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Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC202207S
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00:43 >> Hello and thank you for 00:45 joining us on It Is Written 00:46 Canada. 00:47 Today we will be looking at 00:48 the current world hunger 00:49 crisis and share with you some 00:51 statistics on what's actually 00:52 happening on the ground 00:54 because this is one of the 00:56 worst hunger crises the world 00:59 has ever seen. 01:00 >> Fears of a global food 01:02 crisis are growing and it's 01:04 getting worse. 01:05 Close to one billion people 01:08 regularly go to bed hungry and 01:11 one expert told us that soon 01:13 these people will be living on 01:16 one meal a week. 01:17 >> We're gonna be focusing on 01:19 one specific region known as 01:21 the Turkana County in the 01:24 country of Kenya which has an 01:26 estimated population of 01:27 1.4 million people. 01:30 >> Droughts in Turkana in 01:31 recorded history started in 01:34 1952 and would reoccur once 01:37 every ten years or so. 01:39 While these were severe events 01:41 causing the deaths of 01:43 livestock and people and 01:45 significant migration events, 01:47 they would usually only last 01:49 about one year. 01:51 >> But beginning in 2000, the 01:53 droughts began to last longer 01:55 causing more hunger, 01:57 suffering, and death of people 01:58 and livestock. 02:01 >> The current drought has 02:02 lasted for five consecutive 02:04 years. 02:05 Almost all livestock has died 02:08 and a few remaining goats are 02:11 emaciated and are no longer 02:13 producing any milk. 02:16 Today on It Is Written Canada, 02:17 our special guest is Steve 02:19 Matthews who is the Executive 02:22 Director for ADRA Canada. 02:24 Steve, welcome to It Is 02:26 Written Canada. 02:28 >> Thank you so much for 02:29 having me here today. 02:30 >> Steve, you just came back 02:32 from Kenya, Turkana region 02:35 and-- but before we go there, 02:37 let's go to the bigger picture. 02:39 We're facing one of the worst 02:41 or probably the worst crisis, 02:43 food crisis, hunger crisis 02:45 that the world has ever seen. 02:47 Tell us about the statistics, 02:48 let's look at the big picture, 02:49 what's happening in the world. 02:51 >> Yeah, the situation right 02:53 now is very dire. 02:55 Before COVID, we were seeing a 02:57 steady decline in the number 02:58 of people that were suffering 03:01 with hunger, but what we're 03:03 seeing now is a really drastic 03:06 increase in the number of 03:07 people that are struggling 03:08 from hunger. 03:11 About 828 million people as of 03:13 the end of 2021 have been 03:15 estimated to be basically 03:17 going to bed hungry every 03:18 night and 345 million of those 03:21 are at a point of being 03:23 severely food insecure so 03:25 that's, you know, you're 03:27 missing meals right to the 03:29 point of severe malnutrition 03:31 and we're seeing that 03:33 continuing to increase. 03:34 We've, since the end of 2021, 03:37 we believe that the numbers 03:38 are definitely getting worse. 03:39 For example, in Somalia in 03:41 August, there were 300,000 03:43 people that were actually at 03:45 the most extreme end of 03:47 hunger, famine and we were 03:49 starting to see deaths 03:51 occurring from just basically 03:53 hunger. 03:54 Right now they're anticipating 03:56 that we're just entering into 03:57 December and they anticipate 03:59 that number is going to be 04:01 about 2.3 million people in 04:03 famine conditions this month. 04:05 So that just kinda gives an 04:07 idea of how bad things have 04:08 been progressing over 04:10 time here. 04:11 >> So 800 million going to 04:13 bed-- that was the end of 2021 04:17 and it's been steadily 04:19 increasing so we're talking 04:22 end of 2022, things are close 04:24 to a billion people are going 04:26 to bed hungry every night. 04:27 [STEVE] Yeah, that's probably a 04:29 fair estimate of where things 04:31 are going, but it's definitely 04:33 continuing to get worse as 04:35 time goes by. 04:37 [MIKE] This is serious. 