Conflict kills … but so does hunger.

In the Central African Republic (CAR), displaced children like 8-year-old Melvina are forced to weigh the odds of which life-threatening situation they will be subjected to. Sometimes the risk of going out to find food is too dangerous due to ongoing conflict, but the risk of suffering malnutrition is just as worrying.

"I don't eat every day because my mother has no money,” says Melvina who was forced from her home and is now living at a site for displaced people in Bouar.  “When I don't eat, I have a headache and a stomachache and I can't go to school.”

The government, armed rebels, and militias all stake a claim to various territories in the CAR. With years of conflict, this means that almost two thirds of the country are in desperate need of humanitarian support.

Children like Melvina need everything from education to health clinics to safe places to play. But before all of that is the critical need for life-saving food. Melvina can’t play with her friends on an empty stomach. And when she's hungry she stays home from school because she is too tired. Malnutrition robs her of the chance to succeed, trapping her inside her own body.

The decision to trade the risk of death in conflict for the risk of death through malnutrition is a choice no mother should have to make. But Melvina’s mother, Zenou, makes it daily, as she considers threats from every angle. In addition, changing weather patterns mean crops aren’t even a certainty. “I try to cultivate the fields to feed Melvina,” she says. “But as the crops are not regular, it is sometimes difficult.”

World Vision’s response to this complex situation in the CAR is flexible in order to properly respond to each community’s unique and ever-changing needs. Communities are always striving for self-sufficiency, so even though our interventions might differ from place to place, the goal of stabilizing a community and working toward self-sufficiency remains the same.

Our experience has shown that with the right support, even displaced communities in the grips of hunger can become strong and self-sufficient again. And very often food is the first step.

As the largest implementing partner of the World Food Programme (WFP), World Vision has been a global leader in food assistance for years. Because we are well-established and trusted in the regions where we work, we are able to deliver food quickly and efficiently, preventing wide-scale death and pulling children back from the edge of starvation.

Our feeding centers in the CAR are no exception. “Thanks to WFP and World Vision, Melvina gets rations at school to take home,” says Zenou. “It helps us make ends meet.”

But that’s not where Melvina’s journey with World Vision ends. Though crucial, food is just the first step toward strengthening communities. This is why in 2014 we launched Child-Friendly Spaces across the country, where children can play and learn safely. In the CAR these also serve as peace clubs, to help children like Melvina cope with the trauma of conflict and build social cohesion with their peers.

It’s why we facilitate workshops on child protection and join faith leaders from multiple faiths to work together to care for children. And it’s why we’ve developed peacebuilding materials to use in classrooms.

But none of this is possible without food. If people are hungry and sick, their ability to engage in peacebuilding initiatives is hindered. Food can be what opens that first door toward a stronger community.

Right now 45 million people are on the brink of starvation, but sponsoring a child for just $39 a month can enable communities to become stronger in the face of crisis. The time to act is now. 

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