Two and a half million people in Zimbabwe are in danger of starvation and in dire need of food.
Very little is being done or even reported about it. A UK Christian charity, Barnabas Fund, working with the local church, appears to be the one of the few NGOs providing direct food aid in Zimbabwe.
Once one of the largest food producers of Africa, Zimbabwe is now rated as the second poorest country in the world by Global Finance Magazine. It has been crippled by reckless land reforms, state-orchestrated violence, governmental corruption, 95% unemployment, and a cash availability crisis. With the added influence of the weather system El Niño, bringing the worst drought in living memory, famine is looming and the country appears set for collapse. Livestock are dying and many farmers experienced 95% crop failure in the April harvest. This is catastrophic, given that 80% of the population live directly on food they grow.
A real Project Fear
Barnabas Fund has had a long history of supporting the church in Zimbabwe, where Christians who stand for righteousness and justice within the country have been persecuted. The brutal ZANU-PF government has clung to power by the systematic use of fear, rape, torture, ethnic cleansing, intimidation and violence.
Fear has silenced most people, especially in group situations. People do not know who is
listening. Silence is enforced by the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) which makes it illegal to criticise the ruling party or the president. Since its introduction in 2002, approximately 16% of all arrests in Zimbabwe are related to the POSA. In more than half these arrests, the state used excessive violence.
But the sleeping giant, the church, is finally starting to awake. Traditionally the church, often a victim itself, has avoided speaking out against the government for fear of reprisal, choosing instead ‘quiet diplomacy’. However a new courage is now emerging from within church groups and Christians who seek God’s restorative justice for the country.
Call to resign
In a recent press statement, on 10 June, Christian leaders called on President Robert Mugabe, now 92, to resign. Such a statement would have been unthinkable just a few months ago. Four days later, church leaders urged the government to cease its violence and threats, admit its sins of the past and allow people to speak about their pain and suffering without fear.
On 28 June another church group demanded that the state observe the rule of law and basic human rights. Others, despite the ever-present riot police, have begun peaceful prayer marches for the country. Some have approached the government with petitions, while still others have begun to meet with and directly challenge those in power to seek God and his righteousness.
The church is also meeting the practical needs of the people of Zimbabwe through food aid. This is the second time in recent years that the church has had to step in to provide emergency food .
Supporting Christian farmers
In 2009, in an effort to gain further control of the people, Mugabe banned all food imports and emergency aid. This was during extreme food shortages because of hyperin-flation. For nine months emergency support from Barnabas Fund, working with the local church, was the only relief that was being delivered in the entire country, saving tens of thousands of people from certain death. As part of a longer term strategy Barnabas Fund began supporting a nationwide Christian farming initiative which helped farmers break the poverty cycle.
Although the farming project reduced the impact of El Niño for hundreds of thousands of people, millions will still starve unless they receive food. Repeating the policy of 2009, Mugabe announced on 20 June 2016 a ban on aid from Western countries. Barnabas Fund’s Project Joseph, working discreetly through courageous churches and their leaders, is already providing direct food aid to the starving. A total of 3,901 bags of food, each weighing 20kg, were delivered in the first six months of the year, via 92 different churches in 15 locations across the country. But the need is far, far greater.
