18 million people urgently need food and water in West Africa’s drought-struck Sahel region. Join Oxfam, Africans Act 4 Africa and Avaaz and demand world leaders act now to provide food and water for the hard months ahead and invest in long-term solutions to ensure this never happens again. If you would like to donate to the cause, please visit Oxfam’s special website; Sahel2012.
She told Sky News (full article): “When I arrived in Senegal it was hard to see that this was a country where thousands of people are suffering from extreme hunger. Where you may expect the landscape to be dry and dusty, in fact everywhere was green and lush. I quickly learnt however that this green was hiding the reality, a deep-seated hunger that was so present in the lives of the families I spoke to. […] What’s even louder sometimes than money is people’s voices and by pushing your own government to put this into their agenda it’s almost more powerful, it’s much more global with the effect it can have.”
Via The Independent (full article): “This was the first trip I had ever done of this kind” she said. “We arrived at the health centre first – five doctors to look after 200,000 patients. It was quite overwhelming, as I saw people really far down the stages of malnutrition. […] One mother, Dieynasa Ba, 35, had six children. She told me plain facts: her family had cut their meals down from three to one a day. Only one of her children was left at school and he has to cycle three hours there and back on just one meal a day. He comes back exhausted, but has to do the same all over again the next day.
“The mothers all knew what would help their children break out of poverty: education. They see it as the only way to empower their children and help them find work that is more stable than farming in the village. All the people I spoke to were so incredibly dignified, upbeat and hopeful. One woman, Fatima Diallo, 20, with five children, was receiving Oxfam’s cash transfers of about $80 to last a few months. She had no other form of income and said she split it three ways: one part for food, one for health and for education. It has provided stability for her family.
“It put so much into perspective. The people I met never complained and showed so much solidarity. If, as a nation, we spoke louder to help these people, the Government would understand the responsibility they have. They would realise this is what Britain wants. It is about highlighting the situation, and talking about it across different platforms – especially in my generation. It’s about saying we don’t just care for ourselves, but also about people thousands of miles away. If you can’t give your money, you can give your voice.”
Oxfam also released a video showing Bonnie Wright in Senegal with many of the people suffering because of the crisis.
