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Fear Looming of '84-like Famine in EthiopiaDate: April 4, 2003 
Having walked for hours in the blistering sun in search of food and water for their animals, Alimah and his brothers finally reached a water-well where their goats and camels could drink. "I have never gone to school," says Alimah, who is not sure of his age, "We spend all our time going through the land in search of water and green pastures for the animals."
Alimah comes from the northern part of Ethiopia in the Mille district of the Afar region - one of the regions in the country severely affected by the drought. His father has four wives and 16 children - Alimah is among the eldest. He has lived in the Afar region all his life, and herding goats and camels is what he knows best. The last five months have been difficult ones. They lost their 50 herd of cattle due to the drought, leaving them with only 35 goats and 4 camels, animals that can adapt to the dry conditions in the area.
Relief agencies operating in pastoral areas report that in Afar it is estimated that almost half of the cattle herd have been wiped out. Other regions that have suffered similarly are the Somali region and East Shewa zone of the Oromia region.
There is hardly any grazing land left in the desert-like surroundings. "It has become difficult to survive in this area. We can not even get wild fruits to eat in this part of the country. We rely mostly on goat and camel milk, and some food-hand-outs we get from relatives and neighbors who get food relief," said Alimah.
Like many other families in Afar, Alimah's family does not fall under the 36,200 beneficiaries registered for food relief distributions in Mille district. However, because of the culture of 'sharing' amongst the Afar people, those registered for food relief share their food parcels with those families who are not.
"Sharing food is a custom for the people in the Afar region," said Mr. Bodja Gelalcha, program coordinator of the Lutheran World Federation/World Service (LWF/WS) in Ethiopia. "A family cannot sleep on a full stomach when their neighbor does not have food," he explained "If some families suffer, the rest of the village has to suffer too*that has been their custom for generations."
In September 2002, the government through its Disaster Preparedness Prevention Commission (DPPC) issued an appeal estimating that about 6.5 million people were affected by the drought, but after a re-assessment in December 2002, the figure has risen to about 14.3 million. However, the Ethiopian practice of sharing with others who are not deemed needy enough, indicates that the number of people at risk is much higher than that.
The Joint Relief Partnership (JRP) in Ethiopia, which includes members of the global alliance, Action by Churches Together (ACT) International, has called on the international community to intervene with massive food aid. However, due to the negligible response by donor communities to the plight of the Ethiopian people, food rations (in form of wheat) have had to be reduced from 15 kg to only 12.5 kg per family. That means an average family of eight will only have one meal per day.
Bodja Gelalcha says that "the food available so far will only last until June this year. If food is not forthcoming then, we will see a something reminiscent of the 1984 drought."
Note: JRP is a consortium of Ethiopian churches, including the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (EOC); all the ACT members in Ethiopia (LWF/WS), Christian Aid, and the Norwegian Church Aid (NCA); as well as Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Ethiopia Catholic Church (ECC).
Source: Action by Churches Together, http://www.act-intl.org.
The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) is responding to the food crisis in Ethiopia through its ecumenical partner Action by Churches Together. One hundred percent of donations to "Ethiopia Famine Relief, Advance #101250" will be used in for this response. The generous giving of United Methodists to the One Great Hour of Sharing supplements the cost of Advance gifts. Give through a local United Methodist church or send financial contributions to: UMCOR, 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Call (1-800-554-8583 to make a credit card donation. Click here to make a secure online gift.
Photos: 1. Alimah and his two brothers. 2. People waiting for food distribution in Chifra. 3. Unloading wheat at a warehouse in the Mille district. Credit: Diana Mavunduse, ACT International