Faith in the future: new miracle innovations could save thousands of lives from climate disaster

A s climate change bring s the wor s t droug ht in 40 years to the Horn of Africa, Concern Worldwide suppor ter s are helping lo c al f armer s use new climate-resilient techniques to save their families and communities from star vation.

In some par t s of the Horn of Afric a , there ha sn’t been a single drop of r ain in three year s D ead cows lie dec aying by the road, overcome by dehydr ation. Across Ethiopia , S omalia and Kenya , the dust-filled pl ains are so bare of vegetation that they don’t at tr ac t any animal s The vill ages are just a s quiet The hustle and bustle of f amilies cooking or working ha s f allen silent Children who haven’t eaten for days do nothing but sit still in their hut s, too tired and sick to move.

It ’s the same dire, drought-r avaged situation across all the countries in the Horn of Afric a Right now, 20 million people are acutely food insecure It ’s estimated one per son dies of hunger ever y 36 seconds And a s climate change c auses more ex treme weather pat terns, exper t s predic t that drought s like these will become even more frequent, and l a st even longer, with deva stating ef fec t s for future gener ations

Living in hunger

Ahmed, a f armer in S omalia , and his children, live on the frontline of the climate crisis He inherited his l and from his f ather who wa s a f armer before him. But with each year that ha s gone by since he wa s a boy, he ha s seen less and less r ain f alling on the f amily f arm. The soil ha s become so dr y that he c an no longer grow the nutritious corn and sorghum that once helped him put food on the table

S eeing his crops wither before his eyes, Ahmed did ever y thing he could to save them, but without water, it wa sn’t enough He had nothing to eat and nothing to sell at the market The pain of hunger began to take hold of his children Even if his f amily were to sur vive the current crisis, he could only wonder how his children would ever live through the more formidable drought s of the future

“With the seeds Concern provided, I was able to har vest a lot more and help my family, it changed ever y thing.”

Communitie s face the threat of ma ss star vation a s the climate cri si s wor sen s

Miracle innovation

It wa s in this desperate situation that Concern Worldwide, Ireland ’s largest international aid charit y, and their generous communit y of suppor ters, were able to provide a lifeline for Ahmed For 55 years, the charit y ha s been helping people from the world ’s poorest communities to build lives free from hunger

In Ahmed ’s c a se, esc aping hunger meant achieving something that seemed impossible to him – finding a way to turn his dust y fields green again despite the onsl aught of the current drought But thanks

Life -saving innovation

For decades, Concern Worldwide ha s been bringing life-saving solutions to people facing the climate crisis The miraculous results have been nothing shor t of life-changing for thousands of families

CROP VARIET Y & DI VERSIFICATION

Drou g ht-re si stant se e d s incre a se the chance of a succe s sf ul crop, eve n in dr y condition s , to prote c t familie s f rom hun ge r

Find

IRRIGATION

Whe n an are a re ce ive s no rainfall , in novative wate r pumpin g sy ste m s can brin g v ital , e n richin g moi sture to b arre n soil to suppor ter s who lef t a gif t in their W ill to the charit y, C oncern ha s the resources to build climate -smar t agricultur al progr ammes that c an suppor t Ahmed and f amilies like his They provide the tool s and tr aining that, even in the driest conditions, help f armer s grow nourishing food Together, C oncern and it s suppor ter s were able to provide Ahmed with a wide r ange of drought-resistant seeds, and tr aining on how to grow them. The result s have been nothing shor t of mir aculous – today, his once -barren l and is sprouting thousands of fruit-bearing trees. W ith the income he’s earning from selling the

While the threat of ma ss star vation looms, Concern Worldwide is c alling for more people to help them protec t vulner able families like Ahmed ’s from the hunger c aused by drought and climate change. When people leave a gif t in their Will to Concern, they ’re giving hope to children, families and communities facing future challenges of the climate crisis, by suppor ting this life-saving agricultur al progr amme.

Leaving a legacy of hope for future generations

Siobhán O ’C onnor, from C oncern, advises people who want to leave a gif t in their W ill to the charit y “ The gif t s that our generous suppor ter s

“I am pr oud to k now that , even when I am gone, my suppor t will continue to s ave lives . ”

C olm, who’s leaving a gif t in his W ill to C oncern Worldwide, C o G alway produce, he c an af ford to feed his children again And when they ’re old enough, they will learn these life - changing skill s from Ahmed, which they c an pa ss on to their own children, ensuring future gener ations live a life free from hunger.

The future threat of climate change

leave in their W ill s have the power to change so much,” Siobhán told us She continued, “ That single ac t of kindness goes f ar beyond helping one f amily protec t themselves from hunger – it lives on through the year s, from gener ation to gener ation, helping the f amilies and children of the future sur vive even the deadliest drought ”

POS

T- HARVEST MANAGEMENT

Whe n crops are har ve ste d , more se cure stora ge te ch nique s can prote c t the m f rom b e in g sp oile d by in se c t s and f un gi late r

Although the future looks brighter for Ahmed and his children, many f amilies are still not safe from climate change The World Bank predic t s that the coming changes in weather pat terns could force more than 10 0 million people into ex treme pover t y by 2030 And by 2050, it may internally displ ace 14 3 million people from countries in Sub -S ahar an Afric a , S outh Ea st A sia and L atin Americ a out how you can be par t of a world without hunge

If you’d like to request your free brochure to find out more about leaving a gif t in your Will to Concern, please contact Siobhán O’Connor at Concern Worldwide today

Phone: 01 417 8020 E-mail: siobhan oconnor@concern.net Visit: concern net/lega

More and more compassionate people across Ireland are now moving to suppor t Concern’s vision to build a hunger-free world Siobhán explains, “Our community is united by a simple belief that no one should ever have to suf fer the pain of hunger If you share in this belief, I would encourage you to consider joining us today No gif t is too small or big , ever y donation will help build a world free from hunger.”