Meet Dorothy and James
Meet Dorothy - she's six and is helping her mum to build their house.
She carries the water used to make mud bricks.
Her mum promises the house will have a roof before the rainy season; if it ever comes.
Without rains the crops failed. And even if they came tomorrow, food would still be months away.
Meet James - he's seven and he loves school. But he must stay home most days to help his mum weave mats so the family can eat.
It takes them three days to finish one mat and if his mum can sell the mat she might make 50 cents.
This helps to buy food, but not a lot. Sometimes James gets one meal a day. Sometimes he gets nothing.
HUNGER IN MALAWI
Right now, more than 1.9 million people in southern Malawi don’t have enough food to eat. Unpredictable rainfall, coupled with drought, is hurting the crops in Malawi. Failing crops and dramatically rising food prices have millions trapped in a cycle of poverty.
Children make up half of Malawi’s population and nearly 60 percent of them are living in poverty. Where Dorothy and James live, the soil has been degraded by deforestation and floods, so people have trouble growing enough food.
Half the people living in these districts run out of food before the next harvest is ready. So children like Dorothy and James might eat two meals on a good day, and none on a bad day. Can you imagine only eating three or four days in a week?