Monday, August 8, 2011

1300 Somalian Refugees a Day...

1300 Somalian Refuges are traveling to Kenya a day to find food at refugee camps. They travel in spite of the danger of militant leaders that are killing their people and aid workers coming to help. A man says he once had a large farm of goats and food that hasn't received rain in 4 years....

It doesn't really seem possible to not have rain for 4 years...Especially after the downpour of rain we've experienced these past few months. How do you live when it hasn't rained for so long?

The camps receiving the refugees are already 4 times capacity and in dire need of more support as they take care of their neighbors (talk about the good samaritans...)

Here's how we're making a difference...budgeting. Saving grocery money to feed those that are starving. It's a simple - cut your grocery costs and send the rest to help starving people. This week, I had enough meat in the freezer to last and didn't buy any extras...so far I've cut back $85 for the week...I will hold off on sending all of it to World Vision because I may have to replenish some meat in the freezer next week...however I feel like I'm on the right track and keeping my family healthy at the same time.

Another way to help is fasting a meal, and sending the money you save to a worthy cause. Save the Children had a Fastathon today and had people 1) tell others what they were doing and/or 2) request support from friends and family for the fast. This not only got more people involved in supporting the fast but educated others on what is happening in Somalia and the Horn of Africa. Easy way to serve your world and be a good neighbor (all the way from your living room!)

I won't be fasting, because I have a little bun in the oven; but I can still cut costs and get all the food & nutrition I need... This week i used Trader Joe's as a way to cut costs. I will be learning other methods as well, such as meal planning, coupons, gardening, and any other ideas that come my way. I'm excited to see this adventure already heading in the right direction. So many ways to cut costs and help others. It really is worth it...

Friday, August 5, 2011

Why Somalia

Today I read an article posted on MSNBC with an update on the Somalian Famine. This article highlighted some of the devastating issues that are hitting Somalia right now. According to this article, written by Jason Straziuso the famine has:

  • Killed more than 29,000 children under the age of 5 in the past 90 days.
  • More than 640,000 children are severely malnourished
  • More than 40% of the population is in immediate of life saving relief (3.2 million out of the 7.5 million population)
The article also discusses that it is difficult to get aid to those in Somalian Rural area because they are ran by militant leaders that refuse to admit they are in a famine. So people are fleeing to Ethiopia, Kenya, and to the Somali capital to find food camps.

The famine is also spreading. Originally in June, the UN declared that 2 southern districts of Somali were struck by famine: Bakool and Lower Shabelle. Now they are declaring 3 more regions in the southern area of Somalia - meaning that all of southern Somalia is now in a severe famine. The drought that is causing the famine is also affecting other countries in the Horn of Africa; affecting nearly 12 million people total. According to the UN, the famine is "the most severe humanitarian crisis in the world today and Africa's worst food security crisis since Somalia's 1991-92 famine."


Here are a few organizations that are currently working to bring relief to the crisis in the Horn of Africa and specifically Somalia:

Mercy-USA
  1. Website: mercyusa.org
  2. 90% of all funds go to relief work; 10% are allocated for administration and fundraising
  3. Has been in Somalia since 1993
  4. More information specifically regarding recent work in Somalia: http://www.mercyusa.org/SomaliaDroughtFamineRelief.cfm?gclid=CJ6Q2YDHuKoCFQGFQAodC3R64A
 World Vision
  1. Website: worldvision.org
  2. 85% of funds go to relief work; 5% towards fundraising; and 10% towards administration
  3. Has worked in the Horn of Africa for decades
  4. More information specifically regarding recent work in Somalia:http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/pages/horn-of-africa-famine-2011?open&campaign=113655232&cmp=KNC-113655232
United Nations World Food Programme
  1. wfp.org
  2. It is difficult to locate information regarding percentages towards relief and administration; found financial reports from 2008, but they were not very straightforward.
  3. Since they are a large organization through the UN, they have not only been in the Horn of Africa for a long period of time, but they also have clout to make serious changes in the country. 
  4. More information on their work in Somalia: http://www.wfp.org/countries/somalia

Personally, I am most familiar with World Vision and know that they are a large organization with a big impact. I appreciate that I could easily access their financial information so I will be donating funds specifically for Somalia relief through World Vision. I will be making weekly donations as I divide our monthly grocery budget into weekly use. At the end of each week, I will post how much we have donated and would love to see how you are impacting organizations as well!

Resources:

MSNBC Article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44021514/ns/world_news-africa/
CNN: http://articles.cnn.com/2011-08-03/world/un.somalia.famine_1_somalia-mogadishu-al-shabaab?_s=PM:WORLD
Global News: http://www.globalnews.ca/health/Famine+engulf+southern+Somalia/5204562/story.html

Goal: Spend Less, Donate More

Generally I put aside $500 per month for my family towards groceries. My goal is three-fold:

1. Cut down our monthly grocery costs
2. Continue to eat healthy, organic foods and meet our nutritional goals
3. Donate what was saved to organizations that are helping people suffering from the famine in Somalia.

So far in the month of August we have spent $40 towards groceries. Leaving us with $460 to meet our budget. My first month goal is to decrease our bill by $100.

Here I will provide resources and strategies that I learn to decrease your monthly bills as well in hopes that you will also consider donating the excess funds to a worthy organization.

In my next post I will provide information on the organization I am donating to and together we can see how much we can make an impact in one organization by the end of August.