Background
Many hundred children are affected by malnutrition as the result of drought. Ethiopia is once again in humanitarian crises. Ethiopian Authorities on June 3, 2008 announced that 4.5 million people are directly affected by drought and need emergency food nationwide. However humanitarian organizations including WFP believed that the number is underestimated. On the other hand UNICEF says that six million children under five living in drought affected districts need urgent and continued preventive health and nutrition intervention. In most areas people could not get enough rain for the past seven consecutive months. The failure of rain not only has limited the plantation of crops but also resulted in the loss of significant number of livestock. The oxen can not farm since they are very weak. This coupled with the high soaring price of food, fuel and fertilizer has exacerbated the situation.
Read CNN article Everyone's starving' in Ethiopia, aid worker says.
Example of One Project
The project intends to provide famine relief to children and families affected by drought in Arsi Negelle Woreda for the communities that live in Roggie and for the families of children in Dessie School for three months (July, August and September 2008)
The plan of intervention in Roggie is to provide high protein concentrated food for children under five. This will involve 300 children. The other component is provision of dry ration for 300 household (1500 individuals) families of our students.
The supplies for a person for a month would include:
- 15kg of Wheat
- 0.5 liters of cooking oil
- 1.5 kilos beans per person
The ration will be purchased from the local market.
We will hire a social worker and a store keeper and one guard. The social worker will be responsible for the distribution of the food. Our school in Roggie will be used as a distribution center. The office of the Ladders of HOPE will supervise the operation ensuring that all goes according to the project agreement established with and signatory government agencies.
The drought and the steep hikes in food prices have also created a devastating impact on children and families in Dessie. Here the families of 911 children will be given Birr 100 (One hundred) for three months. The distribution in Dessie will be handled by our staff there.
The people will be registered and carded to enable them to get their supply for the following months and to avoid abuse. The community and the local government will select one hundred families around Roggie, our representative verifying the same.
Donate online for HOPE Enterprises for Famine Relief thru HopeEthiopia by clicking here 
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