Aid to drought-stricken Africa
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While the western United States deals with the challenges of a drought, in southern Africa people are near starvation because of drought-related crop failures.
Salt Lake area humanitarian aid volunteers rallied to the Church's Welfare Square May 29-30 to assemble 6,750 emergency food boxes destined for families in the drought-affected areas of African nations. The boxes were loaded on shipping containers leaving for Zimbabwe May 31 as part of the Church's initial response to the famine.
About 200 Church members volunteered their time to pack the emergency food boxes. In addition to the food boxes, the Church is shipping four large containers of clothing. Also, the Church is purchasing 250 tons of cereal grains from countries neighboring the drought areas to help famine victims.
News reports say Malawi, among other countries, is suffering its worst drought in 50 years, affecting some 20 million people. Residents of Zimbabwe and Madagascar are also hard hit.
"We have reports from relief agencies that if crops in these countries fail again, the effects of starvation will be unimaginable," said Garry Flake, director of Church Humanitarian Services. "The descriptions of what this famine is doing to children is painful to hear."
