Samaritan’s Purse teams continue to deliver food, shelter, and other relief to families facing uncertainty in northern Ethiopia.
When violence reached Liya’s* town, the 28-year-old mother fled on foot with her one-year-old son. They traveled many miles, sleeping in churches and schools along the way, and when they arrived at a safe place in Tigray, the only shelter they could find was yet another school where many other families had already settled.
Thousands of displaced families continue to arrive in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
“I have been living here for four months. I sleep outside with my baby because the rooms are full,” Liya said. “Everything has changed. I don’t know where my family is. Their phones are not working, and I don’t know where they are staying or if they are dead or alive.”
There are many such stories of unspeakable hardship and of families walking mile after mile—some walking every day for weeks—without access to adequate food.
Since November of last year, hundreds of thousands of people have come to the more populated areas of Tigray seeking refuge. Thousands more continue to arrive each day, many of them filled with terrible fear for their loved ones and without hope for future peace.
Lack of shelter and adequate food has been a continual struggle—especially as young children face the risk of malnutrition.
Our teams are providing food, shelter, access to clean water and other relief to hurting families.
Samaritan’s Purse has been working in Tigray since early February providing ready-to-use supplemental food along with other food supplies and cooking kits. Emergency food sachets provide crucial micronutrients and protein, helping mothers-to-be and young children gain strength to survive.
“This provision of rations will help my kids receive the nutrients they need to become healthy and strong,” said Subira,* a 22-year-old mother of two, at a recent food distribution. “I used to have to beg for food but now I have the food we need to live.”
With our initial DC-8 flight in February and subsequent trips to the region, we have airlifted more than 135 tons of relief to Tigray. Critical items include supplemental food, shelter materials, water treatment supplies, and more.
Teams on the ground have been serving displaced families in Jesus’ Name, and so far, we have distributed more than 34,000 30-day supplies of supplemental food; more than 1,500 food baskets; along with more than 1,000 cooking kits, hygiene kits, thousands of blankets, water containers, and water treatment tablets.
In addition, teams have constructed more than a dozen emergency shelters, with dozens under construction, and hundreds in the planning. Also, our medical teams have treated more than 800 patients and conducted nearly 6,000 nutrition screenings.
Please pray with our teams that peace will come to Tigray and, until then, pray that God will comfort the hearts of people as they remain far from home.
We are serving these people in Jesus’ Name, praying they experience hope and joy in the midst of their struggle far away from home.
*Names have been changed for security reasons.
