Man standing next to SOS emergency relief cereal bags. Photo from SOS Archives

March 25, 2011: Political upheaval and unusual weather have caused concern over another possible world food crisis only three years after the last one. According to the The World Bank’s Food Price Watch, as of January 2011, the food price index was just three percent below its historic high in 2008. At that time, SOS Children’s Villages implemented emergency food programs in Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal and Tunisia.

In any crisis situation, those with the fewest resources are hardest hit. This holds true for many families in North Africa and the Middle East, and SOS Children’s Villages is there to help those in the most dire circumstances. Here is some insight into how rising food prices have affected SOS Children’s Villages in Burkina Faso, Morocco and Senegal.

Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is a landlocked country where child malnutrition in very poor families never really stops and where the lasting effects of the 2008/09 crisis have not completely vanished.

“To be active and healthy, children need to have sufficient and nutritious food. This means to be able to afford food. Now this is a concern," says an SOS mother from SOS Children’s Village Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso. “Every week I buy rice, sugar, milk, oil, pasta and eggs and sometimes meat and fish. Now I need more money for my weekly food basket and have to make choices that are not easy. The children now have eggs only four times a month compared to eight times not so long ago. The price of eggs has increased by 65%, prices of corn and sugar by 45%.  Since the price of milk powder almost doubled,  it was removed from the afternoon snack. The children have noticed the changes and ask questions and I try to explain what is going on.”

At the SOS Children’s Village Ouagadougou in northern Burkina Faso, children eat fish and fruit less often. Outings to the park have been eliminated so that transportation costs can be used for food.

Three girls preparing food at SOS in Morocco. Photo by Sandrine Houalet

The SOS Family Strengthening Program in Bobo-Dioulasso helps families in the community outside of the SOS Village through education, health care, and food. Brought together by SOS, these families are now sharing information on their day-to-day challenges and  working together to save money through buying in bulk.

Morocco

SOS Children’s Villages in Morocco is focused on providing school meals in areas with the highest poverty levels. Subsidized or free meals are an incentive for parents to send their children to school and ensures that these children will have at least one good meal during the day. In the area of Immouzzer Kandar, a Middle Atlas mountain town with large pockets of  poverty, children receive lunches and snacks at the SOS Family Strengthening Program facility. They are also encouraged to do their homework on-site where a teacher is available to provide extra help with lessons.  Homework was not being completed outside of the facility because the children’s homes lacked light – wood and electricity were too expensive.

Senegal

Siblings eating at SOS in Senegal. Photo by Sandrine Houalet

In Koalack, Senegal, SOS has a Children’s Village with 10 family homes, an elementary school, a medical center, and  a  social center where Family Strengthening Programs are held. An SOS Mother, Maty, explained her budget compromises. “I cook traditional meals for the children that include rice, yassa, domada, thiou, mafe and  kandia soup. This is difficult to change. I bargain as much as I can and look for ways of making each meal more economically. The crisis was huge three years back, but now it is not only cereals but all prices that are rising, from tea and coffee to sugar and oil.” Many of the SOS families are cutting back on clothing so that more money can go into nutritious food, critical to a child’s proper development.

What Happens Next?

For over 60 years, SOS has reached out to those most in need to give them comfort and long-term care. As food prices remain unstable, SOS Children’s Villages will continue to provide much-needed stability around the world through its Villages, schools, medical facilities, and Family Strengthening Programs. You can help nourish children as well by becoming a Global Village Builder. For as little as $12 per month, you can give the the essentials of life to a child who truly needs them.

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