Difficult Decisions: Is There Enough For Everyone?

“We have had to make some hard decisions,” says Abigail, mother of four. “We can’t afford to eat three times a day. If we risk it, we may not have food to eat the next day.”

Raphael is Abigail’s 10-year-old son. He lives with his mom, dad and three siblings in Gbawe, Ghana, and experiences the pain of soaring inflation rates daily. Fortunately, Raphael is registered with The Sanctuary Child and Youth Development Centre and finds hope and relief from his hunger during the week. But even his Compassion center has been affected by the constant food price hikes. Some centers are having to make some tough decisions, too.

Paying more … for less food

“When the kids come to the center on Saturdays, we feed them lunch,” says Dorcas, a social worker at The Sanctuary center.

“In just a few months, the cost of feeding 130 children with jollof rice and chicken has gone up by about 45 percent! Things got so bad that, at one point, we considered substituting one Saturday in the month with a snack instead of a full meal.”

Dorcas also recounts the story of a boy who asked for money to buy food one day at the center.

“He told me he wanted some money to buy food because he was hungry,” Dorcas says. “I know his parents give him lunch money, so his request took me by surprise. When I asked him about it, he said ‘Yes, they gave me money today and I bought food, but the food quantity has reduced and so it doesn’t satisfy me any longer.’”

This troubling story highlights the larger issue within the country. Rising costs of food force people to pay more for the same, or even a lesser, amount of food. This has been the case for years, with the steady inflation, and many people have come to expect it. But the last few months have seen drastic and frequent increases in close succession. These sharp, sudden spikes have caused many families to buckle under the pressure.

The hope of better days to come

Most centers within the country provide relief in the form of food baskets to families who are in specific need from time to time. However, in recent months, many more families are looking to local church partners for assistance.

“Many families are facing hardships and they have called on us to help. We’ve spoken to the Compassion Ghana office, and we are hoping to resume sharing food baskets soon.”

For Abigail and her son Raphael, that news has brought some hope. “When the center provides food baskets, it’s a huge relief for us. Food is our most pressing need, because we have to feed four children daily. With the food baskets we receive from Compassion, we have peace of mind for a few weeks. We don’t go borrowing and so we have relief from being harassed by food sellers because we defaulted in repaying. The children are happy, and we are also happy.”

For Raphael, Saturday is the best day of the week — a day to play with his friends, learn new Bible stories and, of course, eat something nutritious and delicious.

“I’m happy when we go to the center on Saturdays,” says Raphael. “We play football and learn about the Word of God. They give us food too, and the food is always delicious. Sometimes, too, Compassion gives us food items. I’m happy when we receive them.”

Ghanaians expect to see a continual rise in food prices in the coming months. More families will be thrown into survival mode. But Compassion centers across the country hope to do more for the families as they support the most vulnerable.

“We hope to give more food baskets,” says Godwin. “With adequate funding, we hope we can even provide these food baskets on a monthly basis to the families.”

In the struggle to feed her children, Abigail says she is grateful for the partnership of the local church and the Compassion center. With typical optimism, she holds out hope for better times.

“We are grateful for Compassion’s help over the years,” says Abigail. “Even though we are facing issues with food, we know it could be worse. Compassion takes care of school fees and supplies and even pays for medical bills. Imagine the burden on us if this was not the case! We are grateful and look forward to better days.”