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Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Hope in a drought-filled land


Tegengne Sisay has a small plot of land in the Central Highlands of Ethiopia where – when the rains are favourable – he grows barley and wheat. But this year so far, and in the previous two years, little rain has fallen.

Now Sisay finds himself standing under the midday sun at a relief food distribution centre waiting for a sack of wheat that will feed his family for another month.

Sisay has joined 3,800 other poorest of the poor from the surrounding villages of this sprawling dirt expanse for the monthly allotment of 12.5 kg of wheat, 1.5 kg of soybeans and 0.5 kg of vegetable oil per person in his family. For this he has participated in work projects around his village, like terracing hillsides for agriculture. The Lutheran church in Ethiopia is operating this distribution with donated food.

Sisay is one of the many faces of the Ethiopian drought, the consequences of three seasons without adequate rain. Across this nation of 60 million people, more than 10 million are in need of food assistance. According to Canadian International Development Association (CIDA) in Ethiopia, the total food aid needs to the end of the year could be as high as 1.1 million tonnes.

The story is similar across the Horn of Africa, where, according to the World Food Program, nearly 16 million people face severe food shortages, especially in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Eritrea. Upwards of three million people in Eritrea are in need of humanitarian aid because of the drought and conflict with Ethiopia.

In Ethiopia, where the major rainy season starts in mid-June and continues to September, parts of the country are getting good rainfall. However, in other parts, the rainfall either came too late to plant a crop or has been inadequate.

Even with a healthy rain, drought-related problems will persist for years as people slowly restock their livestock herds and rebuild food reserves. Food aid is needed to help ensure a minimal level of food is available until the December/January harvest.

It’s from the sparsely populated southeastern Somali region that images of dying people and livestock are emerging. But it’s in the densely populated Central Highlands where the largest numbers of Ethiopians are struggling to find enough food to live from day to day. It’s here where the impact of the drought – should the rains continue to fail – will be felt the most.

Ethiopia’s problem is a result of natural, cyclical weather patterns. But chronic poverty, coupled with high population and high growth rates, increasingly erodes the ability of families to cope with the drought. Households have less land to cultivate and fewer livestock. Eighty-five per cent of the population is rural, dependent on agriculture or a nomadic lifestyle.

The current drought has brought an increasing number of people to migrate, searching for wage labour. Others are selling precious livestock. Children are dropping out of school because families can no longer afford to buy school supplies. A lack of good nutrition and clean water means more sickness and death.

As disturbing as this drought is, much has changed from the mid-1980s, when an estimated one million Ethiopians died in widespread famine. Shocking TV images of emaciated mothers and skeletal babies brought Ethiopia to the world’s attention in 1984-85. Fundraising efforts, including the “Live Aid” concert, provided a tidal wave of relief aid. For many, Ethiopia has become synonymous with famine – an image the country chafes at.

In 1984-85, Ethiopia was in the midst of a widespread civil war and much of the country was inaccessible for food aid. The militaristic Marxist-Leninist government of the day had little interest in humanitarian aid.

“They knew what was happening. But the tanks were more important,” said Sam Vander Ende, Canadian Food Grains Bank representative in Ethiopia. Military spending has again skyrocketed, but Vander Ende said he thinks the current government is much more aware of the risks of ignoring the crisis.

The government, together with the UN and donor agencies, manages an emergency food stock reserve. The Ethiopian government has also purchased 100,000 tonnes of grain locally for food aid.

While soil sifts like dry powder in many parts of the country, there are hopeful signs sprouting across the land: river diversion projects, small-scale irrigation, hillside terracing to protect the soil and tree plantations.

Ethiopians still hold their heads high. Ethiopia has shown in previous years that it can grow enough food for all its people and is taking small steps towards sustainability.

“The resourcefulness of the Ethiopian people, their phenomenal hardiness, their sense of pride – of course, they can make it. Like us all, they just need a little help now and again,” said Vander Ende.

 – Carol Thiessen, MCC

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Last modified September 20, 2000.

© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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