Hunger crisis in Africa

Project Report | Apr 14, 2025
Women in Ethiopia: On the Road to Independence

By Christoph Lubczyk | Project Leader

In Ethiopia and around the world, women face 
barriers to financial independence. Deeply 
entrenched societal norms and limited access 
to capital exacerbate the situation.

Bizunesh is solely responsible for her family
The situation becomes even more challenging when 
women are solely responsible for their families. 
One of them is Bizunesh from a small village in 
Ethiopia.
Since the death of her husband, she not only has 
to care for five children alone, but also for the 
farm. The climate-induced drought makes things 
even more difficult: the harvest is not enough to 
feed the family or even earn money.

Partner supports women in Ethiopia
Bizunesh's life is similar to that of many women in 
Ethiopia. LandsAid, an alliance organization of 
Aktion Deutschland Hilft, has therefore set itself 
the goal of supporting women on their path to 
becoming entrepreneurs and leaders.
Together with a local partner, the Exodus from 
Poverty Initiative, the aid organization has launched 
an empowerment project for mothers. Participating 
women initially learn everything about 
entrepreneurship from trained experts: from farm 
management to financial literacy.

Theory and Practice for Greater Sustainability
The alliance organization also provides the women with 
goats, chickens, and modified seeds. Modification 
ensures that the plants mature longer, increasing the 
harvest. This newly acquired knowledge helps women like 
Bizunesh manage their land sustainably – and gain new 
hope for the future.

Educational Opportunities for Young Women and Girls
Education is also important. The foundation for financial 
independence is laid at school.

Aster is one of Bizunesh's children. To continue her 
education, the 14-year-old received not only 
notebooks, pens, and uniforms, but also hygiene 
products such as sanitary pads.

Why Periods Affect Girls' Education
In many countries around the world, periods have a major 
impact on the educational opportunities of girls and young 
women. In Ethiopia, too, a large number cannot afford 
menstrual products. The result: They regularly miss classes, 
and some even have to drop out of school altogether.

"Stories of Resilience and Hope"
Like her mother, Aster now has the opportunity to focus on 
her independence – despite the overwhelming challenges 
facing women and girls in Ethiopia.

"We have witnessed stories of resilience and hope," says 
director of Exodus from Poverty, about the aid project.

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Dec 17, 2024
Against maternal mortality in Zimbabwe

By Christoph Lubczyk | Project Leader

As part of her monitoring trip to Zimbabwe,
employee Raquel, of the alliance 
organization of Aktion Deutschland Hilft, 
LandsAid, visited the aid organization's 
current project in the capital Harare. “We 
support our two local partner organizations 
Miracle Missions and Garikai Health in 
implementing various measures,” reports 
LandsAid employee. "They aim to ensure that 
pregnant women in the economically and 
socially disadvantaged township of Kuwadzana 
receive preventive examinations as early and 
as regularly as possible."

The overarching goal is to make a contribution 
to reducing the maternal mortality rate, which 
is quite high in Zimbabwe.

Examinations of pregnant women
An important part of the project is the 
examinations of pregnant women, explains the 
LandsAid employee. "Two nurses go from house to 
house in the township to identify pregnant women 
and explain to them how important preventive care 
is for them. They carry out initial, simple 
examinations that do not require a doctor 
immediately afterwards." Raquel traveled with them 
for a day.

“The nurses are each equipped with a compact set of 
measuring devices that can fit in a large backpack,” 
she reports. This includes a blood pressure monitor, 
test strips for blood and urine tests to determine 
protein levels, blood sugar, HB and cholesterol 
levels, gloves and disinfectants. The nurses even 
had a portable mini Doppler device with them that 
they could use to listen to the child's heartbeat.

"For some pregnant women it was the first time they 
heard their child's heart beating". "They didn't 
want to take the headphones off at all." Women 
whose pregnancies are judged to be at risk can 
register early at the central clinic in Harare through 
the recommendations of the nurses.

