MARY’S MEALS: Crisis in Ethiopia: It doesn’t have to be too late
heaneymedia
Bringing hope to children in Tigray
Dear Bill,
Our emergency appeal for Ethiopia continues as a response to the country’s severe hunger crisis –the Tigray region, where Mary’s Meals works, is one of the worst affected and 4.5 million people urgently need emergency food aid. Working with our local partner, we stand ready to further expand our programme to provide vital school meals to thousands more children. But we need your support to reach them.
Our colleague Shona Shea has just returned from war-torn Tigray where she witnessed the devastating challenges facing starving children, families and communities there:
“Right now, the world is failing the people of Tigray. There are children working all day in the hope they’ll earn a piece of bread, but it’s not guaranteed because the person they’re begging from is starving too.
“A paediatrician tells us the mortality rate from malnutrition in his hospital is five times higher than before the war. The horrors of the aftermath of war are still present. Services to help people deal with the trauma they have lived through are few and far between in a society where everything from homes to hospitals has been looted by soldiers.
“But now, in this third year of catastrophic drought, the horror of starvation has the potential to be even worse. Hunger doesn’t kill you quickly. It saps you of everything you have first, slowly. And communities are enduring this right now.
“At one of the internally displaced person (IDP) camps, a little boy tells our partner that his hunger pangs have stopped, but only because he doesn’t have the energy to feel pain any more. But, for the children of Tigray, it doesn’t have to be too late.”
Donate now
With more funds we can further extend our school feeding programme in Ethiopia – working with our local partner, we have already identified the next schools in desperate need of our support.
With your help, we can provide life-changing school meals to children waiting at this distressing time. If you can, please donate today.
