Alleviating hunger in Niger
The people of Amanass began to run out of grain in February, and have had very little to eat since. Many men have left to go to the bigger towns to seek work, leaving their wives and children. Women forage in the bush for wild fruits and leaves just to sustain themselves.
“We see women digging in termite mounds to gather the grain that the insects have stored,” said Aaron Thatcher, Livelihoods Program Manager for Samaritan’s Purse in Niger.
The country is in the midst of a devastating food crisis. A year of severe drought has led to widespread crop failures and critical food shortages. Millions of people are at risk of starvation in what has been called a “silent crisis.”
Amanass is one of five Nigerian villages at the edge of the Sahara desert where Samaritan’s Purse is helping through an emergency 'cash-for-work' program.
The program gives payment for labour. Able-bodied men work by digging crescents designed to catch rainwater, stop topsoil erosion, promote plant growth and ultimately make the hardpan soil useable.
Women also benefit from this project by caring for the young multi-purpose trees in the nursery that later will be planted. They use tools to break the top of the soil to plant grass seed to create pastureland for nomadic cattle herders.
“This project is boosting the capacity, income and livelihood of the local population, while helping to regenerate degraded, unusable land,” Thatcher said. “With the earnings they make, the beneficiaries can now afford to purchase grain in the market to feed their families.”
Fadima is one of 77 beneficiaries in the village of Amanass.
In order to make money to buy food for her family, Fadima used to cut firewood, walk for three days to the market, sell it, and return with food.
“Walking three days is very painful for me,” she said.
Not only was this a great hardship on her physically, but also the practice of deforestation is devastating to the environment. It causes desertification, which in turn destroys the livelihoods of farming and herding for these people.
“I am grateful for Samaritan’s Purse because I no longer need to sell wood to survive,” Fadima said.
Fadima and the people of Amanass say that the program reminds them of the harvest time, where there is no hunger and food is abundant.
WAYS YOU CAN HELP
PRAY: Please pray for the people facing critical food shortages, and for our response.
GIVE: Make a donation to to help provide emergency food to Niger and other countries that are dealing with disasters and emergencies. Visit our news story about the crisis in Niger for more information on what your giving can do.
