BOSSO, Niger – On a recent Friday morning in Bosso, in the far east of Niger, the town criers began circulating at 3:30 a.m., their shouts and drumming rousing residents and visitors from sleep. During Ramadan, the holy month of fasting for Muslims, the criers wake people to remind them to eat and drink before the sun rises and another day of thirst and hunger begins.
Bosso’s visitors this day include five representatives of CARE who are there to distribute emergency food provided by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
Last year, poor rains and a locust invasion left both crops and pasture in poor shape and, as a result, rendered many households vulnerable to food shortages. After last year’s disappointing harvest, the government estimated that 2.7 million people in 4,000 communities — one-quarter of Niger’s total population — would be affected by a food shortage in coming year. Bosso and several of the surrounding villages were severely affected and so were selected to receive food aid from the WFP. CARE took responsibility for food distributions in this area and dispatched teams to Bosso and other nearby villages in early October to await the delivery of WFP rations.
By 4:30 a.m., the CARE team had eaten their morning meal, exchanged a few quiet words among themselves, and then slipped back into their beds to get a couple more hours of sleep before a long day of food distributions.
Distributions
The day before, this CARE team had visited the nearby villages of Yebi and Boulountoungou to inform the residents that their time to receive food had arrived and to come to Bosso the next morning. Now, only 7:30 a.m., villagers were already arriving and staking claim to the few shady sitting spots; as is the norm, men and women sat separately under different trees. And every 30 minutes or so, those sitting at the shade’s edge would silently rise and move deeper into the shade, like human sundials.
Everyone was patient, but visibly eager, as the distribution team readied themselves. Strong men, drenched in sweat, hauled 50 kg (110 pound) sacks of beans and maize from the warehouse and made neat stacks just outside the entrance: five for beans, 10 for maize. Small children, filled with curiosity and mischief, couldn’t resist climbing on the stacks.
The queue of people moved slowly through the distribution station. Each person waited in line holding a numbered piece of paper. In addition to the number were notes indicating the size of ration each person was to receive. First, a CARE team member verified the identity of each person and took a fingerprint. Next, another team member dished out the appropriate amount of beans. Finally, one of the strong men carried out the indicated sacks of maize. And so it went with the next person in line. The process was slow, but despite the wait (and the heat), people were patient.
By mid-day, the team finished distributing food to Yebi residents. Under a blistering sun, people labeled their sacks of maize and made arrangements for transport home. Some had come with donkeys or camels to bring back the rations. Others paid 200 naira (US$1.40) apiece to have their allotment transported in the back of a vintage Toyota Land Cruiser pickup. Two men loaded their rations onto motorcycles, lashed them down with rope, and rode off looking dangerously unstable. And a few others carried small bags of beans atop their heads and struck off on foot.
Making a Difference
Yaka, a young Kanouri woman from Boulountoungou, sat under a large shade tree with the other women waiting for her name to be called. Like many Nigeriens, she planted millet during the rainy season, but the yield, she said, would only last two months. Still, compared to some of her neighbors, she considers herself fortunate. Even so, she is thankful that the Niger government, WFP and CARE have intervened during this year of hunger.
A single mother with six children in her charge, Yaka was eager to receive the 100 kg of maize and 15 kg of beans allotted to her. She has a plan that will stretch the beans for a week and the maize for five. She tries, with difficulty, to think beyond these five weeks and wonders what she will do once her allotment runs out.
Later in the afternoon Yaka and the others from Boulountoungou received their rations. It had been a long day, and it would already be dark by the time she returned home. Despite the late hour, it’s fairly certain she prepared a complete meal — it would have been a long time since she had eaten until she was full, and the town criers would be making their rounds before too long.
Next Steps
Yaka’s story is not unusual for Niger. It is almost certain, given the environmental, climatic and demographic risk factors, that Niger will again face more food shortages in the future. Less certain is if these shortages will be localized or more extensive, affecting a greater proportion of the population.
CARE is working with poor families to help them recover from this food crisis while preparing them to better cope with similar situations in the future through activities that diversify household incomes, protect and enhance the environment and promote traditional social safety nets.
