Food shortages in the world are beginning to show up in places that have had abundant sources of food in the past. Places like in the Philippines, where a shortage of rice is prevalent in some areas due to drought. In Addition to this, other crops, which produce a higher level of income, are now being pursued by many Filipino farmers. These factors have caused a situation where enough rice is not being produced, which has let to food shortages.
Other places of food shortages in the world are more commonly known, such as in Ethiopia. ADRA is at work in Ethiopia, among child-run households, where the parents have either died from AIDS or another disease, or have left. ADRA goes in to work with communities where children are running a household. These children are taught how to take care of themselves, how to grow food to sustain life. Some families are able to take advantage of the cow, chicken, or goat banks offered by ADRA. In these situations, ADRA provides the family with a goat, for example. The family learns how to take care of the goat, how to get milk from the animal to drink and also to use to make cheese. These families learn how to take the excess and sell it. So it provides them with a source of income. These families eventually have their goat matched to another, and the offspring then provide them another means of income.
When this occurs, they pay back ADRA with a new goat from the offspring. So, basically, ADRA loans then a goat until they are able to pay it back with a new one. The difference this program is making in the lives of the families who have participated in it is amazing: children are healthier, they are able to go to school and get an education, the families are better off financially, and their living situation improves. The cow, chicken, goat banks are just one way ADRA is working to end the food shortages in the world by working with communities in Ethiopia. There are many other innovative ways in which ADRA works around the word to end food shortages. Helping people and communities develop ways to sustain their way of life is the goal of every program ADRA pursues. Working long-term with communities to create a more efficient and productive way of living is at the heart of ADRA's work around the globe.
Find out how you can help combat food shortages in the world by coming alongside ADRA in the work around the globe, supporting individuals and communities and helping to bring education and the resources necessary to change lives. Contact ADRA today to find out more.
