wfn.org | CRC NEWS: CRWRC Responds to Famine in Niger

["Henry Hess" <hessh@crcna.ca>]

Aug. 23, 2005, Grand Rapids, Mich. - Drought, economic pressures, and
reduced access to grazing land are affecting hundreds of thousands in
Niger, especially the nomadic herds people of the Wodaabe and Tuareg
tribes. CRWRC's international relief administrator Jacob Kramer reports.
"These families are in great need. Many of their children are paying the
ultimate price."
	Some reports estimate that 2.7 million Nigeriens are at risk of
starvation, including 800,000 children. While tracking migrating tribes
is challenging, increasingly substantial pockets of starving people are
being discovered and there is not enough food to meet their needs.
	CRWRC has been working in Niger since 1991 in the areas of
agriculture, literacy, health and income-earning programs. These
programs have helped shield hundreds of families from hunger and
drought.
Some farmers who participate in CRWRC programs planted early-maturing
millet and use fertilizer-enriched holes to improve their crops. As a
result, they had, even in drought, a good harvest that will carry them
through the current "hungry season."
	At the same time, CRWRC is working with its Nigerien partners to
protect communities from future disaster. They are building emergency
grain banks to draw from to provide early assistance to villages
experiencing poor harvests. And they are developing plans to evaluate
food security throughout their regions on an annual basis.
	During this time of crisis, CRWRC is working with its Nigerien
partners to carry out a food response program to those most in need.
This includes distribution of 60 metric tons of rice and 1.2 metric tons
of cooking oil to 1,199 families from the Tuareg and Wodaabe tribes.
	For more information, visit www.crwrc.org <http://www.crwrc.org/> or
call 1-800-55-CRWRC. In Canada, call 1-800-730-3490.
CRWRC is a non-profit agency of the Christian Reformed Church in North
America providing a ministry of development, relief, and justice
education to people in need around the world.

---------------------------------
Henry Hess
Director of Communications
Christian Reformed Church
905-336-2920 ext.236
hessh@crcna.ca

To learn more about the Christian Reformed Church, visit www.crcna.org