A year ago, the world watched as a food crisis unfolded in East Africa.

What seemed like non-stop media coverage last summer prompted millions of Canadians to respond to help people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia who were affected by drought, conflict and famine.

Today, another food crisis is unfolding, this time in the Sahel region of West Africa.

So far, there has been limited media attention, despite the fact that over 18 million people face food shortages due to drought and late and erratic rains that have crippled harvests.

Through its alliance with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB), CRWRC is already half-way through a project that is providing six months (April to September) of food assistance to 28,434 Nigeriens. In addition to food-for-work projects, CRWRC is providing grain to families at a subsidized price. Those who have been identified by CRWRC’s long-term partners as unable to participate in food-for-work or afford subsidized grain are receiving free food rations.

In total, CFGB has committed $9.7 million to projects in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. These projects will reach over 257,000 people in need.

A note from Jim Cornelius, Executive Director of CFGB

When I visited the Sahel region in May, I saw that grain bins were already empty—people had used up the little they were able to grow. Until the next harvest in fall, they will need help to survive.

For this response, we need your help. I invite you to help people like Yapoa Lale, a mother of four in the village of Tamfahou, Niger. When I visited Yapoa, I asked her how much food she had. “The storage is finished, there is nothing left,” she said.

I asked how the lack of food was affecting her. “Hunger is the biggest sickness you can have,” she told me, pointing at her body. “My body is not supposed to look like this.”

When I asked how her children were doing, she told me that she was unable to produce enough milk for her infant daughter, Martine. "She sucks, but there is no milk,” she said.

Another villager, David Dale, explained that the rains started very late, then stopped before the millet was ready to give grain. “Many animals have already died,” he said. “If the situation persists, we are going to die.”

Fortunately, people like Yapoa and David are receiving help through projects funded by the Foodgrains Bank. Many more are living close to the margin; your gift this summer will help keep them from falling over the edge.

Thanks for considering this opportunity to help people in the Sahel! After my visit to the region, I have little doubt that our response is essential. Many of the people I met faced drought only two years earlier, and now have to deal with this crisis. Talking to them, I saw the effects of deep and grinding poverty, and the impoverishing effect of repeated shocks. The food we are providing will not only help meet their immediate food needs, but also helps stop them from sliding into deeper impoverishment in the future. Thanks again for your ongoing support.

~ Canadian Foodgrains Bank / CRWRC Communications