World Vision responds: pockets of heaven in desolate fields in Niger
By Adel Sarkozi
In Zalika’s village, World Vision has distributed seeds and fertiliser, watering cans, farming tools, provided eight power-driven water pumps, fenced the garden to keep it safe from animals, and trained villagers in farming.
You can see the signs of the growing food and nutrition crisis everywhere you go in Niger.West Africa’s largest country, Niger, is also the worst affected. Nine million people are vulnerable and at risk of the sweeping crisis here. The figure might mean little on its own, but if you consider that there has been a rise of three million people affected since last September, it is of great concern. This also counts for more than half of the population.
Within Niger, Tillabery – in the northwestern part - is the region the worst affected. Not surprisingly, it is one of the hottest places in Africa and on the earth, with temperatures often exceeding 50˚C in May. Over 900,000 people are at risk here, and of these, over 200,000 are in a critical situation.
The lack of rain last year, the failed crops, the rising food prices and declining food stocks, the cycle of drought that has been hitting the country have rendered entire families and communities vulnerable.
People try to cope the best way they can. More and more are resorting to desperate measures: leaving their villages, their families and migrating to cities to work or to beg; eating wild leaves from trees and bushes or animal feeds; selling their animals – their only livelihoods - even though their price is getting lower whilst food price is getting higher.
Yet, the resilience and determination of the people who live here is admirable. And so are the small solutions, or what might seem small.
A vegetable garden, for example. Anywhere else you would take this for granted - a small thing. But in the harsh, arid environment of Tillebery, such a small thing can make a big difference.
Lush cabbages, lettuce, peppers, aubergine, potato and sweet potato in the background, a smiling and brightly clad Zalika Beidari – a 45-year-old mother of nine children and president of the women’s group working on Farie vegetable garden in World Vision Niger’s Isame ADP – explains, "This garden is a great help for us especially in this time of the crisis. We eat some of the vegetables and sell the remaining. The cabbages are especially popular; many times we have people traveling from Niamey (capital city of Niger and at 120 km away) to buy vegetables here. With the money we earn, we can then buy cereals (which has been sparse and now exhausted or nearly exhausted due to the low crops last year).”
Times are difficult, she goes on, pointing out that several men have already left the village in search for work, and to try to make ends meet.
For the remaining women and children, maintaining the gardens is their sole activity, and a significant way of survival.
Children, wearing equally brightly coloured clothes, are helping their mothers with the watering cans. Amidst the surrounding desolate fields and the tales of despair and worry, this garden seems a pocket of heaven.
“We are grateful to World Vision for the seeds and the pumps they gave us to draw water from the river. For helping us have this garden,” Zalika says.
The garden has been set up by World Vision in this village in 2008 as one of the medium, longer-term disaster risk reduction interventions in a country faced with reoccurring drought. It brings relief in hard times such as now to 204 households."We can see a clear difference between the communities who have access to the vegetable gardens - basically access to vegetables all year around - and those who don’t. Those with the vegetable gardens are coping much better in the face of the crisis. They have lots of lettuce and salads, and other vegetables that they can either consume or sell, and buy in exchange cereal and other food. The gardens are made possible because the communities here have access to water all year around and are less impacted by the lack of rain. These gardens become small oasis in a land affected by drought. This is especially true, and a great example in the case of Isame ADP, which is literally based in the region affected the most by the food crisis,” says Ilia Maman Harou, Food Security Manager with World Vision Niger.
“World Vision is working towards setting up additional vegetable gardens, which will be made possible through drip-fed irrigations systems, or drilled water holes - the latter part of the Niger Rural Water Project. World Vision aims to establish 700 water points over the next five years – a major contribution to the 15,000 that the government is planning. The difference a little water can make is so significant here,” he continues.
In Zalika’s village, World Vision has distributed seeds and fertiliser, watering cans, farming tools, provided eight power-driven water pumps, fenced the garden to keep it safe from animals, and trained villagers in farming.
Across Niger, World Vision has established 28 gardens which are all functional across eight ADPs (in four regions).
These are small but clearly powerful solutions to help with a bigger problem – tackling food crisis in Niger.
World Vision – together with its partners, including governments, World Food Program, UNICEF and Food and Agriculture Organization - aims to help over 800,000 people in Niger, and 1.4 million people across the countries where it works in West Africa, including more than 100,000 children, by implementing:
• Short term initiatives, responding to the immediate need, through Cash For Work and Food For Work activities; food and seed distribution; and
• Medium-to long term response initiatives: including Disaster Risk Reduction interventions in form of Cereal Banking; Vegetable Gardening; Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition programs, the latter addressing high malnutrition level in the affected countries.
Partager