26 October 2017
Hope in the midst of despair
More than £340,000 has been given inresponse to the East Africa Famine Appeal, launched at the end ofFebruary byAll We Can and the World Church Relationships Team ofthe Methodist Church in Britain.
The call to donate to the urgent appeal to help avertfamine in countries on the verge of disaster has been met with agenerous wave of giving from Methodist Churches and individualsacross the world.
All We CanChief Executive, Maurice Adams said, "The response so far to theEast Africa Famine Appeal has been remarkable and humbling. Such anextraordinary response is required because of the extraordinarycalamity we are witnessing. The need is vast, and the resourcesrequired to tackle this ongoing emergency continues to beimmense.
"All We Canis working tirelessly to distribute this funding to those most atrisk. We are very thankful for the generosity of churches andindividuals knowing that many communities have come together toraise money to help their neighbours in East Africa and Yemen.Collectively, we have already done so much but I encourage thosewho can, to continue to give, to continue to respond, to continueto do all they can for those living under the terrible shadow offamine."
A grimpicture of human misery is mirrored across much of East Africa,where conflict, economic crises, drought and poor governance hasresulted in the worst humanitarian catastrophe since the formationof the United Nations.
In SouthSudan, some 100,000 people are already in a state of famine in thecounties of Leer and Mayendit, and another one million are at riskof sliding into famine in the coming months.
The situation is so bad that many, like Akuch Kon, havebeen forced to eat bitter wild leaves in order to survive. She,like thousands of others, left her home, fleeing hunger, in thehope of refuge in Sudan. She was stopped from crossing the borderand now camps out under the trees in Rumading, a village in SouthSudan's Lol State, scavenging for what little she can find. Thebarely edible wild foods that families like Kon's have been forcedto eat have limited nutritional value and people are literallystarving to death as they try and find food to eat.
The money raised so far through the East AfricaFamine Appeal has been given to ongoing work in South Sudan thatfocuses on providing nutritional treatment to severely malnourishedpeople and for the distribution of food aid to the most vulnerablefamilies.
Families including Kon's were given life-saving provisionsof sorghum, beans and cooking oil by one of All We Can'shumanitarian aid partners. These supplies of food are essential instaving off the threat of acute malnutrition.
In Somalia,Yemen, Ethiopia and Burundi All We Can's partners report many ofthe same scenes of desperation and despair.
"However,donations made to the East Africa Famine Appeal are already makinga significant difference. Lives are being saved."
In Yemen, thedelivery of aid is extremely challenging but All We Can is able todistribute food to some of the neediest families in the countrythrough its dedicated humanitarian aid partner. These provisionsare vital in a situation where almost one in four people areseverely food insecure. The rate of child malnutrition in thecountry is one of the highest in the world.
In Somalia,All We Can is working through its partner to deliver nutritionalsupport and care. Donations made to the appeal that have gone tothe response in Somalia are supporting a comprehensive malnutritiontreatment programme that nourishes and saves the lives of youngchildren, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers.
In Ethiopiaand Burundi, All We Can is working with its long-term partners toidentify the best ways to protect and prepare communities who areat threat of continued food insecurity.
The need is vast -and The Methodist Church in Britain continue to urgepeople to respond quickly, generously, and collectively to thiscatastrophic situation by supporting the appeal being managed byAll We Can.
To support the East Africa Famine Appeal visit
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