The deepening food crisis in West Africa has sparked fears of a major famine. Events in the region might easily mirror the kind of devastation seen recently in the Horn of Africa unless urgent action is taken.

THE ISSUE
Poor rains have led to poor harvests in countries such as Mali, Niger, Mauritania, Chad, and Senegal. Crop yields have been non-existent in some areas and severely reduced in others, causing food prices to soar.

WHO IS AFFECTED?
About 13 million people are facing serious food shortages—a situation worsened by lack of clean water. Many affected are children, who are more vulnerable to malnutrition and disease, and must walk longer distances to find water.

WHAT’S BEING DONE NOW?
World Vision’s programs in this region seek to meet immediate needs and improve long-term food security. These include: nutrition programs for kids, cash-for-work programs (to offset food prices), fodder for livestock, and increasing emergency food reserves. (Learn more)

WHY SHOULD I CARE?
Without help, families will:

• be forced to leave their homes in search of land and water;
• face long periods of hunger and malnutrition;
• lose livestock and livelihoods; and,
• be unable to afford the price of food.

Of course, the ultimate consequence of this crisis is loss of life.

TAKE ACTION

• Donate to our West Africa Relief Fund.
• Spread the word. The small act of sharing this page with your friends and family helps create awareness, which is the first step to helping children in West Africa.
• Learn more. Check out the stories below that paint a vivid picture of the toll the food crisis is taking on families.

STORIES FROM WEST AFRICA

In Her Shoes
You are in a small health clinic in the south of Chad. It is 9 am. The air is hot, dry and filled with the sound of cries.

Hungry Mother, Hungry Child
You don’t need to see the ‘red’ result from the nutrition-monitoring armband to know that six-month-old Alhousanne is severely malnourished.

In the Garden of Good
For Diango, the battle to provide for her family has proven a huge challenge, one that the food crisis threatened to worsen.

Click here to learn more about World Vision Canada’s Youth Ambassador Program and how you could travel overseas to experience development firsthand.

This Mother’s Day, honour a special mom in your life, by empowering a woman in need.

Safe and secure—we demand it for Canadian children. But many children aren’t.

Boys and girls around the world are being pushed, forced or trafficked into 3D jobs: dirty, dangerous and degrading. This work damages their bodies, minds and well-being. Many are not able to leave these situations.

Click here to visit the Help Wanted campaign page where you can:

• Add your name to the petition to end child slavery
• Support children directly through fundraising or a monthly pledge
• Learn more about child trafficking and child labour
• Download posters, banners and Facebook badges to raise awareness
• For church youth groups, check out the Church Resources page

I want to become a Youth Ambassador, because my passion for global hunger issues is skyrocketing, and I’m at the perfect age to express myself. I want to reach out to the 87 percent of the people living on this planet that are safe from malnourishment in order to help the 13 percent suffering. I crave something more than just my imagination of the children’s smiles to keep me motivated in doing what I do, in believing what I believe. I want to become a Youth Ambassador because I deserve it, and World Vision deserves me.

Hi, We are from a town of 2500 people. Our goal was $1 per person and we are now nearing that, which if you think of that, is alot!

We had our famine this past weekend on April 27 and 28 eating NOTHING and drinking only water while staying in my school that I rented for the event playing wii games on the smart board, watching movies, playing sports and most importantly. Sleeping.

With 31 people registering, only 9 raised money and participated, this is okay because it is the first time anybody in my community has tried to do something for the greater good of the world and we are doing what we can with the time and supplies we have here in town.

This did not just happen and took many fundraisers and lots of organization to get this far. The weekend before the famine, a few participants held a fundraiser at the local church that we called “give 4 the globe”. It was a yard/bake sale that we only had one day to organize. My great group of pledges and friends that helped me brought in $593 in just 6 hours, which in such a small place with very little notice, was about $400 more than expected. The special thing about my group is that 5 of us are Canadians, while the other 4 were a mix of other nations around the world giving us great representation of what it is really about. 3 of the pledges come from a poverty torn area in the Phillipines and they do know what this is all about firsthand.

We continue to fundraise today and until May 21st aiming to reach or goal of $2500, while we fundraise house to house, at community events we have a booth and doing bottle drives and maybe another give 4 the globe, we are certain to raise the amount and know that we made a difference in lives. None of this is possible though, without World Vision setting the opportunity for us and giving us the material and information needed.

Peace and Love on Earth
Go bless, everyone <3

Devin Cadrain
Fox Creek, AB

Fast Facts About Rwanda

• World Vision is working with some 1.3 million people, through 22 long-term, child-focused development programmes.
• World Vision began working in Rwanda in 1994, after the genocide, which claimed almost one million lives.
• Known as “The Land of a Thousand Hills”, Rwanda is Africa’s most densely populated country.
• Rwanda’s population is made up of three ethnic groups, the Hutu, Tutsi and Twa.
• Over 70% of diseases that affect Rwandans are waterborne; one third of the population does not have access to safe water.
• Weather is temperate and has two rainy seasons (February to April, November to January). Sometimes there is frost and snow in the mountains.
• Most of the country is savannah grassland with the population predominantly rural.
• There are 3 official languages in Rwanda: Kinyarwanda, French, and English.

Country Comparison

Population
Rwanda: 10.4 M
Canada: 33.4 M

Life expectancy (years)
Rwanda: 50.52
Canada: 81.2

Infant mortality (/1000)
Rwanda: 81.61
Canada: 5.0

National measure of economic output (GDP)
Rwanda: $900
Canada: $38,400

Click here to learn more about Rwanda.