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| JUSTINE EATING SOUP MIX LUNCH WITH HER SIBLINGS |
“My family is not rich, but I always managed to produce enough to feed my family. Unfortunately, due to political conflict which affected our location, I was obliged to leave my home and took my family to a refugee camp in Tanzania for safety. I had to sell quickly most of the things we owned to have some cash in hand. We came back early this year [2016] to find that even the few things remaining in the house had been stolen.
But at least I had my farm.
We tried our best to grow some food, but only rice reached harvest time. The beans and maize were completely destroyed by floods. If we do not have beans, we do not have food because that is our staple.
With this hunger in the family, my daughter Justine started to lose interest in school. She wanted to drop out, but I made her to stay. Every day, it was a struggle to convince her to go, and many times, she ended up skipping class.
Food for the Hungry's (FH) support with the vegetable soup mix may seem like a small support, but it has come to me at a time when I really needed it. We cook a small quantity of vegetable soup daily which we eat with rice. This gives us one month of sufficient food as we continue to work for the next harvest. I thank the FH donor who sent us this food aid.”
GIVE SOUP
The level of vulnerability in the communities of Burundi has increased due to insufficient rainfall during the 2016 planting season and the massive movement of people to the neighbouring countries of Rwanda and Tanzania during post-election violence. Before leaving, many families sell all their assets (food, livestock, personal belongings) so they have resources to support themselves on the journey. Unfortunately, this leaves them destitute when they return. In Ruyigi province, the situation was worsened by April floods which destroyed hectares of crops. One way FH supports families like Christophe's is through food supplements like dried soup mix.
