Tag: drought

From Kent to Zimbabwe: JB Gill on helping farmers deal with climate change

By JB Gill •
JB Gill sits on the ground in Zimbabwe surrounded by children

JB Gill with children from Mwenezi, Zimbabwe ©BritishRedCross/Jordi Matas

Former JLS band member turned farmer and TV presenter JB Gill writes about his visit to Zimbabwe with the British Red Cross.

Last month, I was gripping the wooden handles of a traditional farm plough in a dry, dusty field, struggling to control the restless cattle pulling it along.

But this was not an item for Down on the Farm, the CBeebies show which I present to teach children about the skills and work that go into farming.

I was in Zimbabwe to see first-hand how extreme weather, drought and climate change have made life hard for farmers there.

But I also saw how a Red Cross project, with support from players of the People’s Postcode Lottery, is empowering people to change their lives.

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Seven reasons why I feel hope for Zimbabwe

By Alexander Pendry •
A mother in Zimbabwe carrying her child on her back stands with a Red Cross flag in the background

© Victor Lacken/IFRC

Bumping along a dirt road for five hours, I caught my first glimpse of Zimbabwe’s rural villages rising up from the dust.

The capital, Harare, seemed modern and wealthy. The contrast with the poor country villages was extreme.

Yet the mood among the rural people was upbeat.

We arrived just after the harvest and people, poor as they still were, kept offering us freshly picked fruit and vegetables.

But the drought that stalked Zimbabwe for two years could come back at any time.

Crops would die and parents might skip meals to feed their children. Disease and malnutrition could even carry some youngsters away.

Despite all of this, I am optimistic about Zimbabwe’s future.

Here’s why:

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Sheep, medicine and food – how cash grants change lives in Pakistan

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In Pakistan, Naqeebullah holds a sheep while his young sons lean on his shoulders and one of the boys holds another sheep

Naqeebullah, his sheep and two of his sons © Pakistan Red Crescent

The Red Cross may be famous for our food parcels and more traditional forms of aid, but cash grants have long been an integral part of our work. Put simply, cash changes lives.

We’re working with the Pakistan Red Crescent to give cash to people in rural areas of Balochistan Province.

From buying sheep to feeding hungry children, cash gives people the independence to buy whatever they need and helps to stimulate the local economy.

Here are four ways people have used their cash grants. More

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“There is a big need for nutritious food here” – overcoming drought in Zimbabwe

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people in garden

The midday sun is fierce as we arrive in Chibuwe, but this hasn’t deterred the Red Cross volunteers who have been hard at work ploughing the land for hours.

It doesn’t look much at the moment, but in a few months it is hoped the earth will provide a rich bounty of tomatoes, spinach, onion, carrots, and aubergines.

“This is our wonderful nutrition garden which will benefit the whole community,” explained Zimbabwe Red Cross volunteer Lucky Mazangesure.

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Somalia: one family’s fight to survive a severe drought

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© ICRC/Pedram Yazdi

“I am 75 years old. I have not heard of or seen such a severe drought,” said Abdi.

Abdi’s family are among many others taking refuge in temporary shelters surrounding the village of Tukaraq, in northern Somalia.

They travelled here by foot, some 150 kilometres from their home.

Like many other drought-affected families across Somalia, their situation is getting desperate.

Please donate to our East Africa Crisis Appeal.

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