Haido Abdou farmed his family’s plot near his village in the African nation of Niger year after year with a soul-crushing lack of results.
The land, which he had inherited from his grandparents, deteriorated annually from overuse and a lack of rain. Eventually, it produced almost no crops.
Haido’s family tried to stave off starvation and malnutrition by growing herbs to supplement their diet, but it wasn’t enough. That forced Haido to make a painful decision to survive.
“We had to send our children to neighboring countries for seasonal work, and they would try to send us money,” he said. “They risked their lives (since children can be kidnapped for trafficking or to become child soldiers) at our expense so often, but still it did not sustain our family.”
With the unthinkable—a slow death by starvation—staring them in the face, Haido was desperate. Then generous Canadians like you came to his rescue through Samaritan’s Purse!
In this arid region of Africa, we have established schools to teach farmers like Haido new and efficient agriculture techniques—including gardening during dry seasons, composting, and creating tree nurseries. Then, we provide tools and support to transform their farms and their lives.
As he successfully put this training to use on his small plot of land, Haido saw the life-saving results through improved crops and income.
But even more importantly, the help Haido received from Samaritan’s Purse caused him to investigate the Christian faith. “The Lord, who shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 8:9, ESV), touched his heart through this process. And Haido decided to make Jesus his Lord and Savior.
A Muslim chief of another Niger village, also suffering from poor harvests, was elated at how life improved thanks to Samaritan’s Purse.
“My land has already seemed to transform, and I hope for a harvest like I have never seen before,” said Zakari Yao. “This year, I have used these methods only on one field, but considering the positive impact, I will implement these methods with each field in the future.”
The help we provided also changed Zakari’s opinion of Christians. “I used to tell my Muslim brothers to avoid Christians. Now, I understand that they know God and are full of love, and they want to help others!”
You can help change lives—now and for all eternity—in Niger and other countries where new farming techniques and equipment are desperately needed through your donations and prayers. Please join
us.
Together we can show people that “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” (Zephaniah 3:17, ESV).
More than a billion people worldwide are suffering from chronic malnutrition. Through your gifts, Samaritan’s Purse is providing lasting solutions through hands-on farming training, home garden projects, and practical education about nutrition, as well as desperately-needed food staples for hungry families in emergency situations.