FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 2, 2006, GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. - The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (www.crwrc.org), as a member of the Canadian Food Grains Bank (www.foodgrainsbank.ca), is distributing more than 5,500 tons of corn, beans, peas and vegetable oil valued at approximately $2 million (US) in response to drought in Kenya. CRWRC is one of three coordinating CFGB member agencies leading the response, along with the Mennonite Central Committee (www.mcc.org) and Canadian Baptist Ministries (www.cbmin.org). Ten other church-based member agencies are providing support. More than half of the food will be purchased in eastern Africa from areas unaffected by drought. The remaining aid will be shipped from North America. Some areas of East Africa have been without significant rainfall for several years. The World Food Program reported recently that 6.25 million people are already without food supplies at life-sustaining levels. More than half of those affected (3.5 million) live in Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, and Ethiopia. Actual food distribution is being planned and implemented by the lead organizations' local partner agencies in Kenya. CRWRC will concentrate its efforts on a semi-arid Bamba area of Kenya, where farmers will be introduced to new technologies for soil and water conservation, harvest rainwater for irrigation, and plant drought-resistant crops. Improved livestock breeds, animal husbandry practices, and beekeeping will help increase food resources and income.
CRWRC is also promoting grain amaranth to improve food security in various countries in Africa. This CFGB-funded project, based on multi-year research in Kenya, will be implemented initially in Mali, Niger, Kenya and Uganda. For more information about CRWRC's International Relief programing in response to drought in East Africa, visit www.crwrc.org or call 1-800-55-CRWRC. CRWRC is a non-profit agency of the Christian Reformed Church in North America with offices in Burlington, Ontario, and Grand Rapids, Michigan. CRWRC ministers to the world's poorest and most vulnerable people in relief, development, and justice education. Incorporated in 1962, CRWRC is present in more than 30 countries and has a well-established international reputation for "living justice; loving mercy."
For more information contact Beth DeGraff at 616-648-7821.
................... Henry Hess Director of Communication The Christian Reformed Church To learn more about the Christian Reformed Church visit www.crcna.org