The young mother of three children is not alone. Across Ethiopia, families like Boru’s have been struggling to survive as the region endures its second year of inadequate rain fall. This year’s drought is the worst the country has seen in 32 years and has left hundreds of thousands of people with severe food shortages.
Ethiopia is just one of several countries struggling this year as a result of El Niño weather. In some countries, El Niño has caused flooding but in many the result has been severe drought. Disasters have been declared in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia, Indonesia and Ethiopia.
World Renew is responding.
Boru and her neighbors are receiving vegetable oil, maize and pulses to meet their daily food requirements.
In the past, Boru and her husband would support their family by farming their quarter hectare of farmland. Since it wasn’t enough for their family of five, they also worked as share crop farmers on other people’s land. This year, even that hasn’t been enough.
They have sold off their livestock and other assets in order to buy food. Now that those are depleted, they were out of ways to feed themselves.
Through the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, World Renew is working with Food for the Hungry Ethiopia to provide food rations to 41,043 people in the Dugda district of Ethiopia. Boru and her neighbors are receiving vegetable oil, maize and pulses to meet their daily food requirements. For families with children under the age of five, World Renew is also providing famix – a protein rich food supplement specially designed for young children.
Boru’s smile as she receives her family’s food rations is a testament to just how much this support means to her and her family. It has been a true answer to prayer and will sustain them until they can plant again.
World Renew is also providing food to families in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia.
Donate online to World Renew's El Niño Food Crisis reponse
or mail you check, marked "El Niño Food Crisis", to:
World Renew US
1700 28th St SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49508
Tel: 1-800-552-7972
World Renew Canada
3475 Mainway
P.O. Box 5070 STN LCD
Burlington, Ontario, L7R 3Y8
Tel: 1-800-730-3490