Ethiopia - Dutch Relief Alliance Joint Response - April 2021 - photo by Joost Bastmeijer
In the arid, expansive landscape of Gode, in the Somali region of Ethiopia, Faduma stands beside her hut watching her goats eat grass. The animals are essential to her family.
Faduma came to live in this area in 2017 as a displaced person with her three children. After heavy rains and the flooding of the river Shabelle, she had lost her home, crops and livestock.
Normally, she would feed her children with the corn, sorghum and vegetables she grew along the river. With the income from selling the food she had left, she could buy other things. The situation for her family is now completely different.
55-year-old Faduma said: “We now depend on the income that my 18-year-old son earns from selling the firewood he collects. But it's not enough. We often have nothing to eat in the evening. The lack of rain and the arrival of the pandemic will only make the situation worse. Food and water were already scarce here, but now the costs for food and other basic necessities are also skyrocketing.”
As part of the livelihood project, the Dutch Relief Alliance has given Faduma seven goats and three sheep to support herself again. The animals are drought resistant and adapt easily to local conditions. In this community, livestock is highly valued, as they see it as a way to improve their lives: goats reproduce easily and are rich in milk and meat.
"I was very happy when I got the animals. Look, I collected grass to feed my livestock", Faduma points out. "When the rains come, they will reproduce. Then we will have enough milk and we can sell some of it so that we can buy the things we need on the market."
“When I'm thirsty, I drink water from the river,” Faduma says. Her entire community is dependent on the river that has water all year round. But a glance at the water makes it immediately clear that it is not the healthiest option: the cloudy water is full of bacteria and parasites. "I drink it like that because I don't have any chlorine or purification tablets."
“It takes two hours to get to the river and then another two hours to get back, to bring home water that makes you sick", adds Abdullahi, Faduma's neighbour. “I got sick from drinking the water.” The 65-year-old farmer is now dependent on his neighbours, who own a donkey cart, to provide him with the precious, but at the same time sickening liquid.
The DRA provided 120,000 litres of clean water to Faduma's community in three months so that people could drink water safely. The communal storage tank is next to Faduma's house.
"I was happy to hear the sound of the water flowing into the tank", Faduma says. "All the people in the community immediately came out with their jerry cans to collect that water. It is clean and tastes wonderfully sweet, you can drink it right away."
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Ethiopia has been struggling with various crises for years. The East African country is being ravaged by a devastating locust infestation, flooding and, in some areas, persistent drought.
Also, the conflict in the northern Tigray region has been causing fear and insecurity for months.
Cordaid, together with other organisations within the Dutch Relief Alliance (DRA), provided emergency aid in Ethiopia in 2021. The DRA is a partnership of 14 Dutch aid organisations that supports people in the world's largest crisis areas with funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
By joining forces, the organisations can make a difference for people in emergency situations. In Ethiopia, Cordaid worked together with SOS Children's Villages, CARE, the Refugee Foundation and Tearfund.
In Ethiopia, the DRA organisations have handed out soap, water filters and hygiene kits; repaired and built new health centers; repaired and installed water facilities at clinics, schools and other public places; provided information about protection against corona; provided mental health care.
With these activities, the DRA has helped more than 276,000 people, through close collaboration with local organisations. The activities focused mainly on girls and women.
Ethiopia - Dutch Relief Alliance Joint Response - April 2021 - photo by Joost Bastmeijer
In the arid, expansive landscape of Gode, in the Somali region of Ethiopia, Faduma stands beside her hut watching her goats eat grass. The animals are essential to her family.
Faduma came to live in this area in 2017 as a displaced person with her three children. After heavy rains and the flooding of the river Shabelle, she had lost her home, crops and livestock.
Normally, she would feed her children with the corn, sorghum and vegetables she grew along the river. With the income from selling the food she had left, she could buy other things. The situation for her family is now completely different.
55-year-old Faduma said: “We now depend on the income that my 18-year-old son earns from selling the firewood he collects. But it's not enough. We often have nothing to eat in the evening. The lack of rain and the arrival of the pandemic will only make the situation worse. Food and water were already scarce here, but now the costs for food and other basic necessities are also skyrocketing.”
As part of the livelihood project, the Dutch Relief Alliance has given Faduma seven goats and three sheep to support herself again. The animals are drought resistant and adapt easily to local conditions. In this community, livestock is highly valued, as they see it as a way to improve their lives: goats reproduce easily and are rich in milk and meat.
"I was very happy when I got the animals. Look, I collected grass to feed my livestock", Faduma points out. "When the rains come, they will reproduce. Then we will have enough milk and we can sell some of it so that we can buy the things we need on the market."
“When I'm thirsty, I drink water from the river,” Faduma says. Her entire community is dependent on the river that has water all year round. But a glance at the water makes it immediately clear that it is not the healthiest option: the cloudy water is full of bacteria and parasites. "I drink it like that because I don't have any chlorine or purification tablets."
“It takes two hours to get to the river and then another two hours to get back, to bring home water that makes you sick", adds Abdullahi, Faduma's neighbour. “I got sick from drinking the water.” The 65-year-old farmer is now dependent on his neighbours, who own a donkey cart, to provide him with the precious, but at the same time sickening liquid.
The DRA provided 120,000 litres of clean water to Faduma's community in three months so that people could drink water safely. The communal storage tank is next to Faduma's house.
"I was happy to hear the sound of the water flowing into the tank", Faduma says. "All the people in the community immediately came out with their jerry cans to collect that water. It is clean and tastes wonderfully sweet, you can drink it right away."
---
Ethiopia has been struggling with various crises for years. The East African country is being ravaged by a devastating locust infestation, flooding and, in some areas, persistent drought.
Also, the conflict in the northern Tigray region has been causing fear and insecurity for months.
Cordaid, together with other organisations within the Dutch Relief Alliance (DRA), provided emergency aid in Ethiopia in 2021. The DRA is a partnership of 14 Dutch aid organisations that supports people in the world's largest crisis areas with funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
By joining forces, the organisations can make a difference for people in emergency situations. In Ethiopia, Cordaid worked together with SOS Children's Villages, CARE, the Refugee Foundation and Tearfund.
In Ethiopia, the DRA organisations have handed out soap, water filters and hygiene kits; repaired and built new health centers; repaired and installed water facilities at clinics, schools and other public places; provided information about protection against corona; provided mental health care.
With these activities, the DRA has helped more than 276,000 people, through close collaboration with local organisations. The activities focused mainly on girls and women.