Somalia - "Worst Drought In A Lifetime" - NGOs Water Efforts Run Dry As Residents Eat Cattle Food

[hatrack]

NAIROBI, 20 April 2011 (IRIN) - Officials and aid workers in Somalia's Middle Shabelle region have raised the alarm over the plight of drought-stricken villagers urgently needing food and water.

"We are experiencing the worst drought we have seen in decades; since the beginning of March, we have buried 54 people who died from the effects of the drought, seven of them today <20 April>,” said Ali Barow, leader of the small town of Guulane, 220km northeast of Mogadishu, the Somali capital. Barow said Guulane and the surrounding villages of Eil Barwaaqo, Hirka Dheere and Hagarey, with an estimated population of 20,000-25,000, were suffering the effects of a prolonged drought.

He said a local NGO had undertaken water trucking but it was not enough and “did not reach most of the residents. They did well but ran out of money before they could make much of a difference.”

Abukar Abdulahi Tifow, the country director of the Women and Child Care Organization (WOCCA), a local NGO, who visited some of the villages, told IRIN the situation was desperate. “What we saw was depressing; some of the villagers were eating wild berries and cooking 'garaz’ ; that was all the food they had." Tifow said his group trucked water for 1,420 families (about 8,520 people) in the four weeks they were there. “Unfortunately, there were many more we did not reach. We simply ran out of funds.”

EDIT

http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportID=92536

[msongs]

1. perhaps the pirates can pitch in and help (as well as other help) nt

[hatrack]

2. I don't know - probably not enough money for Goldman Sachs, Citi et. al.

:shrug:

[jwirr]

3. Bingo.