Photo via food-force.com

World Gospel Mission helps Christians respond Kenyan famine

Years of droughts that yielded poor harvests, political violence that displaced thousands of people in 2008, and skyrocketing fuel and food prices have led to the current food crisis in Kenya, reports Michael Ireland, chief correspondent, ASSIST News Service.

Only 18 percent of Kenya's land is suitable for farming, and unstable rain patterns have resulted in Kenya being unable to feed all of its 37 million people, according to a media release from World Gospel Mission (WGM).

With more than 10 million people in Kenya facing starvation due to drought and political unrest, World Gospel Mission (WGM) is helping Christians in the United States get much-needed food supplies to the hardest hit areas.

"Today, about a third of Kenyans are hungry," said Tim Rickel, vice president of Development at WGM, a missionary-sending agency based in Marion, Indiana.

"Right now, they need food, and WGM has the infrastructure and the people on the ground to distribute it and make sure it gets to those who need it.

"But WGM's missionaries and Kenyan partners are ready to help," says Rickel. "They just need more food to give away. Fifty-pound bags of corn cost $50 each and will keep whole families from starving."

WGM has been serving in Kenya since 1932 and partners with Africa Gospel Church, an indigenous Kenyan denomination of churches. These churches are often used as staging areas for distributing aid.

"It's sending a powerful message that the church is concerned about feeding a person's body and soul," says Rickel.

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TAGS: Kenya Kenyan famine World Gospel Mission political unrest food supplies

[06/27/2009]

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