Food vouchers saved Alok’s family
Alok has five living children. The youngest child has mental disabilities, needing constant care, and Alok’s husband is a blind man in his sixties. Alok has no money to send her children to school, so she sells firewood at the market to try and make ends meet. The children collect water in a leaky jerry can, but there is never enough for their drinking or hygiene needs.
The drought of 2017 caused the land to produce next to no food, and the family can’t afford to own livestock. The only way that they can eat is if Alok sells her allotment of firewood each day.
As Alok was amongst the most needy and vulnerable, Tearfund South Sudan selected her family to receive food vouchers. Alok expressed her gratitude for the help in getting through the hunger season, and the food vouchers helped change her life and the lives of her family.
When drought and market struggles left Semayat’s family hungry, she said “yes” to trying conservation agriculture through Tearfund’s partner TDA. The results were astonishing—her maize harvest grew eightfold, the quality improved, and she gained both food security and extra income. Now, with four months’ food stored, she’s planning to expand to new crops and teach others.
Emergency food relief from Tearfund was a lifeline for single mother Elizabeth in South Sudan, who, after her husband went missing, relied on their aid. This support not only provided immediate relief but also brought hope, helping Elizabeth see a brighter future despite her hardships.
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