, manufacturers, and retailers. Grocery stores donate salvageable foods including overproduced or damaged items that account for 60 percent of the foods distributed. Additional donations come from America's Second Harvest, CAFB's national non-profit umbrella organization, and community food drives. ICDC Benefactors help the CAFB by volunteering our time at the CAFB warehouse.

Founded in 1950, World Vision is a relief and development organization, serving the world's poorest children and families in nearly 100 countries. World Vision helps transform the lives of children and families in need in the name of Christ. Our assistance extends to all people, regardless of beliefs, gender, or ethnicity. Driven by faith and in partnership with people like you, World Vision seeks to enable the world's children to realize their God-given potential by tackling the root causes of poverty. World Vision currently has projects in over 45 countries including: Dominican Republic, Uganda, Albania, Thailand, Cambodia, Jerusalem and the West Bank and Chad. In response to the widespread malnutrition in Liberia due to the 14-plus year civil war, World Vision, in partnership with the World Food Program, has been distributing food to about 150,000 displaced Liberians at camps in or around Monrovia, Liberia's capital city, on 13 Oct 03.

A more efficient food distribution system is being implemented: Food is given to groups of families, who then share the allocation according to a family's ration. A nutrition survey of displaced Liberians has also been completed in locations where World Vision is not currently engaged in food distributions. Data collected by the survey found that nearly 40 percent of displaced people in these centers are moderately malnourished, with severe malnutrition affecting 11 percent of children under five.

World Vision is using this data to plan the establishment of therapeutic and supplementary feeding centers in areas of greatest need. Four centers have already been opened in Monrovia. In the rural areas, there are still many displaced Liberians in desperate need of assistance.

Five World Vision health clinics are now providing vaccinations and emergency health care to orphans and displaced Liberians. Hygiene kits have been distributed to mothers and pregnant women.

Association Francois-Xavier Bagnoud (AFXB) was founded 15 years ago by the Countess Albina du Boisrouvray, in honor of her son, François-Xavier Bagnoud who had died in a helicopter accident in Mali. The critical mission of AFXB is to fight AIDS and support the world's orphans and vulnerable children in the wake of the AIDS pandemic by advocating for their needs and by providing direct support to families and communities that care for them. In less than seven years, there will be almost 100 million orphans and vulnerable children around the world. Albina du Boisrouvray sought to identify and apply practical solutions to the social, economic and health problems caused by the AIDS pandemic. AFXB has been a leading innovator and pioneer in the fight against HIV/AIDS and the formulation of low-cost solutions to care for those infected and affected by the virus. One area of great success for AFXB has been by establishing community-based programs that empower and support communities that care for and support vulnerable children affected by AIDS and poverty. AFXB has reached millions of people especially children in 18 countries with 90 diverse programs. For more information, go to their web site: www.fxb.org .

Natural Partners, aims to mobilize the human and financial resources needed to save a “critical mass” of some of the world’s most valued ecosystems, partnering with local stakeholders to leave a natural legacy for generations to come. They are entrepreneurs, economists, and environmentalists who have worked for leading international environmental and development institutions with practical experience in both the business world and the public sector alike in the USA and abroad. Natural Partners is a non-profit organization incorporated in Washington, D.C., with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.

Urgent need
Many of the world’s most important ecosystems have already been significantly destroyed. In many cases, less than 10% of original areas remain, with only a small fraction of those remnants in good or near pristine condition. Time is running out, as the relentless destruction continues. Natural Partners teams up with local people to save our precious heritage, to preserve the aesthetic beauty, and to rescue the bio diversity of these unique places. Funding however is in short supply.

Priority Ecosystem
The beautiful Araucaria forest once covered most of the south of Brazil. Today, less than 1% of it remains intact and, incredibly, even that little is under attack by illegal loggers. NP has created a program known as Pro-Araucaria to acquire easement rights to protect the last remaining areas. The program was developed to provide not only the necessary financial incentives to owners of remnant areas to enter into permanent easement agreements, but also to fund the physical protection of the forest, making areas accessible for enjoyment by generations to come. This work is being done with Sociedade de Pesquisas em Vida Silvestre e Educação Ambiental (SPVS), one of Brazil’s leading and best known environmental organizations.