Tearfund has for the first time appointed
a full time advisor on food security in the Horn of Africa. Mulugeta
Dejenu Haile has just commenced work in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa,
with a brief to tackle the underlying causes of famine, before it spills
onto our news bulletins as another disaster.
Tearfund desk officer for the Horn of
Africa, Keith Etherington, says, Even in Ethiopia there is the potential
to produce enough food for everyone. If the people choose
to help each other there can be food security, even in times of drought.'
The issue of food security is explored in a new church resource pack from Tearfund called, All You Can Eat. The pack contains a video, poster, drama sketch, and leader's guide aimed at harvest festivals this autumn.
A study guide accompanying the pack shows that despite population growth and climate change, the world is actually producing more food than it needs. A person can live on 220kg of grain per year; global production is about 350kg per person*, so in theory there's plenty to go round.
The guide notes 'nature cannot take all the blame for food insecurity; economic, social and political factors play a large part.' Thailand is given as an example of what can be achieved. Sustainable rural development over the past 20 years has eliminated severe malnutrition among children and reduced the proportion of people living in poverty from 32% in1988 to 11% in 1996.**
The 'All You Can Eat' leader's guide gives a new twist to the traditional Tearfund hunger lunch. It suggests holding a fellowship meal with a deliberate element of unfairness in the distribution of food. Some get a full Sunday dinner with generous helpings and others a bowl of rice and a glass of water.
When the concept was tried out in Cranleigh Community Church in Bournemouth, it was the children who had the most outspoken reactions. Families also struggled with difficult decisions about how they would share what they had. Everyone learned that sharing is not something which comes naturally.
The video in the pack looks at the lives of subsistence farmers in Burkina Faso, in West Africa. In the village of Tangaye, farmer's wife Ramata Ouedraogo reveals her concerns about the insecurity of the food supply: 'I really worry when we don't have enough to eat. I go to bed but I don't sleep, because I am thinking all the time about what I am going to feed the family tomorrow.'
The provision of oxen for ploughing, paid for by Tearfund, helps the farmers to increase production by 50-75%. It has also boosted the standing of Christians in the community.
To order 'All you can Eat' for =A39.95 including p&p call Tearfund on 0845 355 8355 or e-mail enquiry@tearfund.org <mailto:enquiry@tearfund.org
Media enquiries to Keith Ewing or Peter Laverock at the Tearfund Press Office, on 0208 943 7901/7779 or media@tearfund.org
The New Sudan Council of Churches has issued a full press statement on the Kisumu talks, which we can e-mail to you on request media@tearfund.org