It was midnight. In a highly restricted country in Africa, a group of people waited eagerly as believers handed out rice, flour, pasta, lentils, and oil. Among the group were widows, families with loved ones in prison, and elderly people. Each story was different, but everyone had come with a common dilemma: they didn’t know how they would feed their families in the coming weeks.
In this hardline country, food insecurity is all too common. Since opportunities are limited, many people
rely on the incomes of relatives or friends who have left for other countries. Conflict in the region has cut off supply lines, leaving people even more susceptible to hunger. Widowed mothers find it especially hard to feed their children. Some sell vegetables to passersby for a small income, and others turn to begging.
Funds from the World Hunger Fund enabled local believers in this country to distribute basic food supplies to 20 families. For security and privacy reasons, the distribution took place at midnight. Each family was given food and a chance to share their story. The believers also took the opportunity to pray with each recipient and share the Gospel. They reported that recipients “were all overflowing with joy to be guaranteed a meal for the next few weeks.” For now, tears of joy replaced the stress of hungry stomachs.
Eden* was one recipient. Five years ago, her husband was imprisoned for his faith. Eden and her son would visit her husband in prison three times a week, bringing him food and encouraging him to remain steadfast. But recently, Eden’s son was taken by force into the army. Now she is alone, struggling to provide for herself while caring for her husband suffering in prison. We pray the food distribution was a source of physical relief and spiritual encouragement for Eden.
Hunger is not isolated to this restricted African country. Over 349 million people, more than the population of the United States, face acute hunger in various countries (source: World Food Programme). With food prices rising, people who already spend most of their income on food face even greater challenges.
Through staff, trusted contacts, and your support of the World Hunger Fund, we are responding to the food crisis in various places around the globe. The needs surpass what we can provide, but we thank you for enabling hot meals for the homeless in Belarus, midnight food distributions in a restricted country,
food boxes for drought-stricken Kenyans, and other food relief across the world.
Some of the countries helped by the World Hunger Fund in 2023:
Niger, Mauritania, Madagascar, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Haiti, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Turkmenistan, Nicaragua, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Israel, Tajikistan, Belarus, South Sudan, Colombia, Peru, Sudan, Libya
To help support the World Hunger Fund program, please click the button below to give a gift.