04:38 [RENÉ] So, Steve, you just got 04:40 back from one of the hardest 04:42 hit regions in Turkana County 04:45 in Kenya, tell us what was your 04:49 initial impression when you 04:52 arrived there? 04:53 >> Yeah, well, you're-- it's 04:56 almost like landing in a 04:59 desert. 05:00 There's, you know, there are 05:02 pockets of green where really 05:04 resilient plants are able to 05:06 continue, but as we were 05:08 driving, like, everything's 05:09 just so dry. 05:11 We were standing in river beds 05:13 that had been dry for 05:16 two years. 05:17 We, at one point as I was 05:20 travelling with my colleague, 05:21 Frank Spangler, we were 05:23 saying, you know, "This would 05:25 put you in the mind of the 05:26 surface of Mars," you know, 05:28 just completely barren, dry, 05:29 rocks, just a really arid 05:34 landscape. 05:35 >> So you're looking out over 05:37 this landscape, how long has 05:39 it been since it's rained? 05:41 >> They've had little small 05:44 amounts of rain, but 05:46 essentially any sizable 05:48 amounts of rain, it's been 05:49 about five years of continuous 05:51 drought. 05:52 So they normally get, they 05:54 call it the big rains in April 05:56 and they get the small rains 05:58 in December, like, November, 06:01 December, they keep missing, 06:02 so as they come along... 06:04 When we saw the crisis 06:06 happening, we started to 06:07 respond in emergency saying, 06:09 "OK, well, when the rains come 06:10 next season, they'll get out 06:12 of the emergency," but we're 06:14 continuing to get worse and 06:15 worse and further into 06:17 emergency as they lose their 06:18 livestock, as plants no longer 06:21 grow, it's just a very dire 06:24 situation. 06:25 >> So five years, essentially, 06:27 without rain. 06:28 How are they making it? 06:31 >> Yeah, it's-- you know, 06:33 while I was there, I had a 06:35 look at-- they showed me what 06:36 they eat. 06:37 So essentially I visited two 06:39 different regions of Turkana. 06:41 One showed me a wild fruit 06:43 that they survive on so the 06:45 first location, they were, 06:47 these small fruits, probably 06:49 about this big, that they had 06:51 collected, they have to travel 06:53 quite a distance to collect 06:55 these and not in safe 06:59 conditions either, so the 07:01 conditions are, you know, 07:02 there's still bandits in the 07:04 area, women are not safe going 07:06 out for these long distances, 07:08 and they go out and collect 07:10 the fruit, they bring it back, 07:11 but it's not edible in 07:12 that state. 07:13 They wouldn't even let me 07:15 taste it, they said it's-- 07:16 they were preparing at the 07:17 time, they said it's so bitter 07:19 that you can't eat it the way 07:20 that it is. 07:21 So what they have to do first 07:22 is boil it down, then they 07:24 have to knock the outer shell 07:25 off of it, then they were 07:27 actually rolling it around in 07:29 dirt to be able to get the 07:30 outer shells off, then they 07:31 boil it again, but they said 07:33 they have to boil it for 12 07:34 hours to get it to a point 07:36 where it's edible, to the point 07:38 where the bitterness is gone 07:39 so that they can consume it. 07:41 But that's the only source of 07:43 food they have. 07:44 Their goats, the few goats 07:46 they still have are so 07:49 malnourished that they no 07:50 longer produce, you know, they 07:51 don't produce milk. 07:52 They used to use them for 07:54 milk, cheese, those sorts of 07:55 products, they don't have that 07:56 anymore because they're quite 07:57 emaciated and they don't 07:59 produce anymore. 08:00 So this wild fruit is the only 08:02 source of food that they have. 08:03 There's so much work to 08:04 collect it that essentially 08:06 they eat about once every 08:08 three days is what was in this 08:10 one region that I was in. 08:12 While I was walking through 08:13 one of the villages, I 08:15 actually saw bones from dead 08:18 animal carcasses that had not 08:20 made it through. 08:22 We were driving along and we 08:23 saw a goat on the side of the 08:24 road and you could tell, like, 08:26 it was almost dead. 08:28 We thought it was dead and 08:29 then it just kind of moved its 08:31 head a little bit, but these 08:33 are the conditions in the area 08:34 right now. 08:35 >> Were you seeing hungry 08:37 people as well? 08:38 >> Everybody's hungry. 