Essential Nutrition Provided to Over 300 Vulnerable Families in Ghana Through Life for Relief and Development USA (LIFE)’s Food Basket Project

“The opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice.”

Bryan Stevenson, Lawyer and activist

To witness human suffering, weakened by preventable circumstances such as poverty and deprivation, is to truly witness the embodiment of injustice. Poverty strips a person of dignity, opportunity and ability, reducing them to the simplest form of existence in the bid for survival.

One of the most detrimental aspects of poverty is the accompanying food insecurity, where individuals are left struggling to access sufficient nutrients to merely continue living. The fact that over 1 billion Africans exist in this state - two thirds of the continent’s population – is a stark reminder of the ingrained injustice we accept daily.

For at least 2.3 million people in Ghana, access to sufficient food has become a core part of life. Sadly, despite global efforts to combat this food insecurity, the number of Ghanaians in this state has worsened, more than doubling from the 1.1 million food insecure individuals the previous year.

This persistent state of food insecurity and poverty in Ghana is the result of many contributing factors. Recurrent droughts, floods, and desertification due to extreme weather changes leave the country dependent on costly importation of staple foods. Furthermore, a weakened economy has led to Ghana experiencing the highest food inflation rate among African countries, significantly higher than some of the more extreme cases of Egypt and Zambia. As a result, nearly half of all Ghanaian households are food insecure.

 Aware of this dire situation, Life for Relief and Development USA (LIFE) aided over 300 families in overcoming food insecurity in Koukoum and its surrounding villages within Eastern Ghana. Between February 02 and March 04, 2025, food baskets containing staple ingredients such as rice, flour, oil, and other essentials, were distributed to underserved communities, supporting orphans, widows, and low-income families as they combat hunger. These food baskets provided nutritious meals, lessened food expenses, and fostered a sense of unity to vulnerable individuals in time for the fasting month of Ramadan.

The project was strategically executed in densely populated regions, with the intention that these food baskets will indirectly benefit an additional few hundred members of the community. Beneficiaries received the baskets with immense gratitude, conveying their appreciation for the transformational impact they have on families and the community.

Thanks to your donations and LIFE’s Ramadan Food Basket initiative, families who were worried about how they would provide for their loved ones during the holy month of Ramadan were able to sit down together and enjoy nutritious meals.

The case of Fatima, a widowed mother of six, best captures how meaningful this food charity has been for her and other families just like hers.

Having lost her husband a year ago, her family’s world collapsed around them. Left shouldering the colossal burden of feeding and clothing for her young children with no steady income, Fatima resorted to skipping meals, hoping the few extra morsels of food would stop her children going to bed hungry. Yet to no avail, as the little ones would cry through the night from hunger pains.

As the month of Ramadan began, her eldest son, only ten years old, asked a heartbreaking question: “Mama, will we have anything for Suhoor and Iftar today, or should I drink water and pretend it’s food again?”

This was the painful situation Fatima found herself in, feeling she had no option left but to resort to begging on the streets in the hopes of providing a single meal for her children. However, the Ramadan food basket brought this family food, dignity and hope. For the first time in months, they ate until they were full.

Your generosity has not only fed their bodies but also nourished their spirits. In this world of impenetrable injustice, thank you for redressing the balance.

Thank you for granting these families liberating relief from the clutches of poverty and food insecurity.