Food for Work

I was first introduced to the idea of grain for work when observing the organization of WFP (World Food Program) in the refugee camps. The idea is simple: your wage is grain instead of a dollar amount.

We struggled with the idea of paying people 10Eb for half a day of work (which is a normal wage for general labor) because it doesn't buy much at all. In fact it only buys 1.5 kg of grain. The maize crop is still not ready and the Gumuz are hungry so we decided to set up food for work.  We give 3kg of grain for 1/2 day of work. Each day, this week we have had 3 groups of 5 people cutting grass. They come in family groups and in this way can leave with 15kg of grain. (It helps that we have a large area to work with). To be honest, we don't need all this grass cut but it is a way that Gumuz can see if they work with their hands, they can eat. It also means that people are working for food, not using their money for alcohol.

A second way, we are trying to help during this time of hunger is by buying necklaces that the women make out of beads.  Since I am able to sell these necklaces in Addis, we are now exchanging grain for necklaces.  It is quite satisfying for these women to walk away with a basket of grain. 

There is no employment for Gumuz. If you are not a farmer or a herdsman, you have no income. Gumuz are not naturally farmers. They are hunters and gatherers. This means there are months of the year when they are very hungry. They are slowly becoming better farmers but still struggle with how to store their grain so they sell it to the townspeople. The townspeople are merchants and they store the grain and then sell it back to the Gumuz during this time of the year for double the price.
We may not be able to feed everyone but we trust that we are showing compassion without encouraging begging.   We need the compassion of Jesus each and every day. Compassion for the physical needs of the Gumuz people and compassion for the souls of the Gumuz people. Man cannot live by bread alone for only the Bread of Life is everlasting!
Our kids are great at asking us why we do the things we do. They are learning important lessons through this all and we love how we can model to them a (hopefully) holistic way of sharing the good news of Jesus!