Abandoned by the rain

Convoy of Hope’s Global Disaster Response Team is on the ground in the drought-stricken Sahel region of Africa to determine how Convoy of Hope can provide relief efforts there.

“We’ve been monitoring the crisis in the Sahel region for some time and the drought conditions there continue to worsen for millions of people,” says Karen Benson, global disaster response director for Convoy of Hope. “With a team in place there, we hope to gain a better understanding of the situation and determine where Convoy of Hope can be of most help.”

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The team recently spent one week in Burkina Faso and met with local leaders and officials who reported that the recent drought and famine is affecting the lives of the nationals there as well as 250,000 refugees in this Sub-Saharan region.

“We have been abandoned by the rain,” said a villager, expressing the need for help.

Millions of people lack adequate water supplies in the Sahel, where the earth is scorched and the temperature sometimes soars above 120 degrees. One million children are at risk of severe malnutrition. In the past, droughts and famines in this region have killed nearly 200,000 people.

“We’ve provided funds to purchase millet, rice, powdered milk and water carts for a Malian Tuareg refugee camp in Burkina Faso,” says Chris Dudley, a member of Convoy of Hope’s team in the Sahel. “Twenty Sawyer water filters were also distributed.”

The team will also spend one week in Niger assessing the area and meeting with local leaders to determine what needs to take place to further the relief efforts in that region.