Kau and Niaro

By: John Jefferson
Kau and Niaro

The food distribution in these two villages was very orderly and efficient.  This was due in part to the fact that we had already learned something from our experiences in Warni.  One important lesson was to have the woman queue up without children.  By having the mother only come, we prevented families with older daughters and children from being overrepresented in the distribution.  This causes problems for obvious reasons.  We also restricted men, since the only reason they would be getting in line was to again double up on the rations.  In this culture, as in many, the mother or wife would most likely be responsible for the care and feeding of the family, so it made sense that we could ensure each family was covered by giving to the mother exclusively.  Another helpful technique was to start on the edge of town or further out in the village and make multiple stops, as opposed to having one central location where everyone convened.  This helped reduce the crowds in any one location, which can sometimes cause problems.  Likewise, forcing everyone to be in a straight line also helps a great deal.  If left to their own devices, the people will crowd around the distribution point until it becomes impossible to track who has received food and who has not.  Lastly, making the women leave the area once they received their distribution was also very effective in preserving order.

As with Warni, people were subsisting on food that could be gathered from the environment as opposed to agriculture.  Mostly roots, weeds and wild grasses, and insects.  Other than the grain we brought, there was no evidence of sorghum, wheat, maize, beans or any staple crops.  We also saw very little in the way of animal husbandry.  Because the people have been driven from their lands and forced to eat the animals they had, they are really down to scratching out a living from what the earth provides.  The roots that they are eating come from plants that grow in the bush and must be processed over a period of days, first by soaking them in water, then by drying them in the sun.  Needless to say, it is a small wonder people can survive on such meager rations.  The food we provided will help, but by no means be a panacea for as many as 30K people between the three villages we visited.