In Tesso Qelo, a herding community in southern Ethiopia's Borena area, families who measure wealth in cattle were bracing for a second severe drought in three years, Action Against Hunger reported in August 2019.
A Borana herder leads donkeys down into El Sod crater in southern Ethiopia, August 2011 (Josep M. Gracia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0) [file photo]
Cattle are used there for trade, for dowries and to settle disputes. In 2016 the area's worst drought in 50 years killed most of herder Garbicha's livestock, and three of his five children developed severe acute malnutrition before recovering in the charity's nutrition program, wrote Lys Arango of Action Against Hunger.
Garbicha's wife, Gordo, later joined a women's savings group that was given goats. Members save income from goat milk and run a credit scheme, and some, including Gordo, started small businesses such as selling spices. “We have achieved some economic independence,” she said.
A cash-for-work scheme paid residents to fence off and clear land so grass could grow and be stored for lean months, and the charity built latrines and trained residents in hygiene. “The need for water continues to grow,” said Edao Worku, a community development agent for the group.
By mid-2019 most local water points were empty, leaving two sources three hours' walk away. Action Against Hunger said 3.5 million Ethiopian children were suffering from life-threatening malnutrition.
Sources: Action Against Hunger via ReliefWeb