East Africa crisis appeal

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Hit by drought

This is no ordinary drought – it’s affecting ten million people across the Horn of Africa. Somalia, southern Ethiopia and north east Kenya is where it has hit hardest. Most areas have received little or no rain in nine months.  

Although the people in these areas are renowned for their resilience and resourcefulness in times of hardship, the situation today is beyond even their powers of survival.

Going without food

Without the harvest, thousands of people are left without food. As a result, families in Somalia are being forced to leave their homes and flee to the city in the hope of finding support and food. Displacement camps are springing up in Somalia’s capital city, Mogadishu, to deal with this huge influx of people.

Howa’s story

Howa, pictured, is one of the people staying in these camps. She used to be a mother of five, but since the drought began, she lost three of her children to starvation and disease. Her youngest son, Abdi, is severely malnourished. She is fearful for his life, too.

Speaking about Howa, Austin Kennan, Concern’s regional director for the Horn of Africa, said that situations like this make our teams “all the more determined to help.” He says, though, there is hope:

Over the years, the generosity and compassion of the public has helped us develop and deliver programmes that, quite simply, save the lives of children like Abdi. 

Saving lives

Your donation could provide high-energy food for critically malnourished children and help bring them back from the brink. It could help us expand our work with communities to deliver safe, clean water and help stop the spread of disease. 

It could help us give families essential items such as blankets, sleeping mats, mosquito nets and cooking equipment. In short, your generosity could be the difference between life and death.

You can help

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