“Most families have herds of cattle or goats that they rely on for their income, and as a security blanket – they can sell livestock if they get into trouble.
“This recent trip was my third visit, and I’ve spoken to lots of families who’ve shared that their entire herds were lost during the drought, and so they really don’t have options. They don’t have other ways to support themselves unless they’re getting external aid.”
Manson told Real Life this has meant huge numbers of people now trying to find alternative income streams. Some people are taking the risky decision to leave their land and move to nearby cities, he said, while others are trying to sell firewood or simply resorting to begging.
“Lots of families shared with me, ‘Hey, we’re desperate, we don’t know how to feed our kids. We have absolutely run out of options.’”
Through a partner organisation, Tearfund is helping provide 10,000 of the most vulnerable people in southern Ethiopia with food supplies, and families with drought-resistant seeds, goats, and agricultural training that will help them maximise crop yields.
Manson said many people in Borena are experiencing “very, very high levels of malnutrition” and are relying on emergency food relief to get by.
But he’s “really encouraged” that New Zealand’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade (Mfat) is working closely with them and has backed their work financially.
“We, along with some other NGOs, flagged this worsening situation about two years ago with Mfat and they responded by supporting our responses across the Horn of Africa, particularly in Ethiopia and Somalia,” he told Real Life.
“Now they’ve just recently rolled out a second round of support, backing the private fundraising work that we’re doing. They’re providing match funding, so every dollar that we raise at Tearfund is matched by Mfat [up to $750,000], and it’s able to really scale up.
“The level of support that we can offer has been brilliant.”
Despite the serious situation at hand in Ethiopia, Manson said it’s been eye-opening and encouraging to see the progress many are making as a result of their work there.
He told Real Life a farmer support programme Tearfund is involved with has helped many families go from intermittent harvests to flourishing crops and food security – even in the midst of this drought.
“I got to sit down with a group of farmers who’d been through the programme … Even after having worked in development and humanitarian work for more than a decade now, I found it really moving to listen to what a massive difference our support can make – even from the other side of the world.
“Often in this line of work you can feel despondent, you can think no progress is being made or that we just go from headline [to headline] of disaster or another war. But honestly, listening to these people just gave me huge hope …
“There was this sense of hope that this community had, that they were now able to look after their own needs and support themselves – and a belief that the future might look better than the present.”
Real Life is a weekly interview show where John Cowan speaks with prominent guests about their life, upbringing, and the way they see the world. Tune in Sundays from 7:30pm on Newstalk ZB or listen to the latest full interview here.
