The United Nations, in an update released Sunday night, says over 6,000 families have been displaced in Yemen from Tropical Cyclone Chapala. Several fatalities and over 60 injuries have been reported. Another storm, Cyclone Megh, has also just made landfall in Socotra, a Yemeni island already damaged from Cyclone Chapala.
Read the full article at Examiner.
Filed under global hunger
The food Plumpy’Nut is desperately needed for hungry children in northern Syria, according to a new report released by the United Nations.
Read the update at Examiner:
Filed under global hunger
Halloween is here! Children will again be trick or treating for their favorite candy. It’s one of the most fun nights of the year. Far away from these ghoulish festivities is war-torn Iraq.
Children there love sweets too. Fajr is one of them. She is an Iraqi child who, along with her mother, fled the assault by ISIS on her hometown of Fallujah last year. They are among millions of displaced Iraqis who depend on the help of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) just to eat.
WFP provides Fajr and her mother with basic foods to get through these difficult times. The flour ration allows them to bake bread.
Fajr misses her sweets. She told the WFP that her favorite treat is the traditional Iraqi zlabiya, which is rings of fried batter with syrup as a topping.
When you are a displaced war victim, with little or no money, sweets are just a pleasant memory. They are happy just to get the most basic foods. As Fajr’s mother says, “I can still bake bread like I used to do back home.”
But for how long? The WFP, which depends on voluntary donations, is running out of funds for its numerous emergency operations. The wars in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and South Sudan are draining resources.
A WFP report on Iraq warns, “Unless USD 34 million is urgently secured, up to 2.2 million people are at risk of losing WFP food assistance in December.” Fajr and her mother might lose something as simple as bread, if the world does not scale up a wartime response to hunger.
During these months of festivities, from Halloween through Thanksgiving and the holidays, we need to remember the millions of hungry displaced civilians. They need food and basic supplies to survive. With that food is that glimmer of hope that peace will come soon.
WFP has set up a donation page for the Iraq emergency.
Read the full article at Examiner.
Filed under global hunger
The city of Taiz in southern Yemen is facing a severe hunger emergency, according to the UN World Food Programme (WFP). In a statement today, WFP said the city had not received food aid in weeks. Roads have been blocked by fighting between the Saudi Arabia-backed coalition and the Houthi rebels.
Read the full article at Examiner.
Filed under global hunger
More schools in Virginia are taking part in a special plan to fight child hunger, it was announced Tuesday. In a public statement the First Lady of Virginia, Dorothy McAuliffe, said there was a 139% increase in schools that provide free breakfast and lunch to all their students.
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Filed under Hunger in America
The United Nations warned today that 30,000 people are “facing starvation and death” in war-torn South Sudan. The UNWorld Food Programme, UNICEF and the Food and Agriculture Organization are demanding immediate access to these starving war victims, who are in Unity State.
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Filed under global hunger
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said yesterday its trucks had reached parts of Donetsk, Ukraine for the first time in 3 months. Food aid was delivered to areas of the city which are not under government control.
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Filed under global hunger
Dear Mount St. Joseph Community,
As the United Nations marks its 70th anniversary this weekend, we face one of the most severe hunger emergencies since its founding. The civil war in Syria and conflicts in Iraq, South Sudan, Yemen, Ukraine have left millions of people homeless and without food. Ethiopia, Central African Republic and other nations are also at risk of famine in the coming months.
The MSJ Impact Cincinnati Group has created a great way for you to help them, and all you need is a smartphone and your spirit. They are hosting a Charity Miles walk-a-thon for the World Food Programme (WFP), the largest hunger relief organization. The WFP depends entirely on voluntary donations.
Because of low funding the WFP has been forced to reduce rations for war victims.
To help, you need to download the app at www.charitymiles.org, select World Food Progamme from the list of charities, and start walking, running or biking. Every mile means a donation of a meal, paid for by corporate sponsors.
This is a tremendous way for you to be a food ambassador, raise donations for WFP and make an impact statement. Your actions will show that the hungry, even though thousands of miles away, are not forgotten.
Mount St. Joseph historically has responded in times of great distress. After World War II, MSJ answered the cries for help from overseas with massive food and clothing drives. The Mount school newspaper wrote “How did we, a small college… perform such a tremendous task.” Leadership and spirit for helping others guided the Greatest Generation.
Now is your time to step forward and meet the challenge of today’s world, which tragically again is hunger and insecurity.
The MSJ Walk-a-thon for the World Food Programme is this Friday, October 23rd from 12-4 at Fernbank Park on River Road. Even if you cannot attend, you can still do Charity Miles for the World Food Programme at any time. In the profile section of the app be sure to join the impactmsj team.
Please contact Monica Brucher with questions at monica.brucher@msj.edu. Please share your own story of your Charity Miles.
Thank you and good luck!
William Lambers
Filed under global hunger
Defeating hunger at home and abroad is vital to our security as a nation. Food insecurity weakens our communities and has a negative impact on children’s health and education. As President Harry Truman said, “no nation is any healthier than its children.”
See my letter in the Des Moines Register.
Filed under global hunger
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said Thursday they are providing emergency food aid to Afghans displaced by fighting. In the Northern province of Kunduz, conflict has forced families to flee to numerous locations within Afghanistan.
Read the full article at Examiner.
Filed under global hunger
Author William Lambers 