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John,
My name is Madiha Raza, a member of the team here at the IRC. I just returned from Ethiopia, and I need to share my perspective on this devastating crisis with you — because I know you care about refugee families in need and displaced communities. I will also try to attach some of my photos to the bottom of this email. See below. (I don't have any photos of the people I met because showing people's faces might put them at risk.)
During my time in Ethiopia, I was able to witness first-hand the devastating impact this crisis is having on families and children. I met and spoke to a number of men and women who had been directly impacted by the conflict in the North — most of whom had fled their homes with only the clothes on their back. "We're starving," one man told me, "we have no food to eat and only the clothes on our back."
Another woman told me how she had to eat leaves to survive as she hid from the violence in the forest for a month — she was skin and bones. The stories I heard were harrowing, but I was thankful that IRC is able to provide some relief amidst so much pain.
After conflict has escalated in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, the biggest (and most terrifying) locust outbreak in living memory and COVID-19, thousands of displaced people need your help.
Is there any way you can chip in today — to help us reach people with critical aid in Ethiopia and other crisis areas around the world? You can use this link to rush your emergency donation right now: https://help.rescue.org/donate/ethiopia
"We at least have enough water to wash and drink," another man shared with me — speaking about IRC's water provision programme. And just as I was leaving, IRC had set up a counselling service for people that had been traumatised by the impact of the violence.
People were living in overcrowded and unsanitary spaces in schools and empty buildings. In the town's university campus, for example, I saw hundreds of families crammed into an unfinished and derelict building where children were running around — oblivious to the obvious danger around them.
Please, give as generously as you can to help people whose lives have been shattered by conflict and disaster to survive, recover and rebuild — here in Ethiopia and all around the world.
During my time in Ethiopia, I've seen IRC's impact — thanks to compassionate supporters like you — in both the critical crisis response and our long-term program areas. Here's what our impact looks like in action:
- Delivering clean water and sanitation, along with essential medical supplies, to families in need
- Providing safe spaces and early child education services
- Providing protection services for women and girls, including the delivery of dignity kits
- Responding with emergency assistance to vulnerable Ethiopians and refugees living in Ethiopia
John, I'll say this: Being here on the ground, it's all-too-clear why the number of people in need in Ethiopia is the second highest in the world, only after Yemen.
John, can you help us reach more children and families in need in Ethiopia and worldwide with critical aid? »
While this crisis is the latest serious threat, it is not the first Ethiopia has faced — not by far. The IRC has been working in Ethiopia since 2000, providing essential aid to over 100,000 refugees and more than 500,000 Ethiopians affected by natural disasters. And, through the steadfast support of donors like you, we're still here today as an unprecedented crisis unfolds.
Our work with refugees and displaced people around the world is possible because of people like you donating what they can. Thank you.
Madiha Raza
International Rescue Committee
P.S. We are deeply grateful for the support of our incredible community at this urgent time of need. Don't forget, you can use this link to rush your emergency donation now: https://help.rescue.org/donate/ethiopia |
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