Even the youngest Nigeriens are grateful for OBI's help.

Relief supplies are prepared for distribution for hungry Nigeriens.

David Darg and Jon Cassel are on the ground in Niger, coordinating OB famine relief efforts. David logged this report over the weekend.

It's rainy season in Niger, crops seem to be growing, the Niger river is swollen and the desert is full of greenery. You could be fooled into thinking that the situation here is no different from many other African nations. 

The realization that this is a critical situation only really hit me when I saw the people. They are desperate for food, and this is a full blown famine.  The annual harvest in Niger is rarely sufficient to get the nation through the dry season, and last year the harvest was completely wiped out by drought and locusts.  

Most Nigerians had to ration what little food they had and when that ran out they turned to eating leaves and grass.  This years harvest is on its way, but for too many it would have come too late had the world not paid attention.  Many Nigerians have already sold this years harvest on credit to survive and are facing a downward spiral without outside help. 

While we were distributing food, the faces of the Tuareg women in Bankilare were hard to bear. Their expressions of hopelessness and longing were a true reflection of Niger's status as the third poorest nation in the world.  This situation has made me realize the power of hunger.

In the last few days I have seen people weak from malnutrition using up what little energy they had fighting each other just to get a place in the food line.  An elderly woman showed me the type of plant that she and her family had been eating, and she cried and gestured that she was hungry. She looked so frail I could hardly believe that she was alive. 

Seeing the children in the village of Sagafondo was equally difficult. Famine isn't just about being hungry because hunger leads to sickness and the children there were sick.  I watched as one of our partner doctors tried to calm the mother of a baby that was on the brink of death, its tiny body riddled with infection due to malnutrition.

Despite the pain the people here have endured there is a glimmer of hope on many of their faces after they receive food and medical care.  My own discouragement at the situation has been broken by the smiles and thanks we have been receiving from the people we help.

As I prepare to leave Niamey again tomorrow for a distribution mission in Bani Bongou, I am ready to again see scenes of despair but also joy as we save peoples lives.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
Every day, the fleet of Hunger Strike Force trucks are on the road, delivering nutritious food and essential supplies to thousands facing hunger and poverty. With your help, we can continue to impact lives and give hope to those who need it most. Consider making an online donation today.

 

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