Rice is among the most common staple foods in Africa, and thanks to the supporters of Bread and Water for Africa® our partner in Sierra Leone, Faith Healing Development Organization (FHDO), has been able to significantly increase its rice production significantly.

FHDO executive director Rev. Francis Mambu recently posted on social media that it has “officially launched its new brand of parboiled quality rice and is all set for market” in 25kg and 50kg (55 pounds and 100 pounds) at a cost of Le175,000 and Le350,000 ($17.34 and $34.90) respectively, which amounts to 31 cents per pound.

Rev. Mambu also announced that they are currently harvesting 500 acres of rice “the second-largest local farm rice in the country,” all in a bid to help  450 women from six local villages who have formed a women’s farmers group to work at the rice farm.

We are, of course, overjoyed with Rev. Mambu’s success, but we would be remiss not to recognize our supporters, and our partners here in the U.S. including Arms Around Africa, which provides administrative support, and the Royer Family Foundation which provided FHDO with two tractors and other farming equipment including pillows, hummer mills, grain thrasher, and more.

Thanks to our faithful donors and supporters for enabling us to fund part of the construction of the milling house. Very soon a milling house at the Faith Healing Agricultural Project (FHAP) at Yankansa village will be operational for the milling of its rice, as well as provide jobs for women from the nearby villages will be completed soon.

Rev. Mambu had noted that FHAP has had to keep much of the rice it produces in storage due to the fact that the farm currently lacks a milling house to had value to the rice and make it more marketable.

“Unmilled rice is cheap as the demand is comparatively low,” he informed us. “The need for a milling machine cannot be over-emphasized.”

And, just as Rev. Mambu is, we cannot wait for that day to arrive providing thousands of Sierra Leonean children, parents and elders will a belly full of processed rice every day.