Do I know Hunger?

Breaking News:
Every seven seconds a child dies at the hands of a silent killer: Hunger. It has been announced in Ethiopia this week that millions of Ethiopians are at risk for hunger. According to the BBC news and UNICEF more than 60,000 children in two Ethiopian regions require immediate specialist feeding just to survive. The situation is expected to worsen in the next few months as crops fail. Aid agencies in Ethiopia say they are short of funds as donors concentrate on the emergencies in China and Burma.
Paulette Jones, of the World Food Program, said a combination of events have led to the situation. "We have drought - a really poor rainy season - and, of course, we have high food prices worldwide."
Food for the Hungry Relief Director Matt Ellingson says the drought has caused enormous loss of livestock and crops, leading to loss of livelihoods and increases in malnutrition rates in many areas. Ellingson also says a number of schools had to close their feeding programs because even though they received food from the international community, they did not have enough water to prepare the food, forcing a number of children to drop out of school.
As predicted in May of 2005 UNICEF’s Eric Durpaire said that in addition to the immediate response, longer-term support is also necessary for Ethiopia. “Otherwise, if we don’t improve the general situation, this problem of chronic acute emergency will come back. Each time the rain delays, we will face the same problem.”
The World Food Program estimates it needs to raise $147million to tackle Ethiopia's needs. "We are hopeful that donors will be forthcoming," said Paulette Jones. Other aid workers are not so confident. They say the money just is not arriving, with donors concentrating on the disasters in Burma and China. The UN estimates it currently has a shortfall of 180,000 tons of food - and presently has no promises to meet this target.
There are several options if you would like to make a donation to the relief efforts in Ethiopia. World Vision has set up a fund that can be found on their website www.worldvision.org. You can also make a donation on the website www.wfp.org (world food program) or www.fh.org (food for the hungry).
"I’m just one man – how can I help so many dying people?"
This was the question Food for the Hungry founder. Dr. Larry Ward, asked himself more than 35 years ago. His response set the cornerstone for Food for the Hungry ministries ever since: "They die one at a time; we can help them one at a time."

If you want my sources I will be glad to share them with you.