Leonor Macucule, a 46-year-old mother of two, stands in front of a barren field. Her community of Machinho in Mozambique’s Chokwe district has been hit hard by drought. Failed crops have led to diminished food and increased hunger and suffering for local families. Because she was unable to farm, Leonor turned to coal production and making straw mats to feed her family. The German Red Cross started a project in the area to improve access to food, water and sanitation and to help communities cope with climate-related disasters. Leonor is one of the beneficiaries of this program.
“Life has been very hard because of the drought. The farming we do is heavily dependent on rain. In this field that you see, we cultivate it with our own hands, but it has yielded nothing. And we no longer have cattle here. They have all died because of the drought.
Getting food is very difficult for us. There are no stores or warehouses nearby. We have to travel to Chokwe to get food which costs 140 meticais. We simply do not have that kind of money.
Many are producing coal and straw mats to make money. If that fails, we eat Tivha (black river root) to survive.
In this community, some have died because food is so scarce. Others die because they are sick, and since they have hunger, they don’t survive the disease. Some people with diseases are so hungry they can’t continue to take their medication. I know two people here who have died.
When the Red Cross project came, it gave us life saving support. It brought unity to the community to fight this drought and end this hunger. We come to work feeling stronger and more motivated and united. This irrigation pump is very precious to us. We want to keep it running so that should we have drought again, we know the solution and can use it again. It is our sign of a brighter future.”
