Praying for families in food crisis affected NigerMark Bulpitt - 23 Aug 2012

In June I was in food crisis affected Niger. My trip there was filled with contrasts - I saw so many things that present hope for the future here in the country, however the situation then – as it does now -  remains desperate.

Back then one morning didn’t start quite as I expected. It rained and it poured and the car I was travelling in had to navigate slowly through a fair amount of knee-deep brown water to reach our destination, Isame, a community supported by World Vision child sponsorship. 

The start of the rainy season is always welcome in West Africa, as not enough rain is one of the key causes of this food crisis. However, while this rain is good in the long-term, immediately it only makes life more difficult here. It hadn’t rained there in a long time, making the ground far too firm to absorb this rain. The result was surface flooding in many places, which made a trip to a health and feeding centre increasingly difficult. Further flooding may make it impossible; there is a race against time.

Mariama, president of Soma village’s gardening committee.

Despite these difficulties though, the rain brought optimism for many people in Isame. None more so than Mariama, an amazing woman, who is the president of the gardening committee here.

It is the ‘hungry season’ in Niger, the time between harvests when many of last years crops have been eaten or sold and the next crop to replenish this deficit is still some way off.  Mariama explained to me how this rain means they will be able to begin planting soon, though the harvest won’t be for several more months. She also told me how World Vision supplies the seeds to her committee, because they are very expensive, as well as teaching her to grow new crops that will provide better nutrition and withstand droughts more effectively in the future.

 After driving through more murky water we reached a World Vision health centre that was built a few years ago and made possible by World Vision child sponsors. This health centre provides vital services for 66 villages with around 13,500 people. Since the crisis here began this health centre has also become a feeding centre, caring for malnourished children and distributing emergency food to the community with help from the World Food Programme and UNICEF. The health centre manager told me that the children in this area were stronger to face the food crisis because of World Vision’s previous support.

Earlier that week I had visited a different health and feeding centre in another region, where I came face to face with some of the children worst affected by this food crisis. I saw some of World Vision’s immediate response work and I was so pleased to see malnourished children being brought back to health. On this day, I got to see a bit more of the wider picture, visiting some of World Vision’s longer term projects. It was great to see the dedication of World Vision and their staff to seeing lasting change here in Niger.

Despite the positive work I had seen, the rain made it more difficult for malnourished children to be reached to receive help, and though planting will start soon, people here still have several months to wait before they can harvest any food. The immediate situation here is still critical and the people of Niger need your help to ensure that their children survive this hungry season and make it to the harvest.

What to pray for:

We ask you to please join us in praying for the children and their families affected by the food crisis. We pray that they feel God’s love in this challenging time and that His presence strengthens them so that they may become more resilient.

We pray for supporters to be moved into donating to World Vision’s West Africa appeal by August 30, where the British Government are doubling these donations pound for pound.

Please join us in praying for the continued strength of aid workers in Niger, that they can continue to courageously assist those affected by the crisis to prevent further loss of life this hunger season.

We have a loving and generous God and we pray that He will bless the families of Niger and the whole of West Africa abundantly during their time of need.