08:39 As we were going there, I 08:41 would say there's no such 08:43 thing in that area as a person 08:44 that's not hungry. 08:46 They were, you know, we met 08:49 individuals that-- one 08:50 gentleman that we met, he has, 08:53 he actually has two wives 08:55 which is not uncommon in that 08:57 area, multiple wives is fairly 08:59 common, but his, you know, 09:01 they had lost a child who died 09:04 from hunger, from malnutrition, 09:08 his wife, his oldest wife, 09:10 she's sick now and she's very 09:12 concerned that she doesn't 09:14 have the strength and stamina 09:15 to survive the sickness that 09:17 she's dealing with. 09:18 The whole community have lost 09:20 children and elderly because 09:22 of the hunger that's being 09:25 suffered. 09:26 There was another lady that I 09:28 met who was sharing about her 09:30 husband, he had passed away 09:31 about a year prior to us 09:33 arriving and it was, she said, 09:35 you know, he picked up an 09:37 infection that normally it 09:39 wouldn't have been 09:40 life-threatening, but because 09:42 of the just severely 09:43 compromised immune system, 09:45 having no nourishment in his 09:47 body, he succumbed to that. 09:49 So now she's left to support 09:51 her, two of her children and 09:53 grandchildren as well. 09:55 So we just see so much of that 09:58 in this region. 10:00 >> So, Steve, how do the 10:01 Turkana people make a little 10:05 bit of money in order to feed 10:07 their families? 10:09 >> I would say the people that 10:11 we met, they're industrious, 10:13 they're resilient, they work 10:15 with the limited resources 10:17 that they have. 10:19 For example, one lady that we 10:21 met, her name was Alice, I 10:24 mentioned Alice just recently 10:25 about-- that's the lady that 10:27 took me to show the food, she 10:29 also makes mats. 10:32 So she'll weave mats together 10:33 and she can make about two 10:36 mats per month and she can 10:41 earn about a thousand 10:42 shillings per mat. 10:44 Now a thousand shillings might 10:45 sound a lot, but when you do 10:47 the conversion, that's 10:48 probably about $11 Canadian. 10:50 She makes two of those a month 10:52 so she can make probably about 10:53 $22 Canadian per month which 10:56 is needed to be used to 10:58 purchase foods, supplies for 11:00 the family, education, 11:02 tuition, because education 11:04 isn't free, they normally have 11:06 to have uniforms and they have 11:08 examination fees that they 11:09 need to pay. 11:11 So doesn't go very far when 11:13 you need about $110 a month is 11:15 the estimated amount to be 11:16 able to eat properly 11:18 in that area. 11:20 So she works every day and 11:22 that's what it takes for her 11:24 to be able to do that. 11:25 >> So Alice makes these mats, 11:27 do people make anything else? 11:29 >> Yeah, there's one of her 11:31 neighbours that we visited 11:33 makes, this is Lokamer, her 11:36 name is, and she makes baskets 11:39 so big baskets. 11:41 I wanted to bring one back, I 11:42 thought, "This would be an 11:43 amazing laundry basket to 11:45 bring back," but we weren't 11:46 able to bring them back. 11:48 We did actually buy a couple 11:49 of them from them because, you 11:50 know, for us going in, it's 11:53 $10 for one of these big 11:55 baskets. 11:56 So what we did is we bought 11:57 them, we left them for the 11:59 local office to be able to use 12:00 in the office. 12:01 That's one of their big 12:03 challenges is a market. 12:04 They don't have access to a 12:07 market so they're taking them 12:08 to a market where, because 12:10 these are the only things that 12:11 really are able to earn a lot 12:12 of income, when they go to the 12:14 market, everybody else is 12:16 selling them as well so the 12:17 prices are low. 12:18 Actually, I brought, I did 12:20 bring-- this is a broom that 12:25 one of the ladies made, so 12:27 this one was gifted to me. 12:29 So everywhere we went, they 12:31 had gifts, they wanted to 12:32 provide gifts to us because 12:34 they're just so thankful for 12:36 the help that ADRA has provided 12:37 them so she said, "I don't have 12:39 much, but I want you to have 12:41 this," so this was-- so she 12:44 makes these, this is her broom 12:47 that she-- 12:48 Now, René, you mentioned to me 12:50 that you've used these before 12:53 back home as well, so... 12:55 >> They sweep really well, 12:57 Steve, they are amazing. 