As the world nears four famines, 22 million children are at risk

For Janet Tiko, every day brings the possibility of tragedy. Her nine-month-old son, Simon, suffers from malnutrition. She brought him to be treated at the Al-Sabbah children’s hospital in Juba, but Janet doesn’t know if it’s already too late.

More than one million people in South Sudan are now on the brink of famine. A United Nations declaration in February 2017 made the famine official, but the situation continues to deteriorate. There are 4.9 million people in urgent need of food and it’s estimated that more than one million South Sudanese children will suffer from acute malnutrition this year.

Unfortunately, since I last visited South Sudan in 2014, the situation for children has only grown worse. Ongoing conflict, a collapsing economy and depleted stocks from the last harvest have destroyed families’ livelihoods. As people flee violence, they’re left to survive on whatever food they can find – of which there isn’t much. Children have little choice but to drink unsafe water, leading to an increase in illnesses, especially diarrhoea, which can be deadly. Immediate threats to safety and health are compounded by long-term threats to the future of a generation.

The scale of today’s crisis is staggering, but South Sudan isn’t alone. The world is now facing the very real possibility of four famines, with food crises also threatening the lives of children and families in Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen. Across the four countries, nearly 1.4 million children are at imminent risk of death from severe acute malnutrition, and 22 million children are hungry, sick or out of school.

The good news is that child deaths due to famine and malnutrition are preventable if the right action is taken early.

In South Sudan, UNICEF and partners have conducted massive relief operations since the conflict began, and have intensified efforts to mitigate the worst effects of the humanitarian crisis.

Since the famine was declared, with the World Food Programme, we  have been conducting joint emergency missions, delivering life-saving supplies and services to the affected areas in Unity State. Together, we have reached almost 200,000 people – including nearly 50,000 children –  with food aid, nutrition screening and support and basic health care. This is just one aspect of our large-scale regional response.  

UNICEF is working around the clock to reach vulnerable children and families in the most remote locations. In South Sudan this year, we aim to treat more than 200,000 severely malnourished children and provide therapeutic feeding programs at 620 outpatient and 50 inpatient sites. We’re also working with the warring parties to prevent recruitment of children into armed groups and reunite children separated by the conflict with their families.

Across the four affected countries, UNICEF has more than 750 staff working to bring life-saving aid to the most vulnerable, and that includes more than food. UNICEF is working to provide 7.4 million children with safe water, 3.4 million with measles vaccinations and 2.1 million with education.

But despite our best efforts, the scale of the crisis is far outpacing the humanitarian response. Unless more action is taken, the situation is likely to continue to deteriorate.

UNICEF has requested $255 million to meet the urgent humanitarian needs of children in South Sudan, as well as Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen, in 2017. Last month, Canada announced $119.25 million to help scale up the response to the famine crisis, including $9.6 million for UNICEF’s work in South Sudan.

No child should die of hunger. The continued support of Canadians will make a difference in providing life-saving assistance to these children before it’s too late. 

David Morley is President and CEO of UNICEF Canada.

A Heart-Touching Experience

The other day while driving along a busy north London roadway I spotted a shopping cart full of someone's worldly goods. What I saw next broke my heart; on the ground was a man, motionless, lying beside his "house". I was in an inside lane of a busy four lane road, and somewhat distracted while driving. "Is this man okay, is he just sleeping or has he overdosed accidently?” I was unable to handle a moving vehicle and do some kind of physical assessment of the man. However, I did pray that someone would stop and help this person.

Still concerned, I checked my side view mirror and noticed that a woman, dressed in black, was moving toward the man. My heart-felt burden turned to peace. I witnessed a random act of kindness. I don’t know the outcome of their encounter but hoped that it might end in him finding a home.

This led me to reach out to Unity Project (a shelter helping homeless young people). I met Sylvia, a woman on a mission to assist the homeless. She embodies their Mission Statement, providing emergency shelter and transitional housing for youth and adults eighteen and older that is safe. The most powerful statement I heard from Sheila was “that a person during their first walk down the alley to Unity Project’s front door, feeling completely ashamed with very low self-esteem, to ask for help and then weeks or months later they walk away from Unity Project with their heads held high.” I made my donation, and though not much, I hoped it helped in some way.

To the woman who did stop to help this man, I say thank-you from my heart.

Guest Blogger: Monica Spilsbury (retired staff nurse of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Canada, London neighbourhood)

A Dad’s Day

Becoming a Dad changes you - completely.

It’s miraculous, really. 

The hardest part? Being there. And I don’t mean showing up, I mean being present. Fatherhood really hammers home the difference. It helps you realize how much you unknowingly phoned in important parts of your life — work, volunteerism and the friendships that matter. 

Being a good dad is hard. 

Everything gets hyper-focused. But focused doesn’t always mean easy. A selfish to selfless transition is a turbulent one. Even with a life partner that makes Wonder Woman look dazed and confused. (Thx love! xoxoxoxo)  

Over time you settle in. You wise up (sometimes). You start to calibrate your parental antenna to some universal truths about advice for your kids in this modern age.

Like:

• curiosity and creativity are more important than any string of characters at the end of an email signature;
• report cards influence life outcomes far less than we give them credit for;
•  the most valuable people in this world don’t do what they’re told, they tell the leaders what should be done;
• happiness has little if anything to do with material possession (especially in the long term);
• you never need as much stuff as you think you do;
• And perhaps most importantly, that you should never watch In the Night Garden, no matter how much your kids beg. ‘Cause some things, you just can’t un-see.

And on and on…

But the best thing about father’s day is being home with your kids, and loving them. 

Of all the things that make up the foundational pieces of our lives, family is by far the most important. 

You can tell a lot about a man by how he holds himself as a father. 

I didn’t get a chance to spend as much time with my Father as I would have liked. He worked morning, afternoon and night shifts, 10,000 feet underground, for 30 years, so I would never have to. 

The bottom line

I’ve got more from my kids, Molly (5), Cