Food shortages in Liberia

We've all heard about it--it's all over the news. And despite all the hype and counter-hype in the U.S. about the impending food crisis, the shortage is already dramatically affecting Liberia. Rice is the Liberian staple food, and the already-high price of rice is predicted to climb between 45 and 55 percent over the next four months. Liberians simply can't afford it.

So, what is OR&R doing? We're taking proactive steps to protect the immediate food needs in the orphanages we're serving, but we're focusing on building up the capacity of each orphanage to support itself through this and future crises. Our incoming Capacity Building Manager, Jennifer, is currently training at ECHO, a simulated African farm in Florida. When she returns to Liberia in the fall, she will implement training programs in several key areas like seed keeping, fertilization using local resources, and small animal husbandry. Please join us as we invest more and more in tools, seeds, and expertise for the more than twenty homes we support.

For today, a fish; tomorrow, fishing lessons.