Ethiopia Hunger Crisis Appeal

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we have now achieved our goal for this appeal. We still urgently need funds to support our work with communities around the world facing extreme poverty, so your kind donation will be used where the need is greatest.

Drought in Ethiopia has led to desperate hunger for millions of families. We must act now to help save lives. More than 20.1 million people across Ethiopia are without the food they need to survive.

It is an unspeakable tragedy for any parent to watch their child waste away – or for any child to lose their mother or father to hunger. Tearfund is working through the local church to reach the most vulnerable families, showing them God’s love through emergency relief and long-term support.

Across Ethiopia, communities have been hit hard by the effects of climate change. Five failed rainy seasons have led to devastating drought. And because the land is so dry, the recent brief rains caused flash flooding that destroyed farmland and drought-weakened livestock.

Kubsa, 32, lives with his wife, Loko, 24, their two children, as well as his mother, in one of the villages in Southern Ethiopia hit worst by the drought. All of his cattle died due to the drought, and his family are facing starvation.

'We lost many people' Kubsa told us. 'But the support of the church has spared us from death and we are alive.'

Your gift now will directly support families like Kubsa's in Ethiopia.

Before the drought, Kubsa herded cattle to provide for his family. Since the drought killed their cattle, the family have been making and selling charcoal at the roadside – even his mother, Jilo, works alongside him. The family is suffering from malnutrition, but has no other option than to repeat this backbreaking work, day after day.

'The process of making charcoal is to cut the wood, dig the land, bury the wood and cover it with soil. While we burn the charcoal, the smoke affects us because it is dangerous. It affects our breathing,' says Kubsa. 'In the evening, we become tired and early in the morning we can’t wake up at the right time. We are hungry and have no strength. We can’t do that again and again.'

Working through the local church, Tearfund is identifying the most vulnerable families and supporting them by providing cash grants. These enable people to buy what their family needs most urgently.

We are also training communities affected by disasters to build resilience. Business skills training is equipping people like Kubsa with new livelihoods, which allow them to build a more secure future. Alongside this, training is being provided to help people reduce their risk to future crises, including those triggered by climate change.

Your gift is needed urgently. Poverty is not God’s plan. You are. Help families overcome hunger today, and help provide hope for tomorrow.