A Heart for the Hungry: Witnessing the realities of famine

How will we feed our families in a famine? Will our children survive? Where do we go from here? Where can we find water? Will someone help us?

Many families lay awake at night with thoughts like these running rampant through their minds as the severe drought conditions in Somalia worsen. The realities of the famine deeply trouble the hearts of many in the affected communities.

Today, there are 1.5 million children who are malnourished and about 50% of the population is suffering from the severe drought conditions in Somalia. That’s 7.1 million people and the number is continuing to climb. Displacement is increasing, because currently close to 1 million people are displaced solely by the drought.

Life in Somalia is drastically shifting especially for pastoralists whose livelihood depends on keeping healthy herds of animals. Having numerous animals is how they feed their families and due to the drought, for some, where there once were camels, goats, and cows, only bones remain.

A Sacrificial Calling

People like Peter Mutua sacrifice so much, including having their hearts broken for the things that break God’s heart in order to help people in great need in really difficult places. During the End of the Road podcast interview of season 3, Peter shares a first-hand update on the severe drought conditions in Somalia, and emotionally recounts heartbreaking stories of children lost to starvation.

“One time we were in the field, and we were doing the nutrition distribution for the children, and the severity of the cases of children affected by this drought was so hard.
We went to a family and we saw that one of the children, was not responding at all. The mother tried to breastfeed the baby, but nothing was coming out from the mother. Then we watched helplessly to see what we can do. We tried to do the simple, what you call the oral rehydration drink, just to be able to make sure that the baby can be able to have something. Then we realized it was not doing much. So we picked up the mother and the child, and we put them in the car, just to take them to the nearest health facility. Which was 50 kilometers away. We didn’t even make 10 kilometers… the baby passed away.” –Peter Mutua

Listen to the full interview with Peter Mutua on the End of the Road podcast here as he shares his experiences of the realities of famine.

Please prayerfully consider how God might be calling you to respond to the famine. If you feel led, you can donate here.

You can also watch the interview with Peter Mutua on YouTube. You can click here to watch the video.