Seeds of hope: CRS helps Ethiopian farmers fight hunger

Published: 2003-10-30

ADIGRAT, Ethiopia (CNS) -- Last winter, 60-year-old farmer Haili Gebre Mariam was praying, "God, give us help." Now, he is praying, "Thank you, God." The Ethiopian Orthodox father and grandfather said he is grateful to God and to the Catholic Church. The Catholic Adigrat diocesan development office in this mountainous region of northeastern Ethiopia teamed up with Catholic Relief Services to help Mariam and hundreds of other farmers obtain seeds. After a good rainy season that followed four years of drought, the seeds have sprouted into a golden wheat field fronting his small stone house. He will use the wheat to feed the six people in his household and said he hopes some of the grain can be stored in case of another drought next year. The seed program and other development projects are part of a new strategy in Ethiopia for CRS, the U.S. bishops' international relief and development agency. In addition to offering emergency food supplies when needed, aid workers hope to help farmers develop ways to survive drought.

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