Telling the ECSA Story

It’s a bright day in Koch, Gabriel Yatbouth-56 in white branded T-shirt, together with other members of the farmers group have gathered at the demonstration garden. This is the usual meeting place for the farmers group. Gabriel is married with 26 children and three wives. He is a businessman trading in a variety of items like sugar, sorghum, salt, and other items. Farming is a new skill that Gabriel and his group members have learnt. Koch, being a pastoral community, most of the people depend on keeping livestock for their livelihoods. Agriculture is done on a small scale. The area is however prone to flooding. Last year, the floods destroyed livelihoods causing displacements in flood affected communities aggravating the already dire humanitarian situation. To build community resilience in Koch, CARE and partners through the South Sudan Joint Response project, supported farmers like Gabriel with seeds and trained them on how to grow their own food to improve their food situation. “They

Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, stretched health systems, and destroyed economies and livelihoods. The Democratic Republic of Congo was not spared and on April 6, 2020, cities across the country went into lock down following border closures with surrounding nations. This had a devastating effect on the country. According to the World Bank, an estimated 73% of people live on less than $1.90 a day in the DRC. The lock down blocked many women working in informal businesses like food vendors, seamstresses, and grocers from accessing markets where they get their supplies. At the same time, Health experts advised people to wear face masks to stem the spread of the disease. Nonetheless in a country where many people have difficulty getting their next meal, procuring the initially proposed one-use disposable surgical masks was a challenge. Françoise Mbweki hard at work making a mask in Goma. CARE/David Mutua  In Goma, seamstress Françoise Mbweki, w

Eveline Mapfumo was displaced from her home and community simply for asserting her rights. When her father, who served as Mwami, or chief, of their village in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, died several years ago, Eveline was next in line to serve as chief. Although too young to ascend at the time, a council of elders appointed her to the role with her uncle serving as a custodian in the interim. But when Eveline turned 18, her uncle refused to step down. “When I started actively pursuing it, my life was threatened. Fearing that I would be killed, I abandoned my studies and fled from home with my children,” Eveline, now 25, says. Eveline found sanctuary 80 kilometers away near Goma with her grandmother. Heveline Mapfumo skins bananas with her grandmother Bauma Shabira as they prepare a meal in Ndosho, Goma. Several tribes and communities in DRC still believe that administrative leadership roles are the domain of men and should be passed from father to son. This line of thinking

In the foothills surrounding the Mount Nyiragongo volcano in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Isabelle Niyotwagirwa and two farmhands are hard at work breaking ground to begin another round of planting after a successful harvest. Dust rises in the air as their hoes hit the soil, readying it for new crops of prunes, banana trees, arrow roots, amaranth, and cabbage. Isabelle switched to farming after running a small kiosk at the market. “I saw how people used to import food and fruits from outside the country and I noticed I that it was not only low quality but very expensive. So, I decided to farm, as the soil here is full of nutrients that are very beneficial to our bodies,” she says. The DRC has an estimated 200 million acres of available arable land. It is home to the second-largest rainforest in the world, receives over 58 inches of rainfall per year, and boasts a variety of soils ideal for farming. The government says the country could feed close to two billion people. Unfortu

  For Immediate Release   Press Release USAID and CARE Zimbabwe launch a US$1.5 million program to increase assistance to COVID-19 affected people in urban areas   Harare , November 24, 2021 – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided approximately USD1.5 million to CARE International in Zimbabwe to support early recovery for 47,000 people suffering from the effects of COVID-19 in urban areas of Masvingo and Manicaland provinces.   This financial assistance from USAID allows CARE Zimbabwe to support urgently needed health care, water, sanitation, and hygiene as well as to provide monthly cash assistance to enable vulnerable people to meet basic daily food needs for the next three months, while recovering their livelihoods. CARE Zimbabwe's work aims to address the immediate humanitarian needs caused by the devastating COVID-19 pandemic in Zaka, Chivi, Mutare, and Buhera districts .   Patrick Sikana, CARE Zimbabwe Country Director says:

Simanjiro district is one of the very dry areas in Manyara region with unreliable source of water and long-term dry seasons because of climate change effects.   As the changes continue, it is critical for stakeholders to improve their management of climate variability, change and uncertainties to be able to develop approaches for resilient livelihoods adaptation. Stakeholders need to access climate information and gain the knowledge for informed decisions while in planning processes.   CARE International in Tanzania is implementing Our Land Program II, which aims at addressing climate change issues with a focus on building local community’s capacity and systems to support resilience and adaptation in Olchoronyori, Korongo and Magadini villages. This is done through Participatory Scenario Planning (PSP), a mechanism for collective sharing and interpretation of seasonal modern climate forecasts provided by Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA). PSP brings together meteorologists, Go