The Time For Change Has Come

A lot of us complain a lot about the state of the world nowadays. The Arab revolutions are taking the lives of many in the streets of Libya, Yemen, Syria, etc. Putting the Arab World aside, East Africa is hit by one of the worse drought in decades. As a result United Nations says 3.7 million people “now in crisis” and more than 10 million affected by worst drought in decades [1]. There’s a large influx of refugees into Kenya’s Dadaab. World Food Back Programme director says that many of the refugee children are in Stage four malnutrition, with a survival rate of less than 40%. [2]. Even Kenya is affected. Areas affected are Wajir, Marsabit, Turkana, Garissa, Kwale, and Mandera where 1.4 million people are at risk. In short, thousands are dead, thousands dying and more than 1o million people are at risk.

Meanwhile, people are preparing for Ramadan by flocking the supermarkets, getting two to three trolleys per family, filling it with products that they might – or might not – use, producing bills that could reach a meter long.

So instead of complaining about how horrible the world has become, maybe the time for change has come. The time for us to cause that change. We need to stop complaining and start doing, to start with ourselves,  so we can lead by example, to start by lending out a helping hand to those crying for help from the Horn of Africa. If you think that your one dirham won’t cause a change, think again. I’m Kenyan, and I’m telling you, at today’s rate, 1 dirham is nearly 24 kenya shillings, and 10 dirhams can provide a meal for a starving child.

I’m sure there are many people who are willing and ready to help, and it’s inspiring to see how they come from all kinds of places. They don’t care about the difference in nationality, the tribalism, instead, they are showing the world that we care for humanity as a whole, because we are one people. When a child in Somalia is crying for food, another in Dubai decides not to buy that ice cream and instead gives his money to charity.

So to help the Horn of Africa; here’s what you do;

There are so many campaigns

From the UAE

1) Etisalat Numbers only; Send an empty sms to 6212 to #donate 20 AED to starving people in #Somalia. And for 100 DHS send an empty SMS to 6215 

Hashtags on twitter; #SharjahCharityInternational #UAE #ActforSomalia

2) Flea4Charity & Dubai Acts 4 East African Drought on Saturday the 6th of August 2011 to raise funds for the Somalian Crisis.
Donate your unneeded clothes and accessories (must be in good condition) to help fundraise for the Dadaab Camp Crisis. Location; Stargate, Zabeel Park – Dubai, Entrance Gate 4

To Donate conact:
Luz 050-9891461
Jihad 050-1622716

Update: The next event is on 20th of August inshaAllah

For more on the event;

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=196827223703772

https://www.facebook.com/DubaiActs4EastAfricanDrought

From Kenya

3) A social campaign called Feed Kenya was started by my cousin. 10 days into it, and the results were as follows;

-Kshs.624,602.20/= from donors via Online, Mpesa and Airtel

-KAPA OIL REFINERIES LTD donated 1.5 Tones cooking oil worth 250,000/= (excl taxes)

The call is as follows; “WE can DO this together – We can show our strength as ONE – We can make a difference just as an individual. Your say counts, your participation counts, your heart counts and more your ACTION counts.

Sacrifice A Meal Today; Take pride, stand for Kenya and support FeedKE:

• M-Pesa Paybill to ‘10,000’ Acc ‘feedke’
• On Airtel nickname ‘REDCROSS’ reference ‘feedke’ “

Hashtag on twitter: #Feedke

4) Safaricom and company. Individual donations to the fund are being made either through cash or cheque deposits into KCB bank account number 1133333338 or via mobile money transfer system M-Pesa on Pay Bill number 111111. As written in the news article [3], “The minimum contribution via M-Pesa has been pegged at Sh10, with service charges waived as the mobile provider hopes to cash in on its large subscriber base to make the cause a success”

twitter: #kenyans4kenya  @kenyans4kenya

Online

For other people from the rest of the world, you can donate online through Islamic Relief. Visit the following websites

http://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/Starvation_Raising_Hope_from_Dust.aspx

http://www.irusa.org/emergencies/east-africa-crisis/?utm_campaign=east-africa-crisis&utm_medium=event&utm_source=webinar

Take action, and make a difference. The least you can do is spread the word on twitter, facebook, and to your friends.

References

[1]http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/07/2011720756724143.html

[2] http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/07/201172663752188331.html

[3] http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate+News/Kenyan+firms+launch+campaign+to+feed+millions/-/539550/1209000/-/nx4keh/-/