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A Kitchen Full of Food for the Hakeems

Countries
Yemen
Sources
RI
Publication date
Origin
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Mr. Hakeem depends on daily labor work which is difficult to come by and he has no permanent source of income that he can rely upon to feed his family. Mr. Hakeem, his wife, and his one and a half month‐old daughter live with his parents. His monthly expenditures equate to $75, which is not sufficient to support a household of five people. Before receiving food from Relief International, in order to get by, he had to borrow money from his relatives and friends.

Mr. Hakeem and his family represent one of many among some 1405 families in his district alone who continuously receive food rations through Relief International’s program. Relief International is responding to the local needs of 8000 Yemeni families like the Hakeems through the Food for Peace project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

To date, Relief InternationaI has distributed over 1600 metric tons of food (wheat flour, rice, cooking oil, red beans, sugar and salt) to improve the food security of 8000 households hosting people displaced by violence in the Lahj Governorate of southern Yemen where nearly half of the population lacks access to sufficient and nutritious food to feed their families due to rising prices.

After receiving food from Relief International, Mr. Hakeem could not express his gratitude enough.

"Now, I have enough food even for the next two months, my wife has stored food for rainy days,” says Mr. Hakeem. “Now I am paying more attention to my work without any worry that my family is not left behind without food. They have sufficient food which is improving their health as well as allowing them to live with dignity in the village”.

His wife also attends Relief International’s nutrition education sessions to improve the health of her family. At these sessions, trained community mobilizers cover topics such as healthy cooking habits, proper nutrition, hand washing and hygiene, and breastfeeding, to promote awareness of healthy habits and nutrition.

Now, less concerned about how he will feed his family, Mr. Hakeem has more time to consider the education of his daughter, whom he hopes can grow up to be a doctor.