Global food crisis: Helping through MCC

Escalating food prices are pushing more people in low-income countries into poverty.

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), working in partnership with local agencies throughout the world, is closely monitoring the impact of the food crisis and formulating appropriate responses.

MCC has a long history of addressing issues relating to food security and food injustices. MCC food programs include direct food assistance, water projects and agricultural supports. MCC also works with community groups and governments to advocate for just trade and fair economic policies.

Here are a few examples of MCC programs that address the global food crisis.

Food relief in Chad

MCC is supporting a project in N’Djamena, Chad, after people in this capital city were displaced during an attempted coup in February 2008. To assist those who were displaced, MCC partners are providing food relief to approximately 720 people, with a particular emphasis on assisting the most vulnerable, including orphans, widows and people living with HIV/AIDS.

Food access in Afghanistan

MCC is supporting 5,000 Afghans suffering from chronic hunger in Wardak and Badakhshan provinces. In addition to providing families with food over a period of six months, the project will also improve food access through the construction of roads and crop irrigation systems.

Disaster response in Uganda and Bangladesh

Flooding was widespread across eastern Africa in 2007. In Uganda, approximately 300,000 people were affected by the flooding.

People in the Olilim region were particularly affected by the flooding as they had just returned home from camps they had fled to because of ongoing conflict in northern Uganda. The crops destroyed by the floods were supposed to be the first harvests for many who had returned. In partnership with the local church diocese, MCC is distributing food to approximately 5,000 people in the Olilim area including children, women and the elderly.

MCC works with other CFGB members to provide food and agricultural inputs for approximately 66,000 people in the Teso region, also severely affected by the flooding.

Bangladesh is also prone to flooding because it is low lying. On November 15, 2007, Cyclone Sidr swept ashore, killing thousands in Bangladesh and affecting 8.9 million, many of whom are now homeless.

In partnership with other CFGB members, MCC responded to the disaster in Bangladesh by contributing lentils and rice which were distributed to more than 12,000 households.

Reforestation in Burundi and Ethiopia

MCC’s partners have initiated numerous food-for-work activities involving reforestation. These projects help families by providing increasingly expensive food during a community’s “hungry season.” An added benefit is that community participation in reforestation and soil conservation activities also enhances the local environment.

Forest cover in Burundi was severely affected by a decade-long civil conflict. Following a peace agreement in 2005, MCC’s partner, Help Channel Burundi, began distributing canned turkey and maize (corn) to families in numerous provinces. In exchange for food, community members participated in reforestation activities and the establishment of tree nurseries.

Since 2004, Help Channel Burundi has been responsible for planting more than 2 million trees on 1,385 hectares of land. In the upcoming year, the organization plans to distribute 680,000 forest tree seedlings and 100,000 agro-forest tree seedlings in the provinces of Kirundo, Rutana and Makamba.

In Ethiopia, MCC supported families facing chronic hunger. From 2005 to 2007, MCC’s partner, Meserete Kristos Church Relief and Development Association, provided participants with cash for the purchase of food and livestock for six months each year. This cash-for-work program in Boricha and Awassa-Zuria districts involved the participation of the community in numerous development activities including road construction and soil conservation.

The soil in the area had become severely degraded over the years, as many trees were cut down for the production and sale of charcoal—a common coping strategy when faced with seasonal food shortages.

The cash-for-work program prevented the further degradation of the environment by providing employment to the poorest, who were no longer forced to cut down trees to earn a living. The distribution and planting of 1 million tree saplings also enhanced soil quality and prevented further erosion.

Sand dams in Kenya and Mozambique

One of the most dangerous effects of climate change is its impact on water supply. Current climate models predict that if climate change continues unabated, the world’s driest areas will become even drier. This is already affecting numerous communities where MCC is active.

Through the MCC account at CFGB, MCC is helping communities adapt. Over the past few years MCC’s partners have helped communities in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid regions tackle climate change through the construction of sand dams. Community members are working with MCC’s partners, Excellent Development and SASOL Foundation, to construct 480 sand dams by 2011.

Sand dams capture and store water during the annual rainy season. The water captured by the dam is more easily accessible to the community which is then able to spend more time on agricultural activities and to increase production of fruits and vegetables.

MCC is now transferring the technology to other partners in Africa. In Mozambique, MCC is assisting the Christian Council of Mozambique in the construction of 40 sand dams in the Guro region. The suitability of such dams in Tanzania is also being explored.

Donate Now

 

See also:

Global food crisis: Complexities and opportunities What you can do Global food crisis: MCC responds