From crisis to crops
ERDO has worked in Zimbabwe for many years, providing food to people who have faced extreme economic challenges and desperate hunger. Ongoing inflation has further increased food costs and multiple years of drought left many families with few options to feed themselves. ERDO’s work on this project in Zimbabwe is called a “HERD”. This is short for “Humanitarian Early Recovery and Development”.
HERD means that we’re building stronger, more resilient communities. We’re helping leaders in communities develop recovery techniques so they can deal with current crisis situations and prepare themselves for future emergencies.
In Zimbabwe, HERD means bringing food to families to support their immediate needs, but also helping create more resilient food sources for the future. Through HERD, we can help families today and long term.
The path to recovery
On October 1, 2021, ERDO and our local partner, the Pentecostal Assemblies of Zimbabwe (PAOZ), began providing emergency food to 5,800 people, about 1,160 families, for 9 months. These monthly baskets included maize, beans and fortified cooking oil. With this food, ERDO provided for families during Zimbabwe’s harshest season, as food became extremely scarce.
Not only did we provide food for families, but we helped local farmers grow more resilient, diverse food.
Our partners provided families in the Masvingo province with:
- Tools, seeds and conservation agriculture training for 300 farmers
- Tools, seeds and training for another 300 female farmers planting vegetable gardens
- Shelter, animals and training for 200 women raising chickens and rabbits
- Savings and loans groups and entrepreneur training for 300 families
- Refurbished water sources and 2 new community borewells
Alongside our in-country partners, and thanks to our incredibly generous donors in Canada, we have impacted families in Masvingo province for the good from October 2021 to December 2024! Now, we’re working with these same families to create longer-lasting sources of food in the area.
