What Oxfam is Doing
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SAVING LIVES IN ETHIOPIA
Most Ethiopians depend on agriculture to make a living. Unfortunately, only ten percent of the land is suitable for farming and only five percent can be easily irrigated. Many rural areas suffer from deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion, desertification, and water shortages. Wars and communal violence also affect food production. The result: chronic food shortage and periodic famine.
Oxfam America funds local organizations that help communities anticipate these problems, reduce their vulnerability to drought and conflict, and distribute food in emergencies. For example, the Rift Valley Children and Women Association (RCWDA), an Oxfam partner, has conducted a food-for-work program to help rural families endure the food crisis in Ethiopia.
Food-for-work programs build on local village and community structures, encouraging people to decide what projects to undertake, to determine eligibility requirements, and to see that food is distributed fairly. RCWDA also distributes grain produced in Ethiopia, thereby supporting domestic grain producers and pumping funds into the local economy. By maintaining the farmers' livelihoods, food-for-work programs also protect the environment: farmers are no longer forced to chop down trees to make charcoal, a practice that has contributed to deforestation.