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Download the East Africa Food Crisis Appeal form [Adobe PDF] and post it or fax it to us. Fax: (03) 9938 2088 / Post: East Africa Food Crisis, Save the Children, Locked Bag 5000, Fitzroy VIC 3065.
To date, Save the Children has provided 344,271 beneficiaries in Somalia, 572,181 in Kenya and 1,876,511 beneficiaries in Ethiopia with life saving support such as; food, mosquito nets and health consultations.
Save the Children is providing education and training to health educators and supervisors and is immunizing children against infections such as polio.
Child friendly spaces have been established in Somalia, providing support and a safe environment for children.
What your donation buys:
$40 to provide a hygiene kit including soap, toilet paper, towels and a bucket for families who've fled their homes.
$75 to provide nutritious food to feed 150 children suffering from severe malnutrition.
$150 to train a health worker to save children's lives.
Horrible and Uplifting a blog post by Mimi Jakobsen, chief executive of Save the Children Denmark
Photo diary
Save the Children's Response in Ethiopia
Human stories
Maymun's story
Two-year-old Maymun from Somalia is just one child who suffered through this crisis. Maymun was malnourished. She weighed only 6.4kg - the same weight that you or I would consider a healthy weight for a six month old child. Her family were forced to flee their farm and their home when the devastating drought started six months ago. Maymun's mother, Isha, was used to occasional dry seasons, but the successive droughts pushed her and her family to the limit. It was the driest year in Somalia since 1950 and Isha could no longer rely on what she grew to feed her family.
Maymun was getting sicker and sicker and there was nothing that Isha could do to help her. There was no other option but to leave their home and head north to a camp for displaced people. Isha's family were lucky and made it to the camp after days of walking, but other families they knew lost children along the way.
In the camp Isha found Save the Children's stabilisation clinic for sick children. Her hopes rising, she immediately brought Maymum to see the health care worker. Maymun was weighed and her upper arm was measured with a special tape. It was here they found out that little Maymun was severely malnourished.
Maymun was put on a feeding tube to help stabilise her weight and given oral rehydration salts to rehydrate her body. Her whole family were given rations of rice, beans and oil to ensure her brothers and sisters wouldn't become malnourished too.
After four days of treatment she gained almost a kilo and from here Isha knew that little Maymun was on the road to recovery. Save the Children aid worker Rachel Palmer recalls Maymun's progress,
"When I visited her four days later she weighed 7.2kg and her mum was smiling once again. It's incredible to see the progress severely malnourished children make once they're in the right hands and are having the right treatment."
It was this simple treatment that helped save Maymun's life.
Umi
Umi, now 9 months old, is still enrolled in Save the Children's feeding Programme. Her growth indices are improving by the day. She can now crawl and pull up to a sitting position with support and is well on track receiving the required immunisation against childhood diseases. Just two weeks ago, she got her measles vaccine.
In July 2011 Umi was found at an outreach clinic in Madhalibah, 40 kilometers outside Habaswein by Save the Children Health staff. Umi was referred to Habaswein District Hospital because she weighed just 1.7 kilograms. Her mother tried to breastfeed Umi, but she wasn't producing enough milk. Umi received nutrition via a feeding tube in the nose or with a cup.
Breastfeeding is crucial for babies like Umi, and Save the Children are working across East Africa to ensure mothers and babies can survive.
Read more stories about the children and families affected by the East Africa food crisis.
We need your help to make sure children like these have access to food, water and medical assistance so they can survive. Please show your support by donating today.
