Supplementary Feeding

And when there’s finally water, people take the opportunity to use it to the fullest: they drink the rainwater flowing off the roof gutter and are not ashamed to take a bath in the brown water of one of the muddy pools alongside the road. I must admit this is a rather funny sight, all of a sudden naked people everywhere.  
 

Apart from the severe water shortages, the droughts in the South coincide with the lean season (three months without a harvest). Which means that these three months, from October to December, are tough in Ambovombe: On top of having barely enough drinking water there are also food shortages. Which is the exact reason that 45 communities (out of 104) have been declared to be in DA (difficulte alimentaire) and are targeted by WFP to receive food assistance. This food aid can take various forms: For the most vulnerable families a FFW (Food for Work) structure is put in place: heads of families work 5 hours a day for a certain period of time and get a food ration (rice and dry vegetables) in exchange for it. The work they do is very diverse, from building water basins till taking out cactuses, but is always aimed at developing the region. Handicapped and elderly people, whose physical condition isn’t good enough to work, can get a ration without having to work for it. Next to the FFW there is a preventive supplementary feeding operation: pregnant and lactating women and children under 2 years of age receive a ration of CSB (Corn Soy Blend) and fortified oil. By doing this, WFP tries to prevent the nutritional status of families with mothers and children already declared to be in DA to further deteriorate.
 

Now the end of December is in sight and the rain begins to fall, WFPs main crisis interventions come to an end. The last distributions to pregnant women and children take place and one of my neighbors, a 15-year old mum, also comes home with a bag of CSB. Her two children – far too small for their age, a sign of chronic malnutrition- welcome her because they know by experience what their mum is carrying in the WFP bag. Thanks to WFP,  they managed to get through this years lean season, let’s hope that they can count on WFP next year too!