Famine in East Africa

[nowwearefour]

There may be another thread on this so apols- i couldnt find it. i am most distressed about i) the fact that this is happening and ii) the fact that noone in this country seems to be particularly concerned about it. what can we do to raise its profile and therefore the amount raised by way of aid?

I came here expecting to see this topic in 'discussions of the day'-mo such luck:( I can't stop thinking about it too, the images of starving children and babies can make a stone cry...

It just seems to me that ever the poorest person in this country is a millionaire compared to those people. I personally cannot comprehend how it is not to have anything to feed your babies and watch them waste away before your eyes. How does one survive and live with something like that?...

I went to Tesco's today and kept thinking 'here I am buying rubbish and non-essential things and getting annoyed about spotty carrots while those people can only dream of having something like the food we reject'.

I guess a lot of people go about their own daily business hearing the news but failing to think what it actually means. Perhaps we are too used to various charities asking for money for various causes/disasters that don't affect us and think 'that's another one, it will sort itself out without me, like all the other ones have'. I know it's recession, people are losing jobs and cannot pay their bills but have any of us ever faced real famine and poverty like that?... No matter how bad our situation is, don't we really have those £5 to give?... Imagine if half of the people hearing the news would give even a £1, how much money that would be...

Did you also see the story on the news about the paltry amounts sent in foreign aid by the US, Germany and France compared to the UK? It's awful to watch and really makes me think about how lucky most of us are. Mozarela - I was only thinking that about everyone donating £1 whilst I was watching the news. Some people just don't seem to get it at all and I'm not certain how you change that mentality - you always get the same response of "why do they have so many children" and "charity begins at home" etc.

the government have sent money though

I don't think it's fair to say that nobody in this country cares, our government has pledged £90million and the distaster relief appeal has raised another £13million in this country.

georgie, I didn't see that in the news. You know I am not surprised and in a way I do unserstand how people think they have nothing to donate. I found myself thinking - eh, I have bills coming and I will have to buy food and I am going away next week and need to buy a few pieces of clothes etc... Pathetic isn't it? I did donate in the end though and plan to donate more - when I look at those children I wish I was able to do more for them :(

Why do they have so many children?... I think that in most of the cases women there don't have much say when it comes to that because I imagine they depend heavily on men who are breadwinners as it is in most poor countries. Some time ago I was reading an article where Somalia was mentioned as one of the worst and dangerous countries to be a woman in. Widespread rape, poverty and lack of education - it's all a part of the answer to 'why?'. The ones suffering most are those poor children, through no fault of their own. Doe it mean that we should just ignore them?..

Nancy, I wouldn't say nobody cares just that not enough people care... Estimated 10 mln people affected - what is that compared to the population of the Western countries?.. Not a lot!..

One of the reasons that people have so many children in the poor countries must be a kind of insurance, because if you have zero money, and the country is poor than there will be no welfare services etc. and no-one to look after you when you get old except your family. It is really quite a rational thing to do really i.e. ensure that you have enough children so that some of them survive to support the family.

our government, for all its failings, does seem to have a conscience re aid. thank goodness. it is scandalous re other developed countries. i couldnt watch the news last night- it made it to no 2 on the news because the un had called it a famine. at last. i just want us to all find it in our hearts to do more and to give more. this coudl have been avoided as the warnings have been there since late last year. kenya doesnt even have the political instabiltiy of somalia does it? heartbreaking.

I read somewhere earlier that of the 140 million raised so far that Britain had given over a 100 million of that so Ido think your wrong saying no one seems to care tbh.