12:58 >> You were sharing with me 13:00 these are even better than the 13:01 brooms that we get here so 13:03 that was... 13:04 >> They sure are. 13:05 >> Yeah, so-- but this is, 13:07 what she does, she can make 13:10 about 15 of these per day. 13:14 The lady's name was Alugita, 13:16 72 years old, and she makes, 13:20 she'll make about 60 of these 13:21 a week and then she walks into 13:23 the market to take them in. 13:25 She's supporting her children 13:27 and grandchildren with this 13:30 process that she does. 13:32 But for this lady at 72 years 13:34 old, she takes a bundle of 60 13:36 of these on her head and walks 13:39 five hours into the market to 13:41 be able to sell them and for a 13:44 bundle of 60, she makes 13:45 $3 Canadian. 13:48 So she does that four times a 13:50 month where she's able to make 13:53 essentially $12 Canadian 13:54 and remember I mentioned 13:56 recently that it takes about 13:57 $110 to properly feed yourself, 14:00 to be able to buy enough food 14:02 to feed your family. 14:03 So this is the challenge. 14:06 So while I was there, they got 14:09 me to carry these bundles. 14:11 So remember, 60 of these and 14:14 so I was able to pick it up, 14:15 put it on my head by myself... 14:17 [MIKE] Were they impressed? 14:18 >> They were actually 14:20 impressed, they thought I 14:21 wasn't gonna be able to do it, 14:22 but I'm younger and a little 14:24 more well-fed than they are so 14:26 that was-- I was able 14:28 to do that. 14:29 Alugita, she requires having 14:31 someone help her put it up 14:32 onto her head and walk five 14:34 hours into the market. 14:39 She has to stop and rest along 14:40 the way, while she rests-- and 14:42 she can't put it back up onto 14:44 her head so she needs to wait 14:45 for somebody to come along and 14:46 help her to get the bundle 14:48 back onto her head. 14:49 [MIKE] And she's 72 years old. 14:51 [STEVE] Seventy-two years old. 14:53 So walking that distance, she 14:55 said only-- it takes her about 14:56 two hours to come home. 14:58 So that'll give you a level of 14:59 how much effort it takes to 15:01 walk that distance. 15:03 We asked about transportation, 15:05 but if they were to take the 15:07 bundles and put them on a 15:09 motor bike, that's most of the 15:11 transportation there, all of 15:13 her profits are gone. 15:14 So she wouldn't actually earn 15:15 anything by doing that. 15:18 >> So we're not just talking 15:19 about Alugita taking the 15:21 brooms, but we're also talking 15:23 about Alice taking her mats, 15:26 we're talking about the 15:27 baskets, so everything that's 15:29 being transported is really 15:31 being transported by foot. 15:33 >> Absolutely. 15:34 Yeah, because if they hire 15:35 transportation, they lose 15:37 their profits, but Alice, so 15:40 Alice is not in the same 15:42 village as Alugita. 15:44 Alice has to walk 25 15:46 kilometres with her mats on 15:49 her head to get to the market. 15:52 So it's a two-day journey for 15:54 her to get in with her mats. 15:58 So normally, I asked her, 16:00 like, "Where do you stay?" and 16:01 basically as they're going 16:03 along, because of the sense of 16:04 community that they have, she 16:06 can just, wherever she is, 16:07 someone will take her in and 16:09 let her sleep there as well so 16:10 they're all kind of part of 16:12 that same tribe and able to 16:15 do that. 16:16 [RENÉ] So, Steve, what is so sad 16:18 for me is they are putting in 16:20 so many hours of work and 16:24 walking and then just getting 16:26 a mere pittance, like, just a 16:30 little bit, so, like, what 16:32 amount of food, for how long 16:34 can they-- do they get that 16:38 income in order to buy food, 16:39 like, how long does that 16:41 food last? 16:42 >> And it's not just for her, 16:43 right, it's not just