Bringing relief help to the families....

Like many other places in Africa, there is a drought in the Teso region. Many families are hungry and have only one meal a day. The mango season was a blessing and for many families the meal is: go to the tree and pick a mango. There was some rain before and the people started to get their gardens ready and sow their seeds, but then, the rain stopped and the seeds are dying in the ground.. We asked our partner organization in Holland "de Figurant" if they could help us and we would bring some relief food to the most needy families. Last month Elias, our social worker, organized the relief action.

They bought food for 52 needy families, and every family got 20 kg. Posho, 15 kg beans and 2 bags with salt and 2 bars of soap.

The people were very happy with this, it helps them, but it also encourage them so much!

Simon and Elias, took the relief items to the families and that was also a lot of work. the families do not live in one place, but are living in at least 5 districts around Soroti. 

This is Max receiving the items, but he was more interested in the balloons Elias had for him...

Max has lived in Amecet, he is a "miracle boy", at that time we did not think he would survive. Now he can jump and even ran....

An auntie with four children to care for...One of them has been living in Amecet long time ago. She is doing very well.

We do realize that this only helps a little... The rains started again, but the seeds were spoiled in the ground. The people asked us for help, they asked for cassava cuttings. This grows fast and it is also the main food here in the Teso region. They make Atapa from it. Normally cassava gives a good harvest and it is also easy to sell. But at the moment,  it is very hard to get  the cassava cuttings. Elias and Simon decided that this would help the people for a longer period of time and they were able to get the good cassava cuttings. The problem is that you can't have them laying around long, for then they are not good to plant anymore.

A truck came to deliver the sacs with the cuttings in the Amecet compound. Here you see some of the sacs.

  Simon and Elias loaded as many sacs possible on the vehicles. They had divided the families and both went to deliver the sacs to the families. The cassava is almost seen as "gold", Simon told us that he was talking with some people and at the back of the car, people tried to ran away with a sac with cassava cuttings. People are really crying for them.

This is Alice with her grandmother, Alice was in Amecet as a baby and her grandmother cares for her. She sold her goats for food and the only thing left to sell was now her land.. She really cried when she got the 2 sacs with cuttings.

But  during all those kilometers driving, over sometimes very bad roads, it can go wrong. Elias got a flat tyre in the middle of nowhere... No problem, we just change the tyre and we go on, thought Elias...But during a repair in one of the Soroti garages the jack and the spanners disappeared.. 

They noticed also that the spare tyre was soft, so Emmanuel, took the spare tyre, found a motor taxi and drove to Katakwi, to get more air in the spare tyre and to borrow a jack and spanners. Some of the sacs had to be unloaded and Elias stayed with the car and the "gold". 

After the changing of the tyre, they went on to deliver the rest of the sacs in Katakwi. That evening, they came back home much later than planned!!!! 

 There is still rain now and then, so we hope and pray for a good harvest.......