As famine tightens its grip on the people of the small African country of Lesotho, The Salvation Army in South Africa is continuing its partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme to assist as many victims as it can.
Since November 2002 the Lesotho emergency team, led by Captain David Widdowson (Southern African Territorial Emergency Services Coordinator) and Captain Thomas Sesedi (Lesotho Emergency Project Officer), has been responsible for food distribution to vulnerable people in the Butha Buthe area in the north and in the Mafeteng area in central Lesotho.
Every month the situation deteriorates as crops continue to fail due to extreme variations in weather conditions. The suffering is exacerbated by the increase of HIV/Aids, with many people becoming too weak and ill to plant their crops.
The number of people being fed has increased enormously. In the first month a total of 3,000 people were fed. It is planned that the emergency relief teams will be feeding 50,000 people in Butha Buthe alone in May of this year, with the month of June likely to witness further increases. With the addition of the distribution in the Mafeteng, the Lesotho famine relief programme provides 105,000 people with basic food supplies every month.
Those most at risk, such as nursing mothers, HIV/Aids and tuberculosis sufferers and other vulnerable people are being targeted first. Occasional difficulties with the food pipeline cause further problems. When this happens, only the most vulnerable can be fed.
Families had hopes for the next harvest but the forecast for this year is causing great concern. There were poor winter rains, barely enough to help increase the water table for feed and boreholes. There is not sufficient water to sustain crops with proper irrigation. Also, during December the temperatures in the mountain areas dropped well below freezing, causing widespread crop losses.
The logistical arrangements for distributions are complex. Occasional failures in the food pipeline cause delays and require rescheduling of distribution. The Salvation Army's teams have to be flexible, working during the night or over weekends to complete distributions.
While heavily committed to providing relief aid, The Salvation Army is working with other implementing partners to try to identify a sustainable income source and food supply. This will require more long-term assistance but a variety of projects are being investigated.
