These new tools were provided by World Renew and the Canada Food Grains Bank (CFGB) and will be the key to completing some food-for-work projects.

The people in this region of Madagascar had a hard year in 2013. First, a cyclone struck the country bringing with it torrential rains and winds. Next, swarms of locusts came through and ate much of what remained in the fields. Then, a season of erratic rainfall meant that new crops could not be planted and harvested.

Already one of the world’s poorest countries with an average per capita income of only $260, many farming families were facing severe food shortages as a result of these successive disasters. World Renew was there. Together with its local church partner, the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar (FJKM), World Renew has been providing food and seeds to 1,000 families to help them get by until the next harvest season.

Tanja is one of the people who has been helped. This young mother of three walks for half an hour to reach the World Renew food distribution site. Her youngest child, Arnald, is strapped to her back for the whole journey. But all this hard work is worth it, as she and her fellow community members receive much-needed food and work together to improve their community.

Madagascar is already one of the world's poorest countries with an average per captiat income of only $260 and many farming families are facing severe food shortages as a result of recent disasters.

Tanja and her husband typically grow crops on two small fields, which provides them enough food to eat three small meals a day. When the cyclone hit last year, it completely destroyed one field. The other was 50% damaged. Then came the locusts. Although the villagers usually help each other prevent locust infestations, this year the swarms were bigger than anyone had ever experienced. They destroyed much of Tanja’s remaining crops.

Tanja and her husband were able to find some hourly work as hired hands for other farmers. With the income they earned, their family was able to eat one meal a day. It was not enough to keep them healthy and thriving. Through World Renew, Tanja now receives a monthly ration of 50 kg of rice, 3 liters of oil, and 10 kg of beans. The family is able to once again eat three meals per day.

In exchange for this food, Tanja and others in her community have committed to working 10 days per month on community projects.

“On the day of my visit, there are 514 beneficiaries at work cleaning out irrigation canals,” said Toni Fernhout, a World Renew International Relief Manager overseeing the project Madagascar. “Organized into 51 groups of 10 people each, they were given the task to clean out from 10 to 20 meters of canal per group, depending upon the difficulty of clearing the piece of canal they were assigned.” These irrigation canals had been filled in by silt during the cyclone. By clearing them out, farmers are improving their access to water for their fields in the dry season. These and other community improvement projects were chosen by the communities themselves as things to work on in exchange for food.

“There was an air of celebration; of people happy to be working together and meeting with success. Some children were scattered among the adults; some being taken care of by grandparents or older sisters, others were fishing or quietly playing,” said Fernhout about the work day. “In the canals, the people – from very young mothers to grandmothers, from young men to elders – were eager to have their pictures taken and many jumped out of the canals to pose for photos. In some areas, people were scooping up the dirt from the canal with their bare hands; others used pitchforks or shovels, while others were using machetes to cut down young trees or bushes that were too close to the canals.” World Renew provided shovels, hoes, and machetes to communities for these food-for-work projects. These tools will remain with the farmers after the project is over. World Renew is also providing seeds so that farmers can plant a new crop.

Please continue to keep this project in your prayers. Pray for George and Toni Fernhout, who are overseeing the project.

Pray for FJKM and the local churches who staff the food distributions. And pray that families like Tanja’s will have a good harvest this year.