Joint Aid Management

The United Nations has formally declared a famine in two regions of Somalia with nearby Ethiopia and Kenya being dramatically impacted. A major drought across these countries has severely affected 11.5 million people according to a report in the Financial Times.27 years ago, a similar famine impacted a young Christian and his wife and they have since dedicated their lives to bringing change in Africa. Joint Aid Management began in 1984 after its founder, Peter Pretorius, became stranded in an area called Pambarra in Mozambique. Peter was at a food distribution centre for 10 days without food for himself or a change of clothes.There was no food or clean water at the centre, only 34,000 starving people. Every day more than 30 people died and he helped bury them in shallow trench graves.Broken by the reality of this suffering, Peter was filled with a resolve to feed and help as many people as possible. Now, more than two decades later, Joint Aid Management is making a difference to hundreds of thousands of lives in 5 African countries: Angola, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, and Sudan.JAM's programs focus on nutritional feeding, school feeding, assistance to orphans and vulnerable children, the provision of water and sanitation, as well as skills development, community training on agricultural development, income generation projects and HIV/AIDS programming.JAM strongly believes that without education, there can be no development. Effective education is only attained through the quality of schooling and most importantly, adequate nutrition, which allows a child to effectively focus, retain, and apply what is being learned. JAM currently assists more than 550,000 children through nutritional feeding programs, health and social welfare programs.The impact of JAM's economic development in these 5 countries has helped them avoid the severe impact that droughts have, like the one taking place in the Horn. The Clapham Group recently had the opportunity to see the work of Joint Aid Management on the ground in Africa. We visited their Plumpy'nut factories and served porridge to students in South Africa and Mozambique. JAM is providing critical nutrients for children through Plumby'nut and highly fortified porridge. This porridge, served in red bowls, provides 70% of the children's daily nutrients.Out of a crisis 27 years ago came an organization that is feeding over half a million children a day and through smart development, preventing future famines. Governments, NGOs, and the faith community must engage the suffering taking place in the Horn of Africa. The famine needs to be addressed through direct aid and equally important is the investment in overall development, similar to work JAM is doing in Angola, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa, and Sudan.To learn more about the work of Joint Aid Management, visit: www.jointaidmanagement.com.Please consider giving to World Vision, Compassion International, and Samaritan's Purse who are all helping  in the particular region experiencing the famine.