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Every day, Minta, a 40 year-old mother of six, fetches water for the household, does the laundry in the river, labors on her millet farm and, if there is food, prepares the family meals before collapsing into bed, exhausted. But during this particularly difficult lean season, there is no food, and the daily grind has become even more unbearable. With her youngest child wasting away from hunger, Minta has had to walk three hours in the scorching sun on an empty stomach in the hope of getting some food aid. "My husband has a donkey, but I don't know how to ride it," she said apologetically. She sits under the trees, sharing the shade with hundreds of other women hoping to receive food and medical aid at the main hospital in Tillabery, in one of the areas worst affected by Niger's ongoing food crisis.
This is an opportunity to show compassion to the hungry while
telling them the wonderful Gospel of Christ Jesus. Life has always been tough
for Niger, rated the second poorest nation in the world by the UN. Normally
food shortages last several months in the "lean season" before the
annual grain harvest. One in four children under the age of 5 dies each year
of hunger and poverty. But in 2004 the rural population was hit by drought and
the biggest locust invasion for 20 years.
Right now in Niger, West Africa, an estimated 3.6 million people are in critical need of food; 800,000 children under the age of five are at risk of starvation. A lack of access to clean water compounds the problem for the very young. Diarrhea, combined with a lack of food, means that children waste away.
Christians respond . . .
Brethren are already on the ground working with local communities to distribute
food and other much-needed resources. Relief efforts will be carried out by
the School of Biblical Studies, along with the 31 World Bible School follow-
up evangelists working in Northern Nigeria, coordinated by Dr. Solomon Aguh,
President of the School of Biblical Studies in Nigeria, and Steven L. Worley,
who has worked in Africa for the last 20 years with Dr. Aguh. The outreach to
Niger is 3 years old: "The missionaries in Niger are outstanding evangelists
who have accomplished the initial goals set for them with speed and dispatch.
God has truly blessed us with many men and women who are willing and
able to accomplish any task for Christ Jesus," says Steve Worley.
Eyewitness report of initial relief team in Niger:
"We thank you for sending us to Niger to assess the famine
and give food to these hunger-stricken people . . .The famine is serious, especially
in the villages. We saw many people hungry and looking sick because of lack
of food. Some look for herbs to eat but could not find them . . . . . . You
see them sitting under trees waiting for any one who will come to their aid
. . .
“These people need rice, beans, oil, tomatoes, sugar, soap, and if possible, clothing. The people in the villages said there is nothing. Sometimes they look for herbs to eat. Even the herbs are not there for there is no rain. Some of them eat once in two days if and when possible.”
Recommendations of Niger team:
1. Concentrate on areas where hunger is most severe and help
will have the most impact on the community and cause the church to grow.
2. Respond immediately by sending money so that food and other
items could be bought locally. This will avoid the delay of shipping food from
America and problems with clearing containers and government policies regarding
importation. The two missionaries in Niger with some brethren in Nigeria can
carry out this short-term assignment.
3. Aim for intermediate and longer term needs because if you look at the crops that are planted now there is no hope of harvesting something substantial. The crops are looking stunted and very soon (probably by the end of this month) rain will stop and nothing will come from the farm. This means that the hunger will continue till next year.
4. Purchasing food items locally will not preclude making a shipment
of relief materials from America. Shipment of food from America can
be made so that we will make distributions several times over a 3 or 5-month
period to create a long-lasting effect.
5. The church can distribute the food herself instead of giving
it to the government. However, part of it should be given to the government
so that the church can create good relationship with the government. The church
in Niger together with some brethren in Nigeria can do the distribution. Nigerian
brethren should be involved because the church in Niger is so young and small.
"We thank you so much for the work you are doing for the advancement of the gospel in Africa . . ." - In Christian Love, Jacob Hundu, David Ayuba, Pierre Rimorbe
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