news & events
Ethiopia - emergency update for Harvest
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This year MRDF is urging churches to reclaim the essence
In the highlands of Ethiopia people have been caught in a vicious cycle: when crops have failed and they cannot eat they have felled trees to sell wood. Now deforestation is causing soil erosion, less food can be produced and the forests have been all but wiped out. |
 Emergency seed for planting is distributed in Ethiopia, enabling |
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MRDF is working through a local partner agency to break this cycle by enabling people to work co-operatively and use the land in different, sustainable ways. This means families are able to reclaim degraded land, grow new crops and farm traditional produce more efficiently.
‘We chose to feature our Ethiopian partner for Harvest because the partnership we have there typifies MRDF's way of “doing development". The failure of the May rains means families have had to eat their seed corn and malnutrition, amongst children, has increased sharply. This illustrates just how vulnerable the people are – and why MRDF's work there is so important,' said Amanda Norman, MRDF's Supporter Relations Director.
Because of our ongoing relationship with the very partner featured in the Harvest pack, MRDF has been able to respond to this crisis through a solution devised by the local community – and now it is being delivered by them too – with £23,500 of funding from MRDF.
Families have been receiving emergency seed on the agreement that, as they harvest, an equivalent amount of seed will eventually be repaid. The resulting seed bank will provide a co-operative system for the efficient storage and distribution of grain, providing the community with the resilience to withstand environmental shocks in the future.
Had this partnership not already developed the local infrastructure and relationships to make speedy action possible, 13,000 more people would be facing starvation this Autumn. Their only hope would have been handouts of emergency food aid. Instead, this crisis intervention has the potential for a lasting benefit.
‘It is important that in being moved by news stories of emergencies we don't lose sight of long-term development,' Sam Tuck, MRDF's Programme Officer for East Africa explains. ‘It's ongoing and genuine local partnerships, such as this one, that enable communities right on the margins of survival to stand up to present challenges and face the future with self-sufficiency and hope.'
The Bible shows us that God has always intended looking after those in need to be part of our Harvest celebrations. And this is why MRDF is asking churches to Reclaim Harvest with them and support long-term, sustainable development that makes small miracles like this one possible.
The emergency grant for Ethiopia has already been paid from MRDF's general funds. We would be grateful if churches would designate Harvest donations for “general funds” so that we can respond to similar crises as and when the need arises.
You can download MRDF's Reclaim Harvest pack online or order it for free by calling 020 7467 5132. An accompanying CD ROM of |
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