Mogadishu | Be a Seed for Change

Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy CorpsOur efforts are reaching more than 825,000 people in Africa‘s drought-stricken Horn. Read the latest on our response ›

Supporter —

The crisis in Africa’s Horn may have fallen off the front pages, but the situation “continues to deteriorate,” according to the latest UN update. Children five and younger are increasingly dying from hunger and disease. Reports of cholera, measles and malaria are on the rise, too. And famine is expected to spread across even more regions of Somalia.

Here’s the latest update on our lifesaving response:

Somalia: On Friday we made the first of daily deliveries of clean drinking water to a displacement camp in Mogadishu. It’s home to tens of thousands of people who’ve flocked to Somalia’s capital seeking refuge from the drought.

Ethiopia: Seven mobile health teams in the hard-hit Somali region continue to provide vaccinations, medical check-ups and fortified food to pregnant women and children under five. We’re also trucking water to remote communities along the Somalia border, and helping herders sell their weakened cattle for cash to meet urgent needs.

Kenya: We’re reaching nearly 200,000 with clean drinking water, trucking it to several dozen villages in drought-stricken Wajir County.

With your support, teams in all three countries are working around the clock to help families survive. Forecasters are now predicting less-than-average rainfall in October, which would only prolong the current crisis — and the recovery.

Thank you for all you’re doing to save lives in Africa’s Horn.

Sincerely,

Neal Keny-Guyer
Chief Executive Officer

I’ve spent the last few days with Mercy Corps‘ emergency team in Mogadishu, Somalia‘s capital, where drought, famine and disease are taking a devastating toll. In more than a decade of responding to many natural and man-made disasters with Mercy Corps, the situation in Mogadishu is truly the worst humanitarian crisis I’ve ever seen.

Because your gift is helping save lives in the Horn of Africa, I wanted to write and let you know how desperately your gift was needed: Hospitals are overcrowded. Displacement camps are filled with thousands of people. Families have walked for days to find a way to keep their malnourished children alive, and now the hospital is full of mothers sitting with their malnourished babies on scraps of cardboard because there are no beds or chairs to be found.

It’s hard to look at such scenes, but it’s important to show the world what’s happening in Somalia

What we saw in Mogadishu’s hospitals was truly heart wrenching. Seven-month-old Abdulrahman, pictured above, is getting treated for malnourishment and diarrhea but remains very weak. I appeared on last night’s CBS Evening News to share what I saw. Click here to watch .http://wfc2.wiredforchange.com/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=V3lSY41Q9JfJhCMuDp%2BNXXFYrzBidpxn

The segment includes my footage from a hospital we visited, where I met Halima, the mother of seven-month-old Abdulrahman. Halima’s family lost all their cows and goats to the drought, and so they recently came to Mogadishu in search of food.

Little Abdulrahman is weak and much too small for his age. He’s suffering from severe acute malnutrition and watery diarrhea, a symptom of cholera. Halima and her eldest daughter have been at the hospital for several days getting treatment for the baby boy.

When I returned a day later, I found Halima still holding tight to Abdulrahman.

“He is getting better,” she told me with determination in her voice. “He will survive.”

I believe her. It may be hard to fathom that such strength can exist during famine, but I’ve seen it in countless women like Halima. They are determined to save their children.

Our staff is working hard to get aid to families in Mogadishu as quickly as possible. Because of you, I know we can help people in Somalia survive this famine. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Cassandra Nelson
Mercy Corps