Transcript Document

Our time will come. We will reap a harvest if we don’t give up.
Ally Ouedraogo is celebrating
being able to harvest enough
millet to feed his family.
It seems like a simple,
ordinary story.
But nothing could be more
extraordinary.
1
Burkina Faso is one of the
poorest countries in the world.
Life expectancy at birth is just
51 years.
Most people rely on agriculture
to survive, but climate change
has brought a 30-year drought
to the region.
The drought is hitting poor
communities hard.
2
Fifty years ago Ally’s land was full
of greenery. Sadly, by the mid1980s climate change had turned
his land into a desert.
But when Ally looked at his land,
he chose to see something
different – possibility.
Ally worked for 20 years to bring
his land to life.
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Ally used Zai farming to
turn his desert to a harvest:
Small holes are dug in
the land.
Grain is planted in the holes
with organic fertilisers.
Rainwater is retained in the
area around the grain.
4
Ally also used rock belts
to irrigate his land:
Rock belts follow the
contours of the land.
The belts hold in water,
the source of life.
Now Ally’s land is fertile
again, and Ally can provide
for his family.
5
Ally is not content to stop here.
He is working with Christian Aid
partner Reseau Marp to test
drought-resistant seeds and help
other communities.
Now many communities in the
region are using rock belts and
the Zai technique to give their
land new life.
6
Reseau Marp helps whole communities
harvest the desert:
Offering training on how to use
Zai farming and rock belts.
Providing farming equipment,
such as ploughs and wheelbarrows,
and fertiliser and seeds.
Developing new seed types
that can better survive the
harsh conditions.
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Christian Aid stands alongside people
like Ally, mourning with them when times
are tough, working for their future, and
sharing their joy when they harvest.
N’Dogo Karambe used to play to celebrate
harvest. Lack of rain in the Sahel region means
his flute is now rarely heard
8
As an individual:
£7.50 could provide enough droughtresistant millet seed for a farmer in
Burkina Faso to harvest a year’s food
for four people – from the desert.
9
As a congregation:
£62 could help a poor community
in the Sahel region turn their desert
into a harvest. This money could
provide a trainer to give a day’s
instruction on drought-resistant
farming techniques.
10
As we grasp God’s bigger
picture, we see an end to
poverty and suffering in sight.
And we are strengthened as
we work to change mourning
into dancing… and deserts
into harvests.
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Thank God for the hope of harvest.
Thank God for the gift of ‘eternity in our hearts’,
for God’s vision of a world without suffering.
Pray for the places at the heart of that vision –
for Burkina Faso and other places where harvests
are becoming more scarce.
Pray for the people at the heart of that vision – for Ally
and others like him who work so hard to feed and care
for their families and for those who support them.
Pray that God’s vision might settle in our hearts, and
move us to commit long-term to those that suffer.
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Father of creation
We thank you for the miracle of growth You have provided.
Give us eyes of faith to see what a seed can become
And hearts of hope that don’t give up until it grows.
May we give freely to those in need –
Sharing their sorrow when crops fail;
Their resolute vision for change;
And their joy when they harvest.
And help us to be constant in prayer
Until we see every poor community reap the harvest You long for.
Amen.
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© Christian Aid 2008
UK registered charity no. 1105851 Company no. 5171525
Scotland charity no. SC039150
Northern Ireland charity no. XR94639 Company no. NI059154