Shorai and Hamunyare in their community vegetable garden, irrigated by a solar-powered water pump in Zimbabwe. Photo Credit: Thom Flint

This Lent, as we deepen and enliven our faith, we can reflect on Jesus’ call to “love your neighbour as yourself” (Mark 12:31) and pray that we can give more help to families facing hunger today due to floods and droughts.

Christine Allen, Director of CAFOD says: “Last year I travelled to South Sudan. I would like to tell you about one person our local experts have been working with there, a young mother named Rejoice. Rejoice fled conflict twice to protect her children. Imagine losing everything and starting from scratch, only to be forced to do it all again. Then, after all she’d been through, Rejoice’s new home was hit by severe flooding.”

“The farmlands were submerged underwater,” Rejoice told us. “Everything including livestock was completely destroyed.”

With support from our local experts, Rejoice and her community created floating gardens. These are simple beds that rise above floodwaters, so amazingly, they can grow food even when the land is underwater.

Whether there is too much rain, or too little, crops around the world are being destroyed. In Zimbabwe, drought left Shorai and Hamunyare (Title Photo) with nothing. They told us how the solar-powered water pump, funded by donations from people like you, allowed their community to grow a thriving, drought-resistant eco-garden. Now they can feed their family year-round and share food with neighbours. Shorai reflected that, “A good neighbour is someone who can help me in periods of need.”

Rejoice is your neighbour in South Sudan who can now grow food in gardens that float on water. 
Credit: Achuoth Deng

By fasting and giving this Lent, you’ll be a good neighbour helping families find ways to grow enough food to eat. Donate online at cafod.org.uk or call 0303 303 3030 to help parents put food on the table today.

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