Disaster Preparedness

South Sudan one year on

South Sudan one year on

South Sudan became the world’s newest nation on 9 July 2011. Twelve months later, we celebrate the achievements of the people and churches of South Sudan and of Caritas South Sudan and its Caritas partners in working towards peace and development. The challenge has been huge. South Sudan has started life as one of the ...

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The food crisis in Sahel: how do we prevent the next one?

The food crisis in Sahel: how do we prevent the next one?

By Rev. Msgr. Robert J. Vitillo, Head of Caritas Internationalis Delegation to the UN in Geneva On 02 July 2012, Floriana Polito and I had the pleasure of convening some influential figures in the fight against hunger and poverty. Caritas Internationalis, together with Oxfam, held an important side event focused on human rights in the ...

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Helping Niger prepare for food crisis

Helping Niger prepare for food crisis

The crisis is threatening the Sahel region of Africa—the band of land below the Sahara desert, extending from Senegal to Chad. In a normal year, the Sahel receives on average as little as 78 to 236 inches of rain. Last year’s rains were poor and the harvests bad or non-existent.

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Averting crisis in West Africa’s Sahel

Averting crisis in West Africa’s Sahel

Zaki can’t afford to feed his family this year. He’s a young teacher in Burkina Faso. It’s one of a string of West African countries where food is getting scarce. The price of corn has increased so much Zaki can’t afford to buy it. His family must rely on their reserves of rice, but supplies dwindle each day.

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East Africa after the Food Crisis

East Africa after the Food Crisis

Your support helped over one million people in East Africa overcome their worst drought in 60 years. You made it possible for Caritas to distribute emergency food, create water projects, and give out seeds so farmers can rebuild. In November 2011, Caritas Communications Officer Laura Sheahen visited Kenya to see the community response in action. ...

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Seeds of hope after drought in East Africa

Seeds of hope after drought in East Africa

By Laura Sheahen “When you’re hungry, if you have seeds, you start cooking.” Kotola Susana grins ruefully as he describes the situation of many of his fellow Kenyan farmers. After years of poor rains culminated in a devastating drought in East Africa, farmers ran out of options. In southern Kenya, where they raise corn, sorghum ...

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‘You heard our cries’: hunger in East Africa

‘You heard our cries’: hunger in East Africa

Whenever there’s a way to farm, Caritas helps people help themselves. Irrigation projects Caritas developed in the 1990s and early 2000s saved many people during the 2011 drought. But with no rain, many herdsmen and farmers simply couldn’t produce food. So Caritas started trucking in drinking water and food, driving lorries over near-impassable dirt roads in villages the government can’t always reach.

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