Ramadan Food Hampers
Gargaarsa Ramadaana Keesaa 🌙
As a Muslim-majority region, the month of Ramadan is a cherished time of the year in Gadab Hasaasa.
But for the most vulnerable populations—orphans, people with disabilities, single mothers, the elderly, and the especially poor—this sacred month of food and fasting remains as difficult as ever to bear.
Fortunately, Ramadan is also marked by generous giving. It is this Islamic spirit of charity, coupled with Oromo hospitality, that forms the backbone of GHWRA’s first community project: Ramadan Food Hampers. We purchase harvested crops and produce directly from local farmers to support the region’s economy. Then, we distribute emergency food hampers to families a week before Ramadan begins. Local youth volunteers are crucial to this work, and are offered a modest honorarium for their efforts.
Hampers: A History
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In its first year alone, GHWRA raised $25,000 in grassroots fundraising across the Oromo diaspora, distributing food hampers to over 1000 families in the greater Hasaasa area in the lead up to Ramadan. Each food hamper consisted of 25 kilograms of wheat flour, one kilogram each of dates, sugar, and coffee beans, as well as two litres of cooking oil.
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2022 marked our second run of emergency food hampers, and this time, it was with the incredible support of both Oromo and non-Oromo folks! Still rooted in grassroots organizing (with the added benefit of a LaunchGood campaign), we managed to raise $34,500, distributing food hampers to 2000 vulnerable families in the epicentre of Hasaasa, as well as the surrounding regional villages of Xameela, Hiinja, Nageelle, Safaraa Buchoo, Hanxoo, Qaawwa, and Allubba.
Food hampers in 2022 looked significantly different from its inaugural precedent. In the wake of the current global food crisis, the price of food and produce in Ethiopia has skyrocketed, further jeopardizing food access for the most vulnerable populations of Gadab Hasaasa. Given food scarcity, our emergency food hampers this year each consisted singularly of 25 kilograms of corn flour and one kilogram of coffee beans.
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Our third run of food hampers was a difficult one. With limited resources, inflated food prices, and drought threatening the region, our Emergency Food Hampers program in 2023 raised $27,750, enabling us to distribute bags of 25 kilograms of corn flour to approximately 2000 families in Hasaasa and the surrounding villages.
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Our fourth run of food hampers raised $25,450, enabling us to distribute bags of corn flour (25 kilograms each) to roughly 2000 families in the Greater Hasaasa Area. Similar to previous years, we continue to anxiously fundraise against a backdrop of rising global food prices, climate devastation, and dwindling resources.
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Our fifth run of food hampers in just as many years raised $28,000. Nearly 2,300 families in Gadab Hasaasa received sacks of 25kg of corn flour.
Our Hope for Ramadan 2026
Despite the current global food crisis, climate devastation, residual impacts of the pandemic, and continuing realities of political unrest in Ethiopia, we remain hopeful in our work to support food access in Gadab Hasaasa. Our audacious wish for Ramadan 2026 is for our annual food hampers to include a healthy range of basic food and produce, such as wheat and barley, peas and lentils, and oil and corn.
And with even more support for families, we’d be able to offer: grains of pasta and rice, slabs of butter, mounds of salt and sugar, bunches of dates, pints of milk, and pouches of coffee beans.
This Ramadan, give the gift of food. We’re a women-led, volunteer-run charity with the goal of ending hunger in Gadab Hasaasa—join us below!