FOOD CRISIS IN NIGER!

Hungry children in Niger

There is a food crisis Niger, the country where we served as Peace Corps volunteers. Niger was our home for over two years, and is still home to many people who we cherish deeply. Family members and friends who came to visit us in Niger can attest to the astounding and humbling generosity of Nigeriens. In a country so poor, people share so much. Our friends in Niger taught us what it truly means to give, and to receive. We feel compelled to ask you to consider donating to help the people of Niger. Our individual donations might seem small, but together they can and will save lives.

Niger is the second poorest country in the world. Even in a good year, a sizeable proportion of the population is malnourished. This year has heralded in the worst famine in Niger since 1984. People our age remember the song “We are the World” from elementary school, written to raise money for the famine of 1984, which encompassed much of the Sahel. Of Niger’s 13 million people, nearly one-third are on the brink of starvation: 800,000 of them are children. The lack of rain and locust invasion in 2004 is primarily to blame for this condition; however, Niger is perennially in a state of food insecurity. That there is a crisis this year isn’t surprising. We were working in Niger last fall and in late August, we witnessed the second rain of the season in Tahoua (in north central Niger); the rainy season usually commences in late May. We also heard reports from current Peace Corps volunteers, particularly those living east near the city of Zinder, that in their region the millet grew knee-high, and then stopped, never producing any grain.

To read, see, and hear more about the crisis in Niger, follow the BBC’s recent report on the subject. Friends of Niger, an organization that we are members of, also has information about the crisis.

Until last week, the response from the international community had been abysmal and inadequate. U.N. Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland said on CNN earlier this week that had the international community responded to Niger’s food crisis when asked, the cost of treating one hungry child would be approximately one dollar; today the cost is 80 dollars. In the past couple of days, some relief activity has finally commenced, but more help is needed. From our experience as volunteers, the “hunger season” between July and October is particularly difficult for Nigeriens. This year it is disastrous. By now fields have been planted, labor demands are high, and food stores from the previous year have likely begun to run out (for those who got a harvest last year), and all farmers can do is watch the skies for rain clouds to come. Assuming that the rains are decent during the growing season, people will be able to harvest their millet, beans, and peanuts in September or October. This is why the timing of relief now is so critical.

Please consider helping further relief efforts in Niger. Time is of the essence. We know that making a choice to donate is a difficult one, especially deciding whether to support the acute problem of today versus the problem of food security in the long term. Also, choosing an organization isn’t always straightforward: Do you choose one that earmarks donations for Niger specifically, or do you support an organization generally and hope that the funds go towards programming that will ultimately help countries like Niger? Personally, we are going to divide our donation between a development organization and a relief one. These aren’t easy questions to answer and we can only suggest that you do what feels right to you.

For those of you who wish to earmark funds specifically for Niger, we can suggest making a donation to one of the following:

U.N. World Food Program

Save the Children

World Vision

Feeding stations for children facing starvation in Niger are staffed by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). To make a general donation to this organization, please follow this link.

To help support general development programs in Niger, in order to help the country become more food secure in the long run, we suggest supporting the following Non-Government-Organizations. We got to know the country directors of CARE and CRS when we were in Niger last fall, and trust that they are doing good work.

For those of you living in or near the San Francisco Bay Area, Tiffany Martindale (RPCV Niger ‘98-’02) and Josh Schnabel (RPCV Niger ‘00-’02) are selling bumper stickers at $7.00 a piece that read Kala Suuru and Sai Hankuri (“Have Patience” in Zarma and Hausa, respectively). For a bumper sticker, please contact Tiffany: maycinga@yahoo.com.

And finally, please consider calling, writing, and emailing your elected representatives in Washington, DC to implore them to immediately increase the U.S. contributions of humanitarian and food aid to Niger.

Contact information for your US Senator or your US Representative.

Thank you for helping. Much love, Kristen and Dan