Photo: A man in Somaliland carries buckets of water. Credit: Tearfund Germany

Photo: A photo depicting the difference between the crops from CA maize (left) to traditional farming methods (right) Credit: Sophie Moreno, Tearfund Ireland

Our local partners in Ethiopia are helping Self Help Groups learn Conservation Agriculture (CA) to our Self Help Groups. This is a farming method that is improving the lives of thousands of small-hold farmers across Ethiopia. CA improves crop yield, costs less and requires less work. It is based on three principles: minimum tillage, natural mulch cover and crop rotation. It doesn’t require invasive, labour intensive digging or chemical fertilizers which damage the soil over time. It increases productivity of land by naturally retaining moisture, improving soil fertility particularly in drought prone areas, while reducing the use of expensive fertilizers. Fertilizers are not just expensive, but they are difficult for small-hold farmers to purchase so the mind-set is that “if I can’t afford the fertiliser, then I can’t farm my fields”. CA is changing all that.  CA allows for better preparation for potential challenges from changing climate such as bad weather patterns and long dry spells. The increased harvest allows for better nutrition, lack of hunger, and a chance to earn income from selling crops.

Photo: Ukrainian refugees fleeing the country. Credit: Integra/Jana Čavojská

Throughout the conflict in Ukraine, we have partnered with Integra in Slovakia to provide food, shelter and basic essentials for those fleeing danger. Massive devastation in urban centres have made life unbearable for millions of people. Critical services such as water, heat and electricity have been severely disrupted in certain areas and the need for non-perishable food items is increasing.

Your support has enabled us to provide essential items and non-perishable foods to those internally displaced and those most vulnerable in Ukraine. A large container, filled with an average of 26 Metric tons (this is of non-perishable food items and basic essentials, has been delivered to Ukraine and distributed to 6,000 recipients. Additionally, our local partner has been providing overnight accommodation to Ukrainian refugees as well as medicine and medical supplies, a cash-transfer programme, and psycho-social counselling.

Photo: A boy from Somaliland walking with water during a drought. Credit: Tearfund Germany

We partnered with Tearfund Germany to help vulnerable communities in Somaliland. In this drought-stricken land your funding enabled us to provide an emergency response to 750 of the most vulnerable households in four communities. The project involved delivery of clean water and water filters along with training in hygiene and sanitation awareness to protect against disease. Each community selected two individuals who would be trained as hygiene promoters and given basic hygiene kits. Since the training, there have been no outbreaks of disease and, despite the severity of droughts, the communities have not reported death of any livestock. This means the communities have been able to avert famine. It also demonstrates the significance of a relatively simple programme.

Photo: A young Syrian refugee holds her baby sister, in an informal settlement in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley Credit: Helen Mason, Tearfund New Zealand

We have continued funding to help our Lebanese partner meet the basic needs of Syrian refugees as well as those affected by the worsening economic crises across Lebanon in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic and explosion in the port of Beirut in 2020. Our partners, working through local churches, have delivered over 3,000 food vouchers and more than 2,300 e-cards, (cards with money that can be replenished continually). Providing these have brought significant relief and support to those most vulnerable and living in poverty. The project was able to reduce hunger, improve nutrition, and increase food security for hunger-affected individuals and households. But one local church partner noted, “the need is greater and greater every day and we just can’t help everyone.