Tessanne’s heart for the poor

Tessanne at the Food for the Poor Boca Building Hope Gala on Feb 1

We caught up with Tessanne Chin during her tour of the Food for the Poor Headquarters in Coconut Creek, Florida on Friday.  Tess was there to learn more about the charity she was supporting at the “Building Hope Gala” for Food for the Poor, which has raised millions for the needy in some 17 Caribbean and Latin American countries. 

She said she found the exhibits showing ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos particularly moving.  “To the left I saw these two almost skeletal little sisters, and to the right two chubby little munchkins!” she exclaimed.  “There is a light in their eyes where there was none before!” She said that the work of Food for the Poor showed it was “an empowering organisation, not a pity organisation.”

Tessanne was happy to be a part of this effort.  “If we are not standing for each other together, then why are we here?” she asked.  “At the end of the day, we are all just people and we all need to look out for each other.  I was happy to help Shaggy’s cause for the Bustamante Hospital because our children must have the basics – food, clean water, shelter, medicine.  They must!”

The compassionate Jamaican reflected that there must be a way to end the grinding poverty that exists in so many parts of the world, including Jamaica: “There has to be a better way, and I want to be a part of that change.”

The following night, Tessanne wowed the audience at the Building Hope Gala.  When they asked for an encore, she insisted that they pledged more donations to Food for the Poor's Haiti initiative - building 65 houses in a remote, depressed area of the country.  Of course, they obliged!