Distribution of maternity kits
"In Zimbabwe, expectant mothers are required to bring 
all the necessary materials with them to the birth - 
from hygiene items such as disinfectant and a mask, to 
clean mats for the birth, a bucket to carry water, to 
hats and doilies for the baby," says LandsAid employee 
Raquel. In a country where 50 percent of the population 
lives below the poverty line, cost reasons prevent many 
women from having their births carried out by a trained 
medical professional.

In order to exclude home births as much as possible, the 
women cared for as part of the project are provided with 
a birth kit. “In order to cover the high demand for these 
sets, we urgently need all support”.

Short and long term goals
A total of 3,600 pregnant women in the township will be 
reached through the measures supported by our alliance 
organization LandsAid. In addition to acute help, it is 
about identifying the main risks that lead to a high 
mortality rate among expectant mothers, explains Raquel. 
The awareness of pregnant women and expectant fathers is 
also raised about the importance of such screening early 
in pregnancy.

“We also try to understand why women don’t go for 
preventative care”. “Recommendations for future measures 
and improvements can be derived from this.” The project is 
funded by Aktion Deutschland Hilft. LandsAid has been a 
member of the alliance of aid organizations since 2012.

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Aug 23, 2024
A Good Catch

By Christoph Lubczyk | Project Leader

On Sherbro Island, fish is the focus of life. 
But anyone who makes a good catch here does not 
return home satisfied. The greed of wholesalers 
and increasing indebtedness are driving many 
fishing families into dire straits.

Sierra Leone: Fishing as an important source of income

The island of Sherbro, also called Bonthe, is located 
off the coast of West African Sierra Leone, about 300 
kilometers from the capital Freetown. Around 29,000 
people live here, spread across 240 small villages, 
more than half of which can only be reached by boat.
Many families on Sherbro make their living from 
fishing - for fathers and mothers, local fish and 
seafood are the only available sources of income.

Poor equipment, low catch rate

But general overfishing has been making it increasingly 
difficult for families to get enough fish for years. The 
men and women have to go further and further out into the 
Atlantic in order to catch a catch. Poor boats, poorly 
repaired nets and the lack of storage and refrigeration 
facilities make the hard work even more difficult. 
Wholesalers also exploit the needs of fishermen and 
fisherwomen: They lend money to the fishermen and 
fisherwomen when their nets or boats need to be repaired 
and buy the fish they catch at dumping prices - knowing 
that the families cannot store their catch and therefore 
have to sell it quickly and are in debt to them anyway. 
The fishermen’s hands are often tied. They get involved 
and get further and further into a spiral of dependency.

Chances for a better life

Establishing a sustainable and profitable fishery with 
which fishing families can strengthen their independence: 
With these goals, our alliance organization TERRA TECH 
started its aid project on Sherbro around two years ago. 
Since then, the families' living situation has improved.
Together with the local partner SEND, the fishermen and 
fisherwomen received further training in accounting as 
well as business and savings plans. Newly founded local 
financial groups now lend money to fishermen in solidarity 
when equipment breaks or new ones need to be purchased.

Motorized boats and a solar powered cold storage facility

Thanks to this model, many fishermen and fisherwomen have 
already been able to motorize their boats. They can now 
travel further out to sea more safely, improving their 
catch and at the same time protecting the coastal fishing areas.
So that the men and women can store their fish catch, helpers 
built a solar-powered cold storage facility in Yargoi on the 
mainland. From here, the families transport their fish to 
the largest markets in the region, where they finally get 
prices that they can live on.

New opportunities for women

“Another special feature of the project is that traditional 
gender roles are being broken down,” reports project manager
from our alliance organization TERRA TECH.
"In the past, women were 'just' saleswomen and were responsible 
for the household and raising the children. Men made almost all 
the decisions. Today, women are involved in all processes. In 
workshops, men and women have learned to live their lives on 
equal terms. Together they now organize fishing, sales and 
housekeeping. This has also strengthened the families permanently."

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