This is not the diary I planned to write when I agreed to take part in the Blogathon for East Africa. I had planned to write about how much of US foreign aid is actually military aid, and much of it goes to countries like Israel and Egypt (~source). I had planned to write about how Norway gives 1% of its GNP in foreign aid, and the EU members as a whole give an average of .48% (~source), and Canada gives .33% (~source), but the US donates only.2%.
However, as I was doing the research for this diary I came across stories like this.
Habiba Dubow's son Abdirahman is one year old and weighs nearly 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms). He should weigh 22 pounds (10 kilograms). He is so thin his tiny ribs are clear through his skin and they barely lift with his breathing. When his mother takes his shirt off, his limbs flop back onto the bed and his eyes roll back in his head until only the whites are showing. He is too weak to cry.
"We walked here for 20 days after we lost all our cattle," she said. "He got sick on the way."
and this:
"I believe it is the children's famine, because the ones who are the weakest are the children, and those are the ones we're seeing are the least likely to make it," says food program boss Josette Sheeran. "We've heard of women making the horrible choice of leaving behind their weaker children to save the stronger ones or having children die in their arms."
I had to speak from my heart as a mom. Today is my son Tom's 25th birthday. The day he was born was one of the happiest days of my life. He has grown up to be a wonderful and caring human being. Tom's middle name is William. He is named for my mother's brother William who died as a small child. I was told that my grandmother was never the same after William's death. I grieve for all the mothers and fathers in East Africa who are going through experiences that are even worse than my grandmother's. So I would ask you all to donate generously. This is a children's famine.
I know that times are hard, and they don't appear to be getting any better, so here is my challenge. I will donate twenty cents for every recommendation that diary receives. Even if you cannot donate, please recommend the diary so others can see it. The instructions for donation and more infomration are below the squiggle. Thank you all so much.
East Africa Food Crisis: 48 Hours of Action
This weekend, Daily Kos is participating in 48-Hour Fundraiser hosted by environmental websites and nonprofit organizations to benefit the 12 million people struggling for survival in the East African countries of Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti. Last week, the United Nations announced famine -- already declared in two districts -- is likely to spread throughout southern Somalia. This week, the UN issued a warning that food insecurity in northern Uganda is sufficiently alarming to raise the possibility that the country might become the fifth nation impacted by the worst drought in the Horn of Africa in sixty years.
Also participating in this weekend of action are 350.org, Oxfam International, WiserEarth, tcktcktck, DeSmogBlog, MIT Climate CoLab, BPI Campus, Climate Change: The Next Generation, RedGreenAndBlue.org, Cool HIVE, MedicMobile, and The Enough Project.
Over the course of the weekend, experts in the field of humanitarian assistance will join environmental writers to outline the history of the region and detail how geopolitics, colonialism, ongoing civil wars, climate change and geographic vulnerabilities have combined to create the perfect storm now ravaging East Africa.
Each participating organization is choosing its particular group for donated funds. Daily Kos is donating all monies raised to directly support the work of Oxfam in the Horn of Africa. Please add $.01 to your donation so it ends up being $5.01, $20.01, $50.01, $100.01, and so on. This will enable Oxfam to keep track of all Daily Kos donations.
Click here to Go directly to Oxfam's donation page, which will enable us to keep track of how much money we raise.
Please read this if you live outside the United States - to make a donation, click this link and scroll down a bit to find your country. If not listed, please Google Oxfam in your country.
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2. Diary Schedule Template
3. Donations Link Template
CLICK THE BELOW LINK TO MAKE A DONATION
Donate now - Donate to Oxfam America
Please read this if you live outside the United States - to make a donation, click this link and scroll down a bit to find your country. If not listed, please Google Oxfam in your country.
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