Scottish Catholic Observer

SCIAF is appealing for Scottish Catholics help after the worst drought in East Africa for 60 years has left ten million people close to starvation and threatens the future of millions more.

Cardinal Keith O’Brien gave his whole hearted backing to SCIAF’s emergency campaign as the agency’s workers warned millions of people in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya and the newly independent country of South Sudan face disaster unless aid reaches the region quickly.

Appeal

The failure of seasonal rains over a prolonged period has led to major food and water shortages, crop failure and the widespread death of livestock. High levels of malnutrition are reported amongst children and hundreds of thousands of people are moving away from their homes in search of food, water and shelter.

Cardinal O’Brien said he was personally urging Scottish Catholics to give as much as they can to the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund’s appeal.

“From our relatively wealthy country of Scotland we cannot imagine the true horror of facing starvation,” he said. “Yet this is the reality which thousands of men, women and children are facing.”

The cardinal added that, when faced with such a crisis, we all had a duty to help.

“Ten million people are currently affected by the drought in the Horn and East of Africa,” he said. “Many are abandoning their homes because their crops and livestock have died and their water sources have dried up. Families are walking for days on end without food, in blistering heat, in the hope that they will find help so that they can stay alive.

“In the face of this terrible crisis I believe it is important to remember that every single person affected is a member of our human family and that we have a responsibility to care for them in any way we can.”

SCIAF poised

The cardinal said he knew that SCIAF were well placed to intervene in the crisis directly.

“SCIAF has been working across this region for many years and together with its partners on the ground, is well placed to provide emergency aid to large numbers of people in need,” he said. “That is why I would ask everyone to give whatever assistance they can to SCIAF’s Horn and East Africa Emergency Appeal, so that we can come together and help our brothers and sisters at this extremely difficult time.”

SCIAF is currently active in one of the worst affected areas—Ethiopia—where the agency shares a joint office in Addis Ababa with it’s Catholic sister agencies Trocaire and CAFOD. SCIAF has already been running emergency drought relief projects in the Borena region, 560 km south of Addis Ababa.

Expert report

The cardinal’s analysis of the crisis was endorsed by Lorraine Currie, SCIAF’s head of international programmes.

“This crisis has been building for a long time as successive rains have failed, crops withered and livestock have died,” she said. “Now hundreds of thousands of families are threatened with starvation on a massive scale if urgent action is not taken. SCIAF is working with its Catholic sister agencies and Church partners on the ground to get supplies of clean water, food, temporary shelters, medicines and hygiene kits to the most vulnerable, including women and children.”

Local knowledge

Cardinal John Njue, the Archbishop of Nairobi, Kenya, said the situation was rapidly worsening and urged Scottish Catholics to send aid.

Cardinal Njue, speaking on behalf of the Bishops of Kenya, said 2.1 million inhabitants in some of the Catholic dioceses of the country had been hit hard by the drought.

“Kenya is facing a very difficult time as a result of the drought which has hit the country following failure of the 2010 short rains,” he said. “We are all deeply concerned by this crisis and suffering of many Kenyans as a result of the current drought. Our concern is that of millions of vulnerable people who are facing the risk of starvation and the loss of livelihood of many communities as a result of the crisis.”

The current drought situation in Kenya, the bishop said, was characterised by ‘food shortages, increasing food prices, lack of water, crop failure, migration and conflict, malnutrition, children dropping out of school, starvation and death.’

— Members of the public can make donations to SCIAF’s Horn and East of Africa Emergency Appeal by visiting http://www.sciaf.org.uk or calling 0141 354 5555. SCIAF is not a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee and its appeal will target and reach projects out with the DEC’s plans

— [email protected]