Last year thanks to people like you we were able to feed thousands facing a food crisis in Zambia. Now we are providing them with the tools to try to ensure they are able to face any future famine.

You may have heard the adage ‘Give a man a fish and he eats for a day; teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime’ … However, it’s also true that sometimes you need to urgently give a man a fish to assuage his immediate and debilitating hunger before he will have the strength to learn how to fish. This was the case when, in early 2020, people like you made it possible for Samaritan’s Purse to feed 13,020 people suffering from a severe food shortage in Zambia

Ironically, in late 2019 this food shortage began, brought on by a severe drought, but in early 2020 the problem was exacerbated by excessive flooding. The crisis faced by communities in the region remained the same — crops were destroyed and thousands of people were at risk of severe hunger and even starvation. Throughout our response, the church network we partnered with in Zambia prioritised support for the most vulnerable groups facing the most difficult circumstances. ‘The distribution of relief food mainly targeted child-headed households, the aged, terminally ill and other vulnerable groups.’ — TIMES OF ZAMBIA, FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 2020

Together we supported children like Siambango Mundia. As a 14-year-old boy he is looking after three of his siblings (twin boys aged 12 years old and his sister, aged just eight).

Through a gift of three months’ worth of food, the team was able to put a big smile on his face and support this desperately needy family, while sharing the love of God in a tangible way. “Thank you very much for helping my family put food on the table, I feel so relieved and the peace of God that He truly loves the orphans,” Siambango Mundia told our team.

Siambango Mundia receiving food to feed his younger brothers and sisters

Now it’s time to teach fishing The reality is, people don’t want handouts. Most simply long for the dignity of being able to provide for themselves and their families. Together, we can make this possibility a reality. Through training and support, Samaritan’s Purse is working towards introducing enhanced early warning systems, raised plinths for villages to protect them from flooding, renovated embankments and roads, multipurpose flood shelters and climate-resilient crops. In the most recent rainy season over 2.3 million people in Zambia were expected to be left food-insecure due to the effects of intermittent droughts and flooding.

Together we can ensure that people like Siambango Mundia, who is only 14, can grow up with the knowledge and tools to provide for his young brothers and sister in the coming years, supported by the resilience and infrastructure to withstand future disasters. In many areas of the world, something as simple as the provision of training in agricultural methods, as well as livestock or farming tools can vastly improve the lives of those living in poverty, providing them with sustainable food and income.

Most importantly, your gift creates an opportunity for the Gospel to be shared with them. Will you prayerfully consider blessing a family in need today?