One of the hardest things for me to hear out of anyone’s mouth is “I’m hungry.” Working in a community centre it’s not uncommon to bring extra snacks, or give away your lunch because, well, you never know who might need that spaghetti or roti more than you do. What’s incredulous is that in one hemisphere we’re combatting childhood obesity, while another fights to feed young and old.
Today, on Wednesday July 20, 2011 while it seems headlines focused on the UK phone-hacking scandal, and Toronto’s heat wave, food security wasn’t front page news. East Africa is currently facing the worst drought the area has seen in the past 60 years. In 1984 Ethiopia faced a famine that cost 1 million people their lives. 26 years later, today on Wednesday July 20, 2011 the UN has declared a stage 5 catastrophic famine in Somalia.
For more information on the severity of this issue, watch the video below or click to read here.
A number of aid agencies are collecting funds to combat this issue such as: CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada, Plan Canada and Save the Children.
A group of leading aid organizations have banded together to appeal for donations to combat this issue. Plan Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam Quebec, CARE Canada and Save the Children Canada are part of The Humanitarian Coalition that acts together in the most dire emergencies, with a joint website and phone number for contributions.
**For every dollar an individual Canadian donates (retroactive to July 6, 2011, and ending September 16, 2011) to a registered Canadian charity responding to the drought in East Africa, the Government will contribute an equivalent amount to the East Africa Drought Relief Fund.**
It’s never too far to care.
doGood, feelGood, liveGood,
-Team thinkGood.
Tags: CARE, drought, East Africa, famine, Oxfam, Plan Canada, Save the Children, Somalia, UN