More than 11 million people are facing starvation as the worst drought in over half a century hits the Horn of Africa.
Caught up in the crisis are thousands of families trekking for days across parched scrubland from Somalia to Kenya – including barefoot children with no food or water. More than 1,300 people a day, the majority of them children, are arriving in the Dadaab refugee camp in eastern Kenya, which is already the world’s largest refugee camp with a population of 350,000.
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is an umbrella organisation for 14 humanitarian aid agencies. They are delivering food and clean water, vaccinating children and providing life-saving healthcare.
The DEC Chief Executive says,
“We have a duty to help quickly before the situation spirals out of control… Of course these people need a long-term solution with investment and political will – but right now it’s about preventing a tragedy.”
If you want to help, there are three things you can do right now:
1. Donate with a quick text message. 100% of your donation will go directly to the DEC.
- To donate £10: text ‘FOOD99 £10’to 70070
- To donate £5: text ‘FOOD99 £5’ to 70070
- To donate £2: text ‘FOOD99 £2’ to 70070
2. If you want to give more than £10, donate to the appeal page here:
3. Share the text code and appeal page with your Facebook friends, Twitter followers and email contacts, and ask them to pass it on too. Here’s a ready-made tweet you could share:
Donate to the East Africa crisis appeal. Text FOOD99 £10 to 70070. If you can give more than £10: http://bit.ly/qdZsgO Please RT
Tags: appeal, DEC, Disasters Emergency Committee, drought, east africa, justtextgiving, somalia