World Food Programme Fighting Hunger Worldwide

The night before the distribution starts, food arrives at the site, a primary school in Oukout in the southern region of Casamance in Senegal. In total, WFP aims to assist over 800,000 people in Senegal this year as part of its response to the food crisis in the Sahel region. 

Offloading the trucks is hard work and takes several hours. 

A group of women chat in the shade as they wait for the Minister of Agriculture to arrive. 

Beneficiary representative Ernestine Assine thanks the Ministery of Agriculutre and WFP for their support during this difficult time that the community is going through. 

Senegal's Minister of Agriculture Benoît Sambou and WFP Senegal Country Director Inge Breuer listen carefully to the words of the community members. 

The rations, which include rice, maize, oil and salt, are distributed according to family size. 

Every ration that is handed out is weighed and recorded by WFP's operating partner Africare. 

It takes until the afternoon but in the end, almost 800 people have received their ration. 

Now, practical arrangements have to be made to transport the food home. 

Some are lucky and put their food rations onto a motorbike; others take a boat on the Casamance river to transport their rations home.