Dear friends,
They say a picture is worth a thousand words -- but
this one left me speechless.
A hungry mother in India,
baby in her arms,
bursts into tears after queuing for
food -- only for it to run out before she could get
any. Now the UN is warning the world is
on the brink of a famine of ‘biblical proportions’ with a
QUARTER OF A BILLION people, like this young mum,
staring starvation in the face!Brave local
groups and aid workers are working around the clock to fight
this ‘hunger pandemic’, doing all they can to feed hungry,
desperate children, and fight the virus. But they’re working
on a shoestring, and
they need our
help!
There’s 60 million of
us -- let’s go all out to
urgently raise more than
ever, and Avaaz will give 100% of the funds to those doing
heroic work to feed families, and save
lives from COVID-19. Chip in now and let's
together join this epic global effort so no one has to watch
their children starve:
Hunger,
not disease, could emerge as the biggest killer in this
crisis. All over the world, families are struggling to feed
their kids – not just in the poorest countries, but places
like South Africa, India and Brazil!
Our movement has
raised millions over the years for trusted relief groups
working with the world’s most vulnerable people, delivering
food and medical assistance to those most in need. Since this
crisis began,
our team has had dozens of emails from
them asking us if we can help. If we
raise enough, here’s what we could get done:
- Scale up a massive feeding
programme to tens of thousands of hungry families
in India and Pakistan;
- Support farmers growing food in East
Africa as they fight both the pandemic and a giant
locust invasion;
- Supply thousands of Rohingya
refugees crammed into crowded camps with
masks, soap and hand sanitiser;
- Fund urgently needed
supplies for heroic medics working in conflict
zones like DRC, Yemen and Syria, and;
- Pay for medical facilities in refugee
camps all over the world to contain the spread of
the disease.
Each and every one of us can make a
difference that saves lives -- and every life saved is
priceless. Let’s all give what we can -- every single penny we
raise will be given away to amazing humanitarian groups doing
critical work on the ground, to keep people alive and safe
through this crisis.
Chip in now to save
lives:
Our movement has done so
much to protect the vulnerable in this crisis. We’re already
supporting a brave Maasai community to protect their land and
their people, and we’ve helped win debt cancellation for poor
countries, pushed for a global ceasefire, and stood up to
protect the World Health Organisation when it came under
attack. Now we need to raise funds to stave off a starvation
crisis, and help protect the medical workers doing heroic work
all over the world -- so let's come together again.
In
solidarity and hope,
Marigona, Bert, Mike, Martyna,
Sofia, Meetali, Francesco and the rest of the Avaaz
team.
PS: The cost estimates above come from Avaaz
partners on the ground. They are based on the costs of
providing each person with one meal, and include essential
foods like rice, lentils, oil and salt. The more we raise the
more people we can help feed!PS - This might
be your first donation to our movement ever. But what a first
donation! Did you know that Avaaz relies entirely on small
donations from members like you? That's why we're fully
independent, nimble and effective. Join the over 1 million
people who've donated to make Avaaz a real force for good in
the world.
More
information:
Coronavirus pandemic
'will cause famine of biblical proportions' (The
Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2020/apr/21/coronavirus-pandemic-will-cause-famine-of-biblical-proportions
The
human cost of India's coronavirus lockdown: Deaths by hunger,
starvation, suicide and more (Gulf News)
https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/india/the-human-cost-of-indias-coronavirus-lockdown-deaths-by-hunger-starvation-suicide-and-more-1.1586956637547
‘People
don’t realise what is coming’: How a coronavirus crisis would
unfold in war-torn Syria, Yemen or Libya (The
Independent)
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/coronavirus-syria-yemen-libya-cases-update-death-toll-doctors-a9440486.html
Courageous
health workers on the frontline in a time of deadly COVID-19
(Relief Web)
https://reliefweb.int/report/bangladesh/courageous-health-workers-frontline-time-deadly-covid-19Photo
© REUTERS/Rupak De
Chowdhuri
