Blog

It’s often said that the day a woman gives birth is the most dangerous day of her life. Sylvia Namakoye knows all too well the dangers of pregnancy and birth. Living in the rural village of Nabukhoma, Bukiende, Sylvia’s home was too far from the closest health centre to walk to her antenatal appointments.

It’s hard to get much done when you’re always getting sick. Debilitating stomach cramps, chronic fatigue, and the embarrassing need to run to the washroom every 15 minutes tends to get one down.

“I thank FH for supporting my community, for the ideas they have shared with mothers, families, children, and young students and for the training developed with the leaders. They have been a great blessing for [the families] now they are putting into practice what they have learned.” — José

A natural resource that covers 71% of the Earth’s surface and makes up to 60% of our bodies, water contributes to life around the world, including providing food, income, and wellbeing. Yet, the global water crisis is commonly misunderstood! This World Water Day, Food for the Hungry experts in water, sanitation, and health (WASH) have joined together to help you dispel some common myths about clean water, and give you a better understanding of the work we do with water around the world.

Josephine and Francois weren’t doing well. Even though they were happily married, it seemed like life’s problems were endless. There wasn’t enough money, there wasn’t enough food, and their three young kids seemed to always be sick and underweight. Even the land their garden was on didn’t belong to them—they were renting it for a monthly fee.

My family and I recently arrived in the Cape Town area of South Africa at the tale end of a severe three year drought. We quickly adopted new routines when it came to showering, washing dishes, brushing teeth, and flushing toilets (“If it’s yellow let it mellow; if it’s brown flush it down”). At first, our three-year-old daughter struggled perhaps more than my husband and me.

Shahida Yeasmin was an anomaly in Char Borobila. Instead of dropping out of school between the ages of seven and 10 like most other girls, she managed to stay in school, pass her exams, and actually graduate from secondary school! While her peers were working at home or being forced into early child marriage, Shahida was excelling in a predominately boys’ world.

elena, a 27 year old mom with two boys – Shawon (9) and Tamim (6) – shares how poor their family health used to be. Her sons were often sick and, to be totally honest, so were she and her husband. They didn’t have running water in their home or a proper toilet.

No one expected that Peg Peters—the five-year-old Peg Peters, kicking a soccer ball around with Ethiopian neighborhood kids and eating injera with his hands—would one day be raising millions of dollars of support for Ethiopia alongside thousands of volunteers through the Run for Water campaign.

Superstition, misconceptions, and poor health knowledge made Julekha and her family vulnerable to disease. Most of the people in her village were illiterate and extremely poor. A lack of health clinics perpetuated the people’s reliance on superstitious beliefs to heal their illnesses.

Fuel-efficient stoves rescue moms and kids from toxic smoke rising out of wood-burning cook fires.

The small multipurpose room was dark, except for sunlight streaming in through the front doorway and a small window behind our team.

Change is hard at first and occurs gradually. Penetrating communities with any development program can be very challenging as many people expect handouts from both local and international agencies, regardless of the services they intend to offer. This was not the case, however, with the village residents of Bugema B Village, Uganda..

My name is Consolate, and I'm a 27 year old farmer who likes to laugh. I am married to Gerard, and together, we have one daughter and two sons - Chanelle is eight, Claude is six, and Manasseh is just two. We live in Jene community in Burundi.

Tube-wells are fast, safe ways to get clean water access to families in high density areas.

Recently I spent five days by my father’s bedside in a major hospital. He had three roommates, each patient separated by a sallow yellow curtain. It’s difficult not to learn a great deal about your neighbours with such walls.

During the first half of this year, Food for the Hungry (FH) in Guatemala began organizing a 5K race in Guatemala City to raise funds for the construction of keyhole gardens in rural Huehuetenango.