The United Nations describes droughts as one of the greatest threats to sustainable development. Forecasts predict that by 2050, droughts may affect more than 75 percent of the world’s population. The magnitude of this problem requires the international community’s attention every day, but today, on the world day to combat desertification and drought, we want to specifically highlight the importance of climate resilience and global action to combat drought and the correlation between drought and floods.
Recent research by Kimutai et al. (2023) shows that the chances of drought in the horn of Africa is 100 times higher due to climate change. This is not only related to the lack of rainfall, but especially to how fast the water dampens again due to high temperatures. Though the amount of rainfall is important, the effects of global warming and high temperatures are thus even more impactful.
Though we may all know the pictures of the dusty, dry landscapes in the horn of Africa, there is also still a lot of flooding in the region. This may lead to the misconception that these floods contradict the increase and severity of droughts that are predicated; however, this is definitely not the case. When we see floods in otherwise dry areas, it is important to be aware and spread awareness on that this excessive amount of rain does not solve the shortage of water or even out drought. When a lot of rain falls in a very short period of time after longer periods of drought, the soil is not able to fully “take it in” and this leads to a shallow absorbance of the rain. This also increases the chance of floods, since the water flows off because it is not absorbed by the soil. One of the places where this became evident, is in Borena, Ethiopia.
Droughts and floods in Ethiopia
Fikru Tarekegn, Country Director of Dorcas Ethiopia, describes: ‘Borena is located in the southern part of Ethiopia, which is known for pastoralism and drought. The frequency of drought has increased over the recent years due to climate change. There was no rain for the last two-and-a-half years, and this caused a huge problem in the area. As a result, more than 3.3 million livestock died. As the economy is dependent on livestock, the life and livelihood of the community were disrupted which resulted malnutrition, psychosocial problems, to deal with unpreferred coping mechanisms and migration. Unfortunately, the recent rain in the area was also a disaster as it came in big volume and became a flood. The flood has also killed the animals that survived the drought, and it brought water borne diseases.’
When the high intensity of rain came after two and-a-half years of drought, the landscape may have looked very healthy and green for a period of time, but this may give wrong impression. The livestock continued to die after the rainfall due to the flooding. Additionally, it was also thought that the livestock was also possibly dying because they were no longer used to the large amounts of water and grass and their intestines could not cope with this.
Droughts and floods in Kenya
In Kenya, desertification continues to pose a challenge over the years to 84 percent of the Kenyan landscapes that are classified as arid or semi-arid. Edwin Onyancha, Country Director of Dorcas Kenya describes: ‘These lands support 34 percent of the population and 60 percent of livestock. These drylands have seen unprecedented land degradation often exacerbated by effects of climate change, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, overgrazing, over-use of underground water, prolonged droughts and flooding, as well as conflicts over competition for natural resources. Increasingly, livelihoods, especially those related to livestock production and agriculture, continue to be affected as these landscapes become more vulnerable to vagaries of the weather. There is an urgent need to address desertification through broad supportive policies that define management of fragile landscapes to protect biodiversity and natural resources, as well as addressing effects of climate change through both adaptation and mitigation. Regional and cross-border conservation efforts that promote restoration and regeneration of natural resources (forests, woodlands, watershed, nature-based solutions etc.) needs to be supported. These efforts should go alongside strengthening capacities of residents on land use systems, conservation, particularly using indigenous knowledge and modern technologies, as well as implementing strategies to effectively address cross-border and inter-ethnic conflicts.’
Climate resilience
For Dorcas, climate resilience is central to our work and in all of our projects this is taken into account. Climate resilience is about adjusting to climate change, countering environmental degradation and minimising risk from disasters. We work with communities to prepare for and negate the effects of climate changes, thereby reducing the vulnerability of communities and their ecosystems. The cases of Ethiopia and Kenya show how important this is as climate change heavily affects rural communities. By adapting to cope with the effects of climate change, communities, enterprises and institutions can build up their climate-change resilience.
Kimutai, J; Barnes, C; Zachariah, M; Philip, S; Kew, S; Pinto, I; Wolski, P; Koren, G; Vecchi, G; Yang, W; Li, S; Vahlberg, M; Singh, R; Heinrich, D; Pereira, CM; Arrighi, J; Thalheimer, L; Kane, C; Otto, FEL (2023). Human-induced climate change increased drought severity in Horn of Africa. DOI: https://doi.org/10.25561/103482
The bicycle is a very useful and handy means of transportation for many people around the world. Not only is cycling good for your health, but it is also a very sustainable way of transportation that is low in costs. Because of the many benefits and the positive impact of the bicycle on the environment, we celebrate world bicycle day each year on the 3rd of June.