for the 16:44 individual, but it's for the 16:45 family so there's people 16:46 dependent on that. 16:47 [STEVE] So for Alugita, for 16:49 example, when she comes home, 16:50 she has four grandchildren 16:51 that she needs to feed as well 16:53 so, all girls and 12-, 16:55 14-year-old, so they're 16:57 growing and she needs to bring 16:59 back food for them so 17:01 typically what they can earn 17:03 in a week is enough food to 17:04 cover them for probably a day 17:06 or two. 17:07 This is the part that-- our 17:08 campaign is called Justice at 17:10 the Table because I believe 17:11 that's such an injustice that 17:13 someone has to work that much, 17:16 that amount of time, travel 17:18 that distance, they work 17:20 harder than we do and to earn 17:23 not even enough to be able to 17:24 purchase enough food 17:26 for a week. 17:27 Like, that's, I find that's 17:29 such an injustice. 17:32 [RENÉ] It is. 17:33 I don't think we can even wrap 17:36 our minds around that, Steve, 17:38 you know? 17:39 >> It's something that if you 17:41 don't go and see it, it just-- 17:44 you can't get your head 17:46 wrapped around it so I always 17:47 have to remember that when I'm 17:49 speaking to people about this 17:50 that they haven't experienced 17:52 what I've seen. 17:53 To go there and see it gives 17:54 you a different perspective, 17:55 absolutely. 17:56 [MIKE] Mm, so we're talking 17:58 about a completely different 17:59 world, in a sense, from what 18:00 we live here in Canada. 18:01 [STEVE] Absolutely, yeah. 18:02 >> My decision is, "Do I get 18:04 this pair of shoes or that 18:05 pair of shoes," you know, I'm 18:06 not thinking about how much 18:08 food I'm gonna have because I 18:09 have enough. 18:10 They're living from basically 18:15 one meal to the next which may 18:17 not come today. 18:18 [STEVE] Absolutely, yeah. 18:19 >> Or the next day. 18:22 Or, like, three, four, five 18:23 days without food. 18:26 [STEVE] Some of the people we've 18:27 met didn't remember the last 18:29 time they ate so that'll give 18:31 you an indication of how bad 18:33 things are, yeah. 18:36 >> So, Steve, how has ADRA 18:38 been helping the most 18:39 vulnerable? 18:41 Families, orphans, widows, 18:44 young children... 18:47 >> There's a few different 18:48 ways that we're helping. 18:50 One is-- so one thing I was-- 18:52 found very interesting, when 18:53 you go to Kenya, they have a 18:55 system called M-pesa and it's 18:58 mobile money and we were able 19:00 to transfer cash transfers 19:02 directly to the project 19:05 participants that we're 19:07 working with, but the part 19:09 that I like about it is it's 19:10 very secure. 19:11 You don't have, you know, 19:12 somebody just went to a cash 19:13 distribution, now they're 19:15 carrying cash with them, 19:16 nobody knows when they've got 19:18 the money, nobody knows that, 19:20 "Hey, this person has it," so 19:22 it also is very good from a 19:24 dignified perspective, nobody 19:25 knows that they've just been 19:27 handed money as well, so 19:28 that's how we are working in 19:30 one of the areas. 19:32 So then they can take that and 19:33 they can go to the market and 19:34 buy the food that they need. 19:35 What we've been providing is 19:38 typically a cash transfer 19:40 that's enough to cover the 19:41 gaps so that they're able to 19:43 get food for the month. 19:46 Most of our project areas 19:48 though, that money was there 19:50 from January to June, some of 19:53 them we were able to extend a 19:55 couple of additional months, 19:57 but the money does run out, 19:59 unfortunately. 20:00 So we-- we're right now, as 20:02 part of our Justice at the 20:03 Table campaign, we're really 20:05 trying to raise funds to 20:07 extend these projects as the 20:08 droughts aren't ending, these 20:10 people need us to continue 20:12 working there. 