Save The Children UK's East Africa Appeal : No Child Born To Die

I remember when I was kid, watching Live Aid on TV and discovering for the first time the horrific images of people and babies starving in Ethopia. Watching Bob Geldoff telling everybody to just give money, right now, and save these people, was a real wake-up call. Up until then, I always assumed it was a lost cause -it was very sad but there was nothing I could do about it, but now I was being told that that was wrong - just a few pounds could save lives.

Since then, we've all become a bit blasé about the whole thing. The images have lost their shock value, to the extent that the news on TV and in newspapers just don't even cover it any more. And out of sight is out of mind. We've stopped seeing the pictures of starving people so it's all better, right ? Well no, wrong.

Across East Africa thousands of children face starvation. A deadly combination of drought and rising food prices have left 9 million people facing a devastating food crisis across the region. Families have lost their incomes and food supplies. Millions of children are hungry, thirsty and desperate. They are in danger of becoming critically malnourished and, without help, many in the worst hit areas could die.

Children like Umi, who is three months old and weighs just 3.7lbs. That's 1.7kg. About half the weight of a healthy newborn.

But Umi is one of the lucky ones - she has made it to a Save the Children health centre in Kenya and will get life-saving treatment. 

Save the Children was already on the ground, saw the drought warning signs and was able to respond very quickly, but they urgently need funds to save many more children’s lives, and stop the crisis getting even worse. They are distributing life-saving water to areas severely affected by the drought and improving water supply and sanitation facilities in health clinics and schools. For example, they’ve distributed over 24 million litres of water in South Central Somalia, reaching over 70,000 people. They are providing jerry cans, water filters and water purification tablets to ensure that water is safe to drink. They are treating malnourished children. The life-saving treatment is usually quick and simple - so far this year, they have treated over 8,000 malnourished children in their feeding centres in Somalia.

 

These children don’t have to die - but to save them, they need your help to act now. I know what you're thinking - it's such a huge problem that whatever you can afford to donate can't possibly make the slightest impact. Well, you'd be wrong. £25 can buy ten days of treatment for five children with malnutrition. £50 can provide safe drinking water for almost 800 people. £100 can buy four family hygiene kits to prevent the spread of disease.

But even just a few pounds can make a difference.

Donate online at http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/eastafrica-appeal-fb​ or text: DONATE to 70555 to give £5. You can also call them on 020 7012 6400.

for more information about the appeal : http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/en/east-africa-appeal.htm

You can also watch a short video below or on youtube here : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZH81Vk7zOQ&feature=youtu.be 

Other blogposts you may be interested in :

This is Me, This is My Future Challenge To Help Save The Children

‘Change the story’ campaign - petition for street children in the UK

International Water Day : Did you know 4,000 children die every day from water-related illnesses ?