Blogcritics.orgMonday, February 13, 2012
Imagine if you were a child living in the Gedo and Bay regions of
Somalia last summer. Instead of having the opportunity to go to school
in the fall you were trapped in a massive drought zone. With food
supplies low your family would be forced to flee the region as a matter
of survival.
Starting in the summer of 2011, streams of hungry Somalis fled Gebo,
Bay, and other crisis areas. Some parts of Southern Somalia were
declared in famine as starvation had set in. The drought, combined with
conflict, placed over 13 million people at risk of starvation in Somalia
and other countries in East Africa.
Thousands of residents of Gebo and Bay are now in the Kobe and Hilaweyn refugee camps in Ethiopia and depending on relief from aid agencies. Save the Children is helping kids within these camps by providing emergency education and school meals.The meal will be a porridge, made of a corn-soy blend, served as a breakfast at school.
In addition Save the Children wants to provide school meals to children in the Melkadida and Bokolmayo camps, also in Ethiopia.
Save the Children hopes to provide meals to 8,037 children who are currently receiving emergency education in these four refugee camps. And they want to expand the program to reach more children. There are 43,966 school-age children in the four camps.
Save the Children is also working on the construction of schools to expand educational opportunities.
The school meal program, with supplies from the UN World Food Programme, will improve child nutrition. It's also expected to improve enrollment and enhance the teaching and learning process.
Funding, though, is critical. Save the Children says resources for the program are expected to run out later this year. That is where the public can help by supporting Save the Children's East Africa appeal.