20:13 Another area, so that's one 20:15 part, I always like the way we 20:19 approach our projects, we 20:21 don't wanna just basically the 20:23 old proverb of "Give a man a 20:24 fish," we don't wanna just 20:25 give a fish, we wanna teach 20:27 them how to fish. 20:28 And one of the areas I 20:30 visited, it was a great little 20:32 project where we help people 20:34 set up a farm. 20:35 So we brought together a group 20:37 in the community and almost 20:39 like a farming co-op was kinda 20:41 what comes to mind for me, but 20:43 it was interesting to be in 20:45 this very arid, dry area, 20:48 they're growing watermelons, 20:49 they're growing fodder, you 20:52 know, they're growing grass 20:54 for their goats so that they 20:56 can harvest it and have fodder 20:58 for the goats when it's really 21:01 dry, we-- they're growing-- 21:03 tomatoes were growing there, 21:06 they were growing different 21:08 types of crops. 21:10 They're able to produce enough 21:12 that they're able to feed the 21:14 community, but they're also 21:15 having extra so that they can 21:17 sell the excess. 21:19 So what they've done is 21:21 they've located land next to a 21:22 river that hasn't completely 21:24 dried up yet and, you know, 21:26 right now there's enough water 21:28 to sustain this garden because 21:31 it's-- the water's actually 21:32 coming from outside of the 21:34 region so even though it's not 21:36 raining there, they're getting 21:37 the rains that flow in from 21:39 areas that are still getting 21:40 some rain. 21:41 But what they've done is 21:43 they've dug canals, they've 21:44 trenched out canals from the 21:45 river into their garden and 21:47 they were showing me how when 21:49 the water fills up, they're 21:51 able to run the water down 21:53 through the canal, then they 21:56 can block of different areas 21:57 so they literally just move 21:59 the dirt to a different area 22:00 which causes the water to back 22:02 up into a different section of 22:03 the garden to water what's 22:05 needed at that given time. 22:07 Very basic technology, but 22:10 life-changing. 22:12 And that's one of the things, 22:13 we've taught them how to do 22:14 that and we've provided them 22:16 with the seeds to be able to 22:17 grow that so the beauty of 22:19 this project is while I was 22:21 there, there were two groups 22:22 that were set up that were 22:23 both growing their farms right 22:25 beside each other so, you 22:26 know, they're all working 22:27 together. 22:28 I got an opportunity to 22:30 discuss with them and see 22:31 what-- how that's gone 22:33 for them. 22:34 But there was another area, 22:35 they were actually clearing 22:37 another area next to the 22:39 farms, but that's not being 22:40 done by ADRA. 22:42 Now they've taken their future 22:44 into their own hands and 22:46 they're saying-- what we teach 22:48 them is make sure you're 22:49 putting some aside so that you 22:51 can invest into expansion and 22:53 growth so that's what they're 22:55 doing now is they're-- they've 22:57 cleared another acre of land 22:59 that they're getting ready to 23:00 trench and build more canals. 23:03 So they're-- now they can set 23:06 aside some money so that once 23:08 the produce is sold, they can 23:09 go buy more seeds to be able 23:11 to continue with their farm. 23:14 So that's just one of the 23:15 interventions that we see. 23:17 The sad part is there's so 23:18 much need in the regions that 23:20 we're working in, there was 23:21 another community that we were 23:23 in that had a small watering 23:24 hole that we would love to be 23:26 able to help in that area as 23:28 well to really transform 23:30 things 'cause if we can teach 23:31 people how to grow their own 23:33 food, even though it's very 23:34 dry, very arid, there are 23:36 water sources that they can 23:38 get to so this one, I actually 23:41 asked the lady, you know, "If 23:43 we were able to help, would 23:45 you be interested in growing 23:46 your own food?" and they said, 23:48 "Absolutely, we'd love to be 23:49 able to do that." 23:50 So there are other areas that 23:53 we don't currently have the 23:54 resources to meet the needs 23:56 for them, but I'm sure that, 23:59 you know, if we were able to 24:00 get these additional 24:02 resources, we can help change 24:04 those communities as well. 24:05 >> So someone's listening to 24:07 this right now, 24:09 how can they help? 24:11 They're not gonna get in a 24:12 plane and go over there to 24:14 Kenya and start farming with 24:16 them and teaching them, what 24:18 can they do? 24:19 >> Right now we're in a 24:21 campaign to try to raise 24:22 $2.4 million. 