Oasis in a thirsty land

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Major Drew Ruthven (International Emergency Services) and Uganda Command headquarters staff examine damaged crops. Photo courtesy of International Headquarters

The Salvation Army in Uganda supplies water and food during drought.

The Salvation Army in Uganda responded to the drought crisis developing in the country, where people across the Horn of Africa are dying due to lack of food and water.

In central eastern Uganda, thousands of families have had poor harvests for the past five years, due to either too little rain or—at other times—because so much rain fell that floods destroyed the crops. The Salvation Army has been distributing food to needy families in the area, including a distribution to 680 families after recent landslides in a mountainous region.

In some areas The Salvation Army is the only non-governmental organization providing food.

Staff from The Salvation Army’s command headquarters and International Emergency Services visited villages in the Namutumba district near Mbale to assess the needs of 4,000 families and to arrange for the supply of food and sanitation goods. Boreholes will be drilled to ensure water is available to the most needy of families, even as the drought takes a greater hold.

The most urgent need is for water in two medical clinics. Mothers have been bringing malnourished children into the clinics, but more than 80 have died this year alone. A water bore for the main clinic will help to boost survival rates.

The message from the Uganda Command and International Emergency Services is simple: please pray for the situation and support this work in any way possible.

Donate online to The Salvation Army’s Africa Disaster Fund at salvationarmy.org.

From International Emergency Services

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