Lifechanging bicycles
Next to the flexibility and benefits to one’s health and the environment, the access to a bicycle or tricycle for some people is lifechanging. Project participants of our skills for work-project in South Sudan for example received a bicycle because many participants had to travel a long distance to the training facility. Tricycles were given to students with a disability. This was beneficial to the mobility of these students and because they were now able to access education, the bicycles and tricycles strengthened their socio-economic status. Next to that, it also increased their ability to access different livelihood opportunities and it overall significantly improved their lives.
James Kang from South Sudan is one of the students with a disability whose life was positively impacted by the tricycle. Because of the tricycle, he was able to access his classes and complete his business administration certificate. Later, he proceeded to join the university and used the tricycle to get a diploma in Business Administration.
Business by bike
Students in South Sudan received a bicycle through our vocational skills and livelihood improvement-project. The distribution of bicycles to project participants in remote areas has been very instrumental in the improvement of how they conduct their businesses. By bike, students were able to transport their farm produce more easily to the markets in town. For several students with disabilities, the bicycles increased their livelihood opportunities and reduced their transportation costs, as they were no longer reliant on hired motorcycles.
Through the Pride! project, bicycles and tricycles were also distributed to persons with disabilities in order for them to improve their mobility and access activities. Pride! ran from 2021 to 2023 and is funded by the European Union and implemented by a consortium led by Dorcas with partners ZOA Dorcas*, Light for the World, and Help a Child.
Because of all these benefits and the way bicycles considerably improved the lives of many project participants in South Sudan, we happily celebrate world bicycle day!
*In South Sudan – as of 1 May 2022 – Dorcas and ZOA form a joint working organisation under the name ‘ZOA Dorcas South Sudan’. With this collaboration, more impact on the lives of people who are most affected by the crisis and poverty in the country is realised.
The situation in Sudan and South Sudan continues to worsen as thousands of people flee the conflict in Sudan and cross the South Sudanese border. Dorcas shares the worries of the NGO community of South Sudan that the number of returnees and refugees is exceeding previous projections, as the number is already over 50,000. This adds to the dire humanitarian crisis South Sudan is already in. The start of the rainy season will also have a major impact on the area. The situation can become even more catastrophic, as El Niño is predicted, and this may cause heavy rain and floods.
Together with the humanitarian community in South Sudan, we want to raise awareness to the humanitarian crisis that is unfolding in the region. In order to mitigate an even bigger crisis and support those in need, we need to respond now. Humanitarian supplies and especially food items need to be supplied to prevent the severity of food insecurity in the region to worsen.
A safe and healthy working environment is a fundamental right. Today, on the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, we want to highlight the importance of this topic, specifically of providing good staff care that lowers work-related stress.
The World Day for Safety and Health at Work focuses on advocating towards governments and employers to provide a context in which risks in the workplace are minimised and for them and employees to take these risks seriously. Lowering work-related stress and high work pressure, are an important part of promoting health and safety.
People who work for Dorcas can be confronted by difficult and stressful circumstances, such as conflict, instability and natural disaster. Our colleagues are very motivated and actively working to support people who face poverty, exclusion and crisis, but they also live in these challenging contexts themselves. It is therefore of great importance to consider how to support staff when they are facing stress inducing situations. This is relevant for Dorcas, but also for other organisations that supply humanitarian assistance and facilitate development cooperation.
Annerieke Kisjes, International HR Advisor at Dorcas, describes: ‘While our colleagues are providing humanitarian assistance and psychosocial support, they also have to face these circumstances in their own lives. When the conflict in Ukraine started, colleagues from Dorcas Ukraine had to evacuate and became internally displaced persons, while they were simultaneously helping others who were fleeing the violence. We actively offered support and counselling to our colleagues, which benefited them a lot. Also, recently a mayor earthquake caused devastation in Syria. Our colleagues in Syria immediately started to supply shelter and meals to those in need. At the same time, the Dorcas office in Syria was severely damaged, their own houses were not safe to return to and for some it was unsure whether friends and family were safe.’
Maureen Mahfouz, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Coordinator for Dorcas Lebanon, describes: ‘It is challenging because we live in a very difficult context. We work with people who are suffering from injustice and traumatic events, which is very stressful. Activities that could help us deal with distress are not always possible because of for example the economic crisis and lack of time. However, as a team we receive training to deal with this and to build and strengthen our relationships, as we face this together.’
As an organisation that works in difficult circumstances, Dorcas has a responsibility towards its employees to make sure that they are safe and receive the support they need. Psychosocial support is a vital part of this. We offer coaching, counselling, mentoring and training and right now, we are rolling out a worldwide staff-care project to be able to even better support Dorcas employees. The staff care that is needed in the country offices, can differ across different cultures and we are sensitive to the needs of our staff. In collaboration with the Antares Foundation and our country offices, we endeavour to address key areas for improvement and organise the necessary support, training and guidance in strengthening psychosocial resilience of Dorcas staff, volunteers and partners. In this way, we support our colleagues, and this enables them to support project participants and to continue to work on the frontline for those in need.