It’s hard to get your head around the idea of people starving to death when you live in the first world.  I mean, my sister and I were just moaning that there was “no food in the house” five minutes ago.  From where I’m sitting I can see a large box of Crunchy Nut Cornflakes, 7 apples, a full bottle of ketchup, a bottle of 7 up and some “Janet’s Country Fayre” Sweet Pepper Relish…I think it’s fair to say our perspective is skewed.  But the reality is, no matter what your perspective, there is no denying how bad things are at the moment in East Africa.

At this point, in Somalia alone, over 3 million people have been affected by a prolonged drought, and in the worst hit areas HALF the children are malnourished.  Half the children.  Get your head around that.  The only thing that will stop this UN declared famine from spreading is millions of euro worth of emergency aid, and the only place that’ll come from is us.  Whether it’s our governements or our own bank accounts.  I just made a donation through Unicef Ireland – it’s really easy, they take laser, and a small amount of money can make a big difference.  You can donate here.

According to Mary Robinson, “This is an extraordinarily serious crisis and it is much worse than people realise.”  We may not be able to get our heads around it, but we can make a small difference.