24:24 By raising that 2.4 million, 24:26 it actually gives us access to 24:28 a total project value of 24:29 $15 million. 24:31 This'll be done in 13 24:33 different countries that we're 24:34 working in. 24:35 That's our Justice at the 24:36 Table campaign. 24:38 People can donate by going to 24:40 our website, adra.ca, 24:44 there's-- they can go in and 24:46 donate to our hunger campaign, 24:50 we're also asking our churches 24:52 to jump on board and make a 24:54 commitment to raise a certain 24:56 amount of money in their local 24:57 church. 24:58 Any church group can go in, 25:00 sign up as a church group, and 25:02 make a commitment to raise 25:04 X-amount of funds and really 25:07 get a campaign going and 25:09 invite your friends, invite 25:10 your family members to 25:12 contribute to that as well. 25:13 So we've got a number of 25:14 different resources that we're 25:16 looking at for ways to raise 25:18 these funds as we continue to 25:19 try to expand and grow the 25:21 work that we're doing in this 25:22 area of the world. 25:23 The needs are gonna be there 25:25 for the long term. 25:27 While I was there speaking 25:29 with our country director in 25:31 Somalia, the country director 25:33 in Kenya, they're saying that 25:35 there's concern that this is 25:37 going to continue for quite 25:38 some time. 25:39 Even if the rains came now, to 25:41 re-establish those herds is 25:43 going to take time. 25:45 They're just not going to 25:46 re-establish right away so 25:48 there's gonna be a lot of 25:49 investment even if the rain 25:51 did come back, it's a 25:52 multi-year recovery right now 25:55 because of the conditions. 25:56 >> Steve, unfortunately we've 25:58 come to the end of our 25:59 program, but I wonder if I 26:01 could ask you to pray for 26:04 those people in Turkana and 26:07 Somalia who are going to bed 26:10 hungry at night and also if 26:13 you could pray for those that 26:15 are viewing our program and 26:18 that God will lead them to 26:21 give so that they can help 26:23 these people. 26:25 >> Sure. 26:26 It would be my pleasure. 26:28 Heavenly Father, Lord, as we 26:31 ponder on the topic we've 26:34 considered here today, as we 26:36 think of those that are 26:38 struggling to find out where 26:39 their next meal is going to 26:41 come from, I pray that You 26:43 will bring relief to those who 26:46 are struggling, I pray that 26:48 You will provide sources 26:49 of food. 26:51 May You use us to reach out to 26:54 those people, to provide the 26:56 resources that are needed for 26:58 providing that life-sustaining 27:00 food to them. 27:01 May You be with our viewers 27:03 today as they consider how 27:05 they may be able to play a 27:07 part and to help in this very 27:09 dire situation. 27:11 May You move us to use our 27:15 resources to support the 27:18 projects that are being done 27:20 to help ease the suffering of 27:22 those who are much less 27:24 fortunate than we are. 27:26 In Jesus' name, I pray, amen. 27:28 [MIKE & RENÉ] Amen. 27:30 [MIKE] Thank you very much, 27:31 Steve, for sharing what you 27:33 saw on the ground there in 27:35 Africa of the hunger crisis that 27:38 people are facing right now. 27:40 [STEVE] Yeah, thanks very much 27:41 for having me and just for 27:42 giving the opportunity to share 27:44 with our fellow Canadians what 27:48 really is happening out there. 27:52 >> Before you go, we would 27:53 like to invite you to follow 27:55 us on Instagram and Facebook 27:58 and subscribe to our YouTube 28:00 channel and also listen to our 28:02 Podcasts. 28:04 And if you go to our website, 28:05 you can see our latest 28:07 programs. 28:09 >> You, too, can experience 28:10 the fullness of life found in 28:12 the words of Jesus when He 28:13 said, "It is written, 'Man 28:15 shall not live by bread alone, 28:17 but by every word that 28:19 proceeds out of the mouth 28:21 of God.'" 28:24 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Revised 2022-12-14