MASVINGO - Starving Bikita villagers yesterday asked for  immediate food aid from the American government saying people in the district will die if there is no  intervention soon.

Speaking at the official opening of a grinding mill donated to a group of villagers living with HIV and AIDS,  by the United States embassy at Sosera shopping centre Thursday, villagers appealed  to the US Ambassador, Charles Ray to fund food aid programmes ahead of other projects before they starved to death.

Project co-coordinator for Bikita People Living with HIV and Aids(BPLHA), Stanley Chabvepi appreciated the US embassy's assistance to the people through self help projects but underscored the need of immediate food aid in his district.

"We really appreciate your efforts of empowering us through these projects but we want to inform you that we do not have the maize to grind in the mill so we appeal to your government to help us with food before we lose lives," said Chabvepi.

Chabvepi, a former diplomat, said hunger and starvation continue to stalk Bikita following a poor agricultural season last year. He said the harvest in the district was so poor that most families could not mange a single bag of maize in their granary.

Scores of villagers cheered Chabvepi while he narrated their hunger ordeal to Ambassador Ray, shouting that they were hungry.

Speaking at the same function,the Bikita West MP, Heya Shoko ( MDC) echoed the same sentiments saying hunger was biting the arid Bikita district and villagers needed urgent help.

"People are suffering from hunger and starvation and they need urgent help from government and our partners like the US embassy. The situation is so dire that action is needed now and we will work hard as leaders to make sure that you get help before its too late," Heya said.

Ambassador Ray  promised the villagers  a fund of $57 million for next year andtold them that his government would continue to assist them in self help projects .

"The US government remains committed to helping the people of Zimbabwe through the self help projects grant and next year we will be having another fund amounting to 57 million dollars to help you," he said.

By Daily News