Christmas Events

The night the floods came

In Dasenech Donnay and Gnipey grew crops in the fertile land along its banks and looked after their cattle. In Dasenech culture, owning cattle was not only a source of food but a symbol of wealth and status.

Unfortunately, the climate crisis has made the river unpredictable. One night, with no warning, the water surged over its banks. It swept away the family's home, their farm and almost everything they owned.

They were still one of the fortunate members of the community who made it out with their lives. Today, the family's old village lies under water.

“Since the flood until we reached here we had many challenges. We were hungry most of the days”. Donnay

They arrived empty-handed

After the floods, the Ethiopian government moved Donnay's family – along with what was left of their community – to Old Omo, a small village on a bluff above the river.  Just getting there was a struggle.

During all this Donnay's youngest daughter, Bore, was born. Now Donnay had a newborn to care for, as well as the rest of her family, with no farm or livelihood.

Hope returns to the Yirpoks

Donnay and Gnipey wanted to start again in Old Omo. There, one of our partner organisations, Agri Service Ethiopia (ASE), offered them seeds, tools and agricultural training to begin farming again.

“We're happy because we're eating food from our harvest.” Donnay

The training means Donnay and Gnipey can combine new farming techniques with the knowledge they already had. Furthermore, their community now uses solar-powered irrigation pumps from ASE, which means they can farm on land that would otherwise be too dry. Now they can grow crops further from the river, where they're safer from sudden floods.