Fishermen Moussa Maï, 60 years old, and Hassane Issa, 28 years old, take their boat onto Lake Chad to fish. They arrived in Kaya village 12 months ago, after fleeing Boko Haram violence in their home village.

"This is the land of the peace," says Moussa. "When we arrived, we went to the traditional chief and he gave us land so we could start a life here," he adds.

Lake Chad has shrunk up to 90% over the last several decades.

Moussa and Hassane will be participating in a food fair organized by Catholic Relief Services and local partner SECADEV.

Background:

The "Food Security and Resilience in the Lake region” project seeks to improve the food security situation of more than 1,000 of the most vulnerable households in the Kaya, Mamdi, and Fouli Departments in the Lac Region near Lake Chad. With this project, CRS and our local partners SECADEV will organize a food fair, where beneficiaries receive vouchers to choose non-perishable food items from 27 different vendors. The project will also distribute corn seeds to 400 people and fishing equipment to 250 people, which aims to help improve livelihoods over the long-term.