Dear friend, I visited Somalia just days ago. I was there to witness the stark reality that communities are facing, to hear Somali people’s stories in their own words and, as the CEO of Mercy Corps, to connect with my team members who are responding right now to this catastrophic crisis. Climate change is driving the region’s worst drought in 40 years. In Somalia, it has left more than 7 million people hungry. Farmers are watching crops and precious livestock die, left with nothing to sell or eat. A million people have had to leave their homes in search of food and water. At least 1.5 million children under five are severely malnourished. As parents make the harrowing journey to get help for their children, they are losing them to hunger along the way. Having just returned from seeing these hardships, it’s more clear to me than ever before: the time to act is now. That’s why I’m asking you to make a gift to our Global Emergency Response Fund — today.
I am sitting inside a temporary shelter in a camp in Baidoa on the outskirts of the city. I met mothers who walked for weeks to get here in search of support for their children, who are often experiencing malnutrition and related illnesses.
Mercy Corps is distributing water as well as hygiene kits with essentials like soap and sanitary products to prevent disease spread in Somalia’s camps for people who have been displaced by the drought. We are providing cash to families to meet their basic needs such as food, shelter, medicine, and clothing. Fueled by the support of our generous global community, I am proud to tell you that Mercy Corps has delivered life-saving humanitarian assistance to almost 600,000 drought-affected people in Somalia in the last 12 months. Will you make your gift to our Global Emergency Response Fund before August 31? Your gift can help us respond quickly to some of our world’s highest-priority crises, including Somalia’s hunger emergency. In the coming weeks, I will be sharing with you more details about the situation on the ground in Somalia. Thank you for bringing your awareness to this emerging crisis. With deepest appreciation,
Mercy Corps’ Global Emergency Response Fund supports our work in countries facing some of the world’s most complex crises, including: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Palestine, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen.
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