Canadian Lutheran World Relief issues emergency appeal for East Africa drought victims

A Somali woman reaches Ethiopia after a five-day walk. (ACT/NCA photo)

Canadian Lutheran World Relief (CLWR) is appealing for funds to provide relief for drought-affected people in East Africa. The lack of rain in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya has created food and water shortages that threaten the lives of 11 million people. The World Food Program reports that tens of thousands of Somalis have died from starvation. Thousands more Somalis suffering from malnutrition, dehydration, and exhaustion arrive in Kenyan and Ethiopian refugee camps every day seeking aid, swelling the camps far beyond their capacity and causing a major strain on resources.

CLWR is providing support in the region in four ways.

The organization is distributing more than $1.5 million of food (1,900 tons) in Ethiopia in partnership with the Canadian Foodgrains Bank and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Ethiopia. This large-scale emergency food aid project is responding to immediate needs for relief in the drought-stricken district of Goro, a district in the Oromia region of Ethiopia. More than 18,000 people will benefit from the distribution.

CLWR, also through its partnership with the LWF, is supporting refugee camps in the region. The LWF-managed Dadaab camp in Kenya is hosting more than 1,300 new arrivals per day, most from Somalia. LWF camp interventions include the distribution of nine tons of flour mix for supplementary feeding of children and the elderly; the distribution of clothes, slippers, and sanitary wear for women; and regular water deliveries using a 7,000-litre truck.

On behalf of Lutheran Canadians, CLWR is also providing assistance to people still in Somalia, specifically to newly displaced people in Mogadishu and to those affected by drought in the Gedo region. This support is administered through its partnership with the ACT Alliance and will include the distribution of food, water, sanitation, and shelter.

“We have extreme confidence in our experienced partners on the ground in East Africa,” says Robert Granke, CLWR’s executive director. “We know every donation sent to CLWR will be used wisely.”

CLWR has worked in Africa for years on food and water security projects and will continue working toward sustainability in the region. Its five-year development goal in its Africa programs is to provide safe water supply, storage capacity and/or irrigation to more than 150 communities in Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Zambia. CLWR trains African farmers in sustainable agriculture and livestock management, and provides them with the tools they need to feed themselves and their families. The organization’s ongoing development work in the region helps mitigate the effects of crises such as drought and famine by building food and water security that lasts.

You can donate:

1. By making a designated offering donation at any Lutheran Church congregation in Canada.

2. Online at www.clwr.org/donate . When completing the form, you will come to a pull-down menu that allows you to designate a specific project. Choose “2011 East Africa Drought.”

3. By calling: 1-800-661-2597

4. By sending a cheque made payable to CLWR, 302-393 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3B 3H6. Please indicate that you wish to contribute to East Africa drought relief.

The Government of Canada announced that for every dollar donated to Canadian charities for East African drought relief between July 6 and Sept. 16, it will match the contribution. There is no cap on the matching funds.

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