How your compensation will help
Located in a semi arid region Dire Dawa is Ethiopia's second largest
city.
Small farmers living on the outskirts of the city have for generations
sown their crops and harvested according to the same rainy seasons
their fathers and grandfathers relied upon. But now this has changed.
The weather is unpredictable and erratic. The rains arrive late
and are often torrential, destroying crops, washing away topsoil
and leeching nutrients. With heavy rain comes the threat of water
borne diseases such as malaria and typhoid.
In August 2006 hundreds of people died and thousands made homeless
in a devastating flood
In partnership with JeCCDO we are supporting a newly established
Community Managed Disaster Reduction and Prevention Committee in
Dire Dawa. Run by local people from all sections of the community
the Committee works to prepare the poorest people to adapt to the
changing climate. It does so in the following ways
- developing and managing tree nurseries
- working to reforest the hills surrounding the town
- developing grain banks
- working with nearby communities up river to develop early flood
warning systems
- teaching local people to plant drought resistant seeds and grow
early maturing crops
- establishing a seed bank
- improve water harvesting and digging wells.
The money you provide will enable this work to develop and enable
people to adapt to the new challenges. It could make the difference
between life or death.
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