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 Recent violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo has displaced thousands of people, and most of them are without food and shelter. WFP estimates that as many as 200,000 people have been forced to flee their homes. This number is expected to increase.
Ongoing conflict has also made WFP’s work in the country difficult.
“It's getting harder and harder to reach the displaced,” said World Food Program Goma Logistics Chief, Peter Schaller. “The streets outside are much quieter than usual. People are nervous. They are worried about what might happen next.”
Right now, WFP cannot move food to those who need it. As many as 15 trucks are loaded and ready to move just as soon as a window of opportunity presents itself.
Learn more.
Maria Reppas
Media Relations Manager
Friends of WFP
This month’s Friends of WFP eNewsletter features a fantastic
“From the Field” interview with Peter Transburg, a WFP Public Information
Officer in Mozambique. I’ve noticed that many people have heard of WFP’s school
meals programs, but most are unfamiliar with other WFP initiatives such as the
maternal/child health & nutrition programs and agricultural initiatives.
In his Q&A, Transburg speaks in great depth about two particular
initiatives WFP pursues in Mozambique that improve agricultural training and
stimulate local economies: Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS) and the
Purchase for Progress initiatives.
Whenever I speak about WFP, I like to emphasize the fact
that WFP provides more than food. There are many programs that provide life skills
in addition to nutritious meals. For instance, the JFFLS program teaches
agricultural and entrepreneurial skills to orphans between the ages of 12 and
18 years of age. In addition to these invaluable skills, participants in the
program also receive daily school meals from WFP.
Purchase for Progress helps reinvest in local economies and
give small farmers secure markets where they can sell their excess crops. This
initiative was launched in late September and will be piloted in 21 countries
over the next five years – Mozambique is one of the chosen pilot countries.
Read the Q&A and learn more about the JFFLS and Purchase
for Progress initiatives. Jessica Lennon
Communications Assistant
Friends of the World Food Program
Last week I had the privilege of participating in a portion of the Friends of the World Food Program’s First Annual Committee Retreat. As an intern I have been working with the Outreach Department for two months on retreat preparations and other volunteer support. Yet, before this retreat I’m not sure that I truly appreciated the incredible work that this organization has accomplished over the past several years.
I was nothing short of amazed at the passion, creativity and dedication showed by both the volunteers and the Friends staff who attended the retreat. Volunteers who gave up two days of their week and arranged their own trip to Washington participated enthusiastically in all of the sessions and were inspiring in their commitment to raising awareness and fighting global hunger.
I was also lucky enough to hear Ken Crossley, the deputy director of the World Food Program's U.S. Relations Office talk on day two about the World Food Program’s food aid programs and the importance of carrying out their mission in an efficient manner. For me, the highlight of the retreat came in listening to Margot Hoerrner discuss the remarkable growth and success of the WFP Committees Program. It is truly amazing to me that this program which was launched less than one year ago now includes over 20 committees and hundreds of volunteers throughout the U.S.
Though, as a student intern I was only able to attend a portion of the retreat, I walked away with a new sense of the amazing work that both Friends and WFP is doing every day. Both of these voluntarily funded organizations are able to effectively and efficiently mobilize support, raise awareness and ultimately deliver food where it needs to be. Kudos to all the staff and volunteers involved!
Allison Blajda
Outreach Intern
Bloomberg: Farm-Credit Squeeze May Cut Crops, Spur Food Crisis
It looks like the credit crisis could exacerbate the effects of the food crisis. Farmers, particularly in already-vulnerable areas, will have to pay substantially more to borrow money for seeds and fertilizer if the money is available at all. Corn production in Brazil, a major exporter and a staple food for the region, could drop as much as 20%. According to the article, "Global inventories of corn, wheat and soybeans before the harvest in the Northern Hemisphere next year will be the second- lowest since 1974, enough for 67 days of consumption, compared with 144 days of supplies in 1986, U.S. data show." How will this affect WFP operations? Is WFP working with the World Bank to ameliorate some of this risk?
 On the last day of the Clayton`s Farmer Market, the WFP Committee of St. Louis approached for the first time the St. Louis Community, in an attempt to educate the public about the issue of hunger and the recent food crises. Timidly people started to come to the table, where we had the opportunity to explain thoroughly the work of Friends of the World Food Program and the World Food Program. One of the most appealing things for the community was the fact that this is a new Committee located in St.Louis. Additionally, the school meals program had a positive impact, allowing people to realize the incredible potential one single person has to help solving the problem of hunger.
 Good Afternoon everyone! I just wanted to take this opportunity to update everyone about the First Annual WFP Committee Retreat. The Retreat took place at Monday, 10/20 and Tuesday, 10/21 in Washington, DC. Volunteer Committee Coordinators came from near and far, from New York City to St. Louis.
The Retreat was kicked off with a delicious dinner at Mai Thai in DC on Sunday, 10/19. This gave everyone the opportunity to meet each other, and share committee experiences.
 Bright and early the next morning, Committee Coordinators went through various skill-based sessions throughout the day, including a media training which involved on-camera interviews, a fundraising workshop to help brainstorm and organize successful events, and an advocacy training that prepared everyone for their meetings on Capitol Hill on Tuesday morning. To cap the day off, we had a reception at the Indonesian Embassy where we enjoyed traditional Indonesian food, music and dance.
 Tuesday started off with a bang at the Capitol, where Committee Coordinators met with their members of Congress, successfully communicating the need for the U.S. government to adopt a comprehensive global food security strategy. We followed the meetings up with a nice lunch and a great conversation about the future of the WFP Committee program. Overall, it was a great time!
Click here to view photos of the two days. For those who came please comment and let us know what you thought.
Brian J. Ward
Outreach Associate
Friends of WFP
by William Lambers
Rwanda is on the long road to recovery from the 1994 genocide that devastated the African nation. Hunger and poverty still grip the country. The way out of this vicious cycle is food and education. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is helping provide school meals to fight child hunger and promote class attendance. Lets take a closer look at this program with Guy Adoua, a World Food Programme officer in Rwanda.
How many children benefit from the WFP school feeding programs in Rwanda?
WFP Rwanda is providing food assistance to 300,000 primary schoolchildren, in 300 schools located in the most food-insecure zones of Rwanda.
Discuss what effect the meals have on the children in terms of school attendance, performance, and nutrition.
Chronic food insecurity and structural poverty seriously reduce opportunities for children in many parts of Rwanda to complete primary education. Lack of food prevents many children from enrolling in school, forces them to be frequently absent, and weakens the learning ability of those who do attend classes, thus affecting their academic performance and compromising their future. In short, lack of food helps perpetuate the cycle of poverty.
Continue reading "School Feeding in Rwanda: An Interview with Guy Adoua of the United Nations World Food Programme " »
by William Lambers
Sierra Leone continues to recover from a decade-long civil war that ended in 2001. The war destroyed most of the country's socioeconomic and physical infrastructure, and caused unprecedented population displacement.
Domestic production of rice, the country’s main staple, currently only meets about 70 percent of the consumption requirements. The remainder needs to be imported at increasingly expensive prices.
Located in West Africa, Sierra Leone ranks last out of the 177 countries listed in the latest United Nations Human Development Index. About 70 percent of the population lives below the poverty line and is vulnerable to food insecurity, while 26 percent cannot even afford the minimum daily calorific requirements.
Continue reading "School Feeding in Sierra Leone: An Interview with Christa Räder of the United Nations World Food Programme " »
by William Lambers
Located in West Africa, Burkina Faso is classified as both a least-developed country, and a low-income and food-deficit country. More than 45% of the population lives below the poverty line. Very food-insecure, with high rates of both chronic and acute malnutrition (respectively 34.6% and 23.1%), the country is subject to recurrent drought, which results in cereal shortfall. The enrollment rate in primary school is one of the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 2007 Human Development Report ranked Burkina Faso 176th out of 177 countries.
United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) assistance reaches an average of 450,000 beneficiaries per year in 25 provinces characterized by structural food insecurity, high rates of chronic malnutrition, low school enrollment, low literacy, and low attendance at health centers.
Continue reading "School Feeding in Burkina Faso: An Interview with Olga Keita of the United Nations World Food Programme " »
by William Lambers
Mozambique is a country in Africa that has suffered from numerous natural disasters, including two straight years of massive flooding along the Zambezi River. The flooding has not only displaced many families but destroyed their harvests. Drought has also harmed food production.
Poverty is widespread in Mozambique, with 69% of its population living below below the poverty line according to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). School feeding can help break this cycle of poverty. We will look more closely at school feeding in Mozambique with Carla Honwana of the United Nations World Food Programme.
How many children are benefiting from the WFP school feeding programs in the country?
The Food for Education (school feeding) programme in Mozambique has two components:
Boarding School Feeding (BSF), which provides support to 26,556 students in 152 boarding institutions, and Day School Feeding (DSF), which provides support to 199,851 students in 172 primary day schools
Continue reading "School Feeding in Mozambique: An Interview with Carla Honwana of the United Nations World Food Programme " »
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