There is currently a growing crisis in Africa and once again it involves food. There is a drought in the Sahel region of north Africa. This region of the continent consists of a huge swath of land extending from the Atlantic ocean to the west to the Red Sea in the east. The lack of rain in the area has led to an increasing shortage of crops and thus food. You can read more about the crisis here but as in many such cases, children are the most vulnerable and most affected.
I am ashamed to admit that I’ve become almost numb to the flow of bad news coming from Africa. Between the famine, civil unrest, or military coups, I’ve just been accustomed to the less than pleasant news coming from that continent. As some of you know though, I started to sponsor a little girl from Africa about a year ago. She is about four years old. Unfortunately, she lives in Niger and her hometown is within the affected region. My last update about her was from December of 2011. At the time, there was no mention of any hardships. I’m not sure what her status is right now. I hope she is ok and is receiving enough food every day.
There is apparently a $200M shortfall in aid money, which would assist the people who are affected. There hasn’t been a lot of high level news coverage on this crisis and I can sort of understand why. It seems like there’s always a crisis going in Africa. People get what’s called “donor fatigue”, having to always donate money so often for what appears to be the same problem over and over again. Starving children don’t make for very sexy news stories.
I know this sounds really cliched but consider donating some money to assist in this crisis. It’s tax deductible and you can donate whatever amount you wish. Visit this link to get you started. I know your money needs to go to a million other different things including other charities, your mortgage, and your kids, so I won’t make a big deal out of it. I donated a small amount myself and I’m just hoping it makes a difference.