Christian Aid has given £50,000 to provide food and seeds to Rwandans hit by a drought that has destroyed crops in parts of the country. 
In some areas, lack of rain completely destroyed bean, maize, sorghum and sweet potato harvests. 

The money has gone to the Union of Baptist Churches in Rwanda (UEBR) which is handing out food and seeds to many of the worst affected people in these areas including the elderly, sick, people with HIV/AIDS, widows and orphans. The southern and eastern provinces of Rwanda have been suffering from unreliable rainfall for the past four years. 

To make matters worse, cassava a drought-resistant crop, which can be preserved for a long time in dried or flour form has been all but destroyed by a disease unrelated to the drought. On top of this, there has been an outbreak of foot and mouth an infectious disease affecting livestock. While not normally fatal to adult animals, it causes a reduction of milk yields. 

The government has banned cattle movements in those areas so farmers cannot sell their livestock. 
The situation in Rwanda is made worse by similar food shortages in neighbouring Burundi, as hungry people cross the border looking for sustenance. 

Christian Aid partners and local authorities have reported the deaths of some older people and an increase in child malnutrition rates, due to lack of food. 
People have been forced to move to other parts of the country to find work to buy food for their families, sometimes leaving their relatives to fend for themselves. 

Local authorities also report increased crime, especially theft of food. 
Even with good rains this season, there will no harvest until June. The government of Rwanda estimates that one million people are affected by food shortages. 

During the next two weeks, UEBR will provide ration packs consisting of 10kg of beans, 13kg of maize and 10kg of sorghum per family and 10kg of bean seeds and disease-resistant cassava for planting, for around 30,000 people. 
However, according to the Famine Early Warning System Network, if rains do not improve, another food crisis is expected later this year.