Surging Somalia

SURGING SOMALIA
(From drought to sustainable recovery)

Background
According to World Health Organization, approximately 6.2 million people in Somalia (as of February 2017) are at a risk of serious food shortage and 3.2 million of which are facing starvation. This famine started as a result of a prevalent drought that had been going on in the country since 2016 . According to the United Nations, Somalia’s drought resulted from two consecutive seasons of poor rainfall. In some areas of the country inadequate rainfall and lack of  water has eradicated crops and killed livestock. It has become increasingly difficult to have access to food and clean water; as a result, the price of water has tripled to $15 for a 20-liter container.

Who?
We, Aminata Soko and Cynthia Umutoni, are two college students at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. We are grateful to have easy access to the basic necessities such as food and water, and our hope is that every person on earth would have access to that. We therefore felt the need to start this fundraiser to support the people of Somalia because every effort and every voice, regardless of its magnitude, makes a difference.

All funds gathered from this fundraiser will be donated to American Refugee Committee (ARC) to support its emergency relief effort in Somalia. ARC is a 4-star international non-profit organization that has enabled underprivileged communities from different countries including Somalia to survive crisis by providing healthcare, shelter, and security, and regain self-sufficiency for 35 years. Since 2011 ARC has been committed to promoting sustainable economic growth in Somalia including job creation, social entrepreneurship, and education.

How the money will be used?

ARC is currently providing relief through:
Food
Water
Healthcare
Sanitation
Economic Recovery
Shelter and security

The famine in Somalia being the most pressing issue, the primary focus of this fundraiser will be to use donations to provide food and water to these communities. More specifically, a $50 a donation can feed a family 6 people for a month with:

Basket of rice (25kg)
Sugar (25kg)
Flour (25kg)
Oil (5kg)
Powdered milk

We hope that you will join us in supporting the Somali communities in this time of distress. We will be very grateful for any donation, and your help in spreading the word.

Please share!!


Contact info:

Cynthia Umutoni: [email redacted]
Aminata Soko: [email redacted]

References :
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/03/05/518624610/drought-threatens-to-drive-famine-in-somalia-as-hunger-kills-more-than-100utm_campaign=storyshare&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/somalia-declares-national-disaster-drought-170228163745581.html

http://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la-fg-somalia-famine-2017-story.html

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/somalia-declares-national-disaster-drought-170228163745581.htmlhttp://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/somalia-declares-national-disaster-drought-170228163745581.html">

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/somalia-declares-national-disaster-drought-170228163745581.htmlhttp://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/somalia-declares-national-disaster-drought-170228163745581.html">

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/somalia-declares-national-disaster-drought-170228163745581.html

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