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The "Silent Tsunami"
The world's poorest are the most vulnerable

Spiralling food costs -- called a "silent tsunami" by the World Food Programme -- have sparked protests and food riots in 34 countries. The head of the UN World Food Program, Josette Sheeran, described the current food price crisis as a "global hunger emergency." The increase in food prices is costing the lives of 250,000 people every 10 days. Up to 100 million people are being pushed back into poverty. Rice prices have gone up as much as 250 percent in the past year.

Violence, burning tires and looting in Haiti. . .The poorest country in the Americas, Haiti has seen some of the worst food-related riots in recent months. From Roberta Audate, CRF worker in Haiti: "Because Haiti imports most of its food, it is at the mercy of the world market. Prices have gone crazy in the last 5 months . . . .
50 lbs of Corn Meal was $12.60 in Nov and is now $24.65
100 lbs of rice was $38 - now $66. 100 lbs of beans was $57 - now $96.
1 gal of cooking oil was $5.20 - now $8.90.
Propane for cooking @ 100 lbs was $38.00 and is now $63.70
Gasoline was $3.90 a gallon and is now $6.80 a gallon
The vast majority of Haiti struggles to get by on less than $2 a day! The rising prices of staple food items like rice and beans have left many Haitians desperate and angry. Rising fuel costs have made transportation of foodstuffs increasingly expensive, making the current global crisis especially painful for Haiti.

Shawn Tyler reports on how this "silent tsunami" has affected CRF projects in Kenya: "The children's home we run in Kitale, Kenya, is more than $1000 a month short on its budget. Right now, because of rising costs of food, CRF sponsorship does not even cover the cost of food for the children. Rice has doubled in the last year. Sugar has gone up 70%. Wheat flour is more than 60% up. Cooking oil is up more than 45%. Charcoal and firewood have doubled in the last year as well. We need to do something quickly to alleviate this shortfall."
Another factor creating the food crisis is that several African nations who used to produce enough food to feed their own populations are no longer able to do so. Zimbabwe used to export food to other southern African nations. Now because of civil unrest and internal wars, Zimbabwe's people are starving. They no longer produce enough food. Other African nations suffering food shortages are: South Africa, Malawi (annual, chronic shortages), Kenya (recent political instability saw food stores of certain tribes burned while others missed the planting season), and southern Sudan. The most vulnerable in this spiraling cost of basic foods are: refugees, internally displaced people groups, urban poor not living on farms, and orphans.
Shawn Tyler reports, "Every employee we have is crying out for help to stem the losses they are taking as their wage remains the same and food prices go up out of sight. In fact, Kenyan news has recently reported that some people have moved into refugee camps in order to get food."

Because of skyrocketing food costs, CRF is asking donors to increase monthly giving by $5 to $15. NEW CRF Child Sponsorships will be $30/month. Sponsorship of AIDS Affected Children will be $35/ month. Click HERE to help with rising food costs.This is an amount easily absorbed in the budget of many Americans. If this amount is not possible for you, please do not feel obligated to increase your giving. But for those who can give a little more, it will make a tremendous difference! Thank you for helping CRF save lives!

Helping Mothers in Haiti Feed their Children
"The situation in Haiti gets worse everyday. Prices continue to soar, leaving the Haitian poor in an even worse condition than they already lived in. I saw someone cooking what was called "beans" but it appeared to be coffee grounds. It was horrible . . .
I have had 11 babies offered to me by starving mothers in the last few weeks . . .
"People come daily asking for a little bit of food to help them get through the day. On the radio talk shows, stories of families living off of "mud pies" are common and very, very sad. I have added 19 kids to our feeding program in the last 5 months."

CRF helps to feed over 2,000 people/month in Haiti. $10 will provide over 22 meals!

"Thanks to CRF we were able to purchase corn meal, beans, oatmeal, cereal, bulgher wheat, eggs, bread, vegetables, sugar, spaghetti, hotdogs, herring, chicken, oil, tomato paste. I pray that all continues to go well for you and CRF. God's continued blessings."-Roberta Audate Click HERE to help. . .