Fasting for the Famine in East Africa and Resources to Take Action

We read a lot of Dr. Seuss in our house. My husband grew up with the stories and the legacy has lived on as we read them to our children. The large hardcover books have made their home on the book shelves of every one of our three kids and even though the youngest is in middle school, we still find ourselves flipping through our favorites from time to time. 

There is one book called "Horton Hears a Who" that is a family favorite. The elephant named Horton is splashing in a pool when he hears a speck of dust talking to him. Horton vows to take care of the voices he hears on the speck because after all "a person's a person, no matter how small." And while I love that profound statement, that's not why this book came to mind.
Last week, I shared with you a little bit of information about the East Africa Hunger Crisis. I consider myself fairly informed about current events but as many as 25 million people are experiencing unprecedented hunger and famine, and it seems as though no one is talking about it. I feel like one of those small little Who voices from Who-ville speaking out, trying to be heard so that others can hear about what is happening in Ethiopia, South Sudan, Kenya and Somalia. I'm not a large news source. I'm not CNN or the Huffington Post, I'm a mom living in the suburbs of Seattle writing a blog trying to cry out for these people.
In the book, Horton has to convince everyone around him that there are people on that speck of dust, and while I don't need to convince any of you that there are people dying of starvation in Africa {you just may not understand the gravity of it}, I did want to share with you one line from the book. Horton convinces the Mayor of Who-Ville to call a meeting of the Who's who tells them that they need to cry out loudly. And the books says "And his people cried loudly. They cried out in fear. We are here! We are here! We are here! We are here!" I feel like that is exactly what is happening.

Remember this image I shared from Kenya? Writer Kari Costanza from World Vision has been covering hunger stories since 2005 and says that she's never seen anything like this. She says "Traveling south on a road more sand than pavement, we can upon a macabre memorial. Instead of a tree-lined pathway, the road was lines with the bodies of dead animals. "See us," they seemed to cry." 
The people in villages are holding dead animal carcasses over their heads and shouting "We are dying. We are dying. Our animals are all dead, and we are next." Just like that line in Horton Hears a Who, "We are here! We are here!"

2017 World Vision/Photo credit Jon Warren

So what can we do? 

Today, I asked you to join me in fasting in solidarity for our brothers and sisters in East Africa who are facing starvation. If you are joining me in fasting today, please share this image on social media. Tag @msrachelteodoro and let me know you are joining in so I can support you. 

I will be fasting until dinner and as you break your fast, consider donating the money you would have spent on food for the meals you skipped to the relief efforts. Thanks to grants, your gift is multiplied 7x's! $10 provides $70 worth of food, $20 provides $140 and $50 provides $350! Your gift will make an impact no matter how small. Just like those small voices in Who-Ville came together to create one loud voice, we can come together too.
This is a story of Umi. This mother is getting food for her children from World Vision from contributions from people like you. There is a response happening, but more funding is needed to reach more people.

Social media is a strong and powerful way to share. Use your own words or feel free to quote mine, but share this message so others can know about this crisis. 

You can't do, when you don't know. 

This image is sized for Facebook.

Tweet this message:

Did you know that nearly 25 million people are facing starvation?

People are dying now. Find out more http://bit.ly/2rJbqiy #weseeyou

Videos are a powerful tool to share as well. Send an e-mail to 3 of your friends and family with one of these videos and include a heartfelt message about what is happening in East Africa. 

This video shows a family in Kenya with quotes about their experience.

And this video provides an overview of what you should know about the hunger crisis. Share the one that you think will help resonate with those friends you are trying to reach.

We've all heard that quote that says give a man a fish to feed him for a day...teach a man to fish to feed him for a lifetime. 

source

International aid is urgently needed right now so that the immediate needs can be addressed. Your donation will be well-spent and it's very much needed, however, it's short-term relief to support the current problem. The long-term solution would be to consider child sponsorship. There are children available for sponsorship in the parts of Kenya and Ethiopia that are currently facing a hunger crisis.

The World Vision child sponsorship model provides a community approach that brings education, training, and medicine and will be working on lasting solutions that will bring a child out of poverty and allows them to live up to their fullest God-given potential.  Here are some FAQ's about child sponsorship.

Not only will children in these areas get the immediate help they need to face the current hunger crisis, you will be helping families and communities learn practices like drought-tolerant farming techniques, animal husbandry, and help in bringing sustainable wells and lasting clean water to areas that because of their geographical location will always be dealing with droughts or the other extreme of severe flooding.

Child sponsorship provides stability in some of those hard hit areas so that communities can prepare or withstand even the worst disasters. Many of those children that are currently in child sponsorship communities are faring this hunger crisis much better than most of those not in an area development project. They aren't going hungry in the same disastrous ways that many others are. Child sponsorship works.

This little boy is named Ejiem. He's 9 years old and he's sitting next to his favorite sheep. Ejiem is not in school, he cares for the animals and this sheep was his favorite. When he found that this one had died he says "I started crying. When this one died, I lost it. Of all of the animals, this was the one I loved the most."  Many of the community members have said that when the goats die, we go hungry. Ejiem's family will stay hungry all week, eating only when there is food at church. "When we have goats, we eat. When they die, we have nothing."

Photo: ©2017 World Vision/photo by Jon Warren

If your heart is breaking, and you are thinking of the children that are starving right now,  please consider child sponsorship. You will be able to build a relationship with a child and can connect by sending letters, emails, cards and gifts. You will be providing assistance to children and families living in poverty who need it the most.

Sponsor a child in Kenya
Sponsor a child in Ethiopia

Just like one elephant heard the people, you too can take a second and see these brothers and sisters in East Africa. "We are here! We are here!" they say.

I see you!

Do you?

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