Disaster Response Somalia Project #8493

Food Crisis Hits Horn of Africa

by Mercy Corps

Project Report | May 9, 2012
Horn of Africa Update: Providing Water and More

By Salma Bahramy | Sr. Communications Officer for Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps supplied water in Wajir County, Kenya

Because of your donation and support, Mercy Corps has helped 1.6 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia survive the drought and food crisis. Now we are helping people recover from flooding and build resilience to withstand future cycles of drought and famine.

In all areas, we are helping communities build back smarter so that they can better withstand these kinds of crises in the future. Our work isn’t just about providing emergency food and water in the short term. We’re helping pastoral
communities become more resistant to drought in the long term – helping them better capture, store and manage water, improving health and long-term care of livestock, supporting frail and damaged economic systems, and other vital, smart interventions.

Here are some water-specific efforts we have been able to do because of you:

ETHIOPIA:
Mercy Corps has distributed water, improved water storage capacity and improved access to water to help 284,140 people survive. We have installed 45 new large-capacity water tanks/reservoirs, restored 104 water storage ponds and 23 wells, developed 5 natural springs which are benefiting 12 different communities and expanded over-all water storage capacity in the most drought affected communities by over 175 million liters and we are continuing to maintain other water storage facilities to help communities benefit from the rains.

KENYA:
Mercy Corps delivered enough water to supply 290,664 people and their animals for three months and 10,000-liter water storage tanks to help 10 communities harvest rainwater. Mercy Corps is currently rehabilitating water points in 19 different villages. These include over 100 wells, 8 boreholes and 7 water pans. Once rehabilitated, these water points are expected to improve water access for over 53,000 individuals in these villages.

SOMALIA:

MOGADISHU: Mercy Corps has supplied 15,000 people with clean drinking water for five months. We constructed two water access points and installed water-piping systems from boreholes in one IDP camp, benefiting over 4500 people.

CENTRAL SOMALIA: We constructed 14 water access points and installed water-piping systems from boreholes in nine IDP communities benefitting a total of 19,800 individuals. 4 shallow wells constructed/rehabilitated for two communities benefitting 6000 individuals.

PUNTLAND: Mercy Corps has constructed five water points and supplied water to 17,640 individuals in IDP camps and neighboring districts. We distributed Water Vouchers to 3,780 people in five displacement camps to get daily water supply for three months.

Creating these changes would not have happened without you. Thank you.

Livestock accessing Mercy Corps supplied water

Women taking water home in Kenya

Links:

Permalink

Feb 19, 2012
A Simple Solution Makes a Big Impact for Ethiopia's Farming Families

By Carlene Deits | Project Leader

Grain is kept fresh and usable thanks to solution

Mercy Corps teams in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia have already helped more than 1.5 million people caught in the grip of drought and hunger. But six months after this emergency first hit international headlines, there’s still much more to do.

But because of you, we're saving more lives every day.

When drought hits and families are struggling to survive, the solutions don’t always have to be complicated or expensive. As Mercy Corps' Erin Gray learnt from our team in Ethiopia, something as simple as a sack can mean the difference between hunger and happiness for a farming family.

Our team has been helping communities in Ethiopia since the first signs of drought began more than two years ago, bringing fresh water, food, medicine and supplies to those who need them most. But where a few crops can still grow, in the Oromia Region on the edge of the dry zone, our team has also found a straightforward way to increase harvests and give families more food to go around.

When maize and sorghum crops are harvested, farmers traditionally store them in pits dug below ground. The grains are used to make injera pancakes, the staple diet for most families in this part of Ethiopia, so it’s important that they last as long as possible. But drought makes for a meager harvest to begin with, and pests, bugs and mold all take their toll, leaving up to 40 percent of the harvest ruined.

Our local staff decided to find a way to stop so much of the harvest going to waste.

They talked to farmers across the area, and together came up with a simple solution: putting the grain in plastic-coated canvas sacks before burying it in the pits. The bags are made locally, are cheap to produce and buy, and they really work. They keep out bugs and protect the grain from moisture in the surrounding soil, keeping the whole harvest as fresh as possible. Now, barely any is spoiled during storage, and farmers and their families have more to feed themselves and even sell to others so they can buy things they need when times are hard.

Halima and Meymouna Abdi, the wives of local farmers, told me how it’s making their lives easier: “We are so happy now we know what a difference using sacks to store the grain makes. We have much more food for our children and it will help us all survive times when the rains do not come and harvests are small. Our lives as mothers are easier too because our children don’t complain anymore. Before, even when we had grain to eat they would tell us that it tasted old and stale. Now our cooking tastes so much better and everyone is happy.”

It didn’t take hoards of experts in universities or science labs years to develop this breakthrough. It doesn’t cost the earth. And it doesn’t need to be shipped in from thousands of miles away. It’s a simple, elegant idea that the community can implement themselves and that will help them for years to come.

But the Crisis is Far from Over.

Unfortunately, the crisis far from over. Mercy Corps needs your help to continue to respond to the crisis and implement recovery methods. In Ethiopia, Mercy Corps' teams are rapidly responding to a dramatic drop in nutrients for children, particularly in areas hit hard by loss of livelihoods. In Kenya, people have lost everything, primarily their livestock. And in Somalia we are dealing with the conflict and the safety issues that arise when daily resources are absent.

To learn more, watch this video on the Ethiopia Innovation: Grain Storage.

Thank you for your support!

Halima Abdi and Meymouna Abdi

Links:

Permalink

Dec 7, 2011
A gift that changes lives in the Horn of Africa

By Carlene Deits | Project Leader

At a mobile clinic, photo: Bija Gutoff

Rain has started to fall in some areas in the Horn of Africa but it will take weeks and even months of rain for pastures and animals to recover. In some places, rain could actually increase human misery by leading to outbreaks of diarrhea and other ailments. In other places that we work the land is still bone dry.

Mercy Corps has been working in the region for years and has teams working in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. We are already helping more than 1 million people in the region survive continuing to deliver clean water, food, medical attention, jobs, agricultural training, and other programs. In keeping with Mercy Corps’ approach, we are helping communities both survive the massive shock – and build back better. Because of your donation, we are able to continue our life-saving work. Thank you.

As the holiday season approaches we would like to encourage you to continue supporting our efforts around the world by making a donation to Mercy Corps on behalf of a loved one. Make a donation in honor of someone special and get them a gift they will never forget.

Through GlobalGiving, it’s easy to make this meaningful gift. Just select the ‘gift in honor of’ tab under the orange ‘donate’ button on the left side of the donation page. Choose how you want the recipient of your gift to know that a donation has been made in their honor. Designate the amount you would like to give and hit the ‘donate’ button. Then customize the card as you’d like!

Also don’t forget to redeem any Global Giving Gift Cards that you may have received this year. Mercy Corps has many important projects that we could use your help with.

And, if you make a donation of $50 or more before the end of the year, we would love to thank you by sending our beautiful 2012 Mercy Corps Calendar. Just forward your email receipt and provide us with your mailing address to fundraising@mercycorps.org.

However you choose to give to Mercy Corps this year, know that your gift will help people living in some of the toughest places in the world lead more productive, safe, and healthy lives.

From all of us here at Mercy Corps, thank you and Happy Holidays!

Water MC trucked in, photo: Erin Gray

2012 Mercy Corps Calendar

Links:

Permalink

‹ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.