There is no school, so there is hunger. PCPM helping in Ethiopia
After April the 10th when the Ethiopian government declared a state of emergency and banned the movement of groups larger than 4 people, thousands of people lost their jobs and they are not able to feed their own families anymore. Among them are the parents of students from Selam Chora, one of the poorest institutions in the region, which we visited last December. We have taken specific actions to start supporting the school. Unfortunately, putting them into practice has been thwarted by COVID-19 pandemic. Now the situation is even more dangerous, and we are obliged to shed the light on it. It’s a matter of life and death.
-During PCPM field visit we realized that for children the hunger is the worst. Today the situation is even more urgent – says dr. Wojtek Wilk, the CEO of PCPM. – This is why, with the support of our Donors, we want to support every needy family.
126 PLN – with this amount we can provide food for the whole month for one Ethiopian family. The more of us decide to join the action, the more families will have a chance to survive. Today, there are several hundred thousand families suffering from extreme poverty in the Amhara area – they did not have access to food even before the outbreak of the pandemic.
Forecast for Ethiopia is alarming
Every third death of a child in Ethiopia is related to malnutrition. And this is data from before the outbreak of the pandemic. The situation is aggravated by the locust plague, which is huge this year. Displacement in various parts of the country affects the poorest families in particular. The school principal at Debre Berhan admits that more than half of the students’ guardians or parents are IDPs without permanent employment. One of these people is Kokobe. This single mother made a living from temporary jobs such as cleaning or housekeeping. She has no income today. Kokobe and her four-year-old daughter have nothing to eat.
Famine attacks the body and mind
Proper nutrition has a great impact on the development of a child’s brain. Long-term malnutrition, in addition to the obvious fatal impact on the child’s somatic health, has impact on poorer school performance, problems with concentration and learning process – explains Pawel Szczucinski from PCPM Emergency Medical Team.
This severely affects their future, limiting their opportunity to get a job. It’s a difficult fight that needs to be started from scratch. By providing healthy meals, we can fight for the dignity today and give hope for a better future.
126 PLN monthly is a real support allowing one Ethiopian family to live without fear for starving. PCPM Foundation encourages to donate at pcpm.org.pl/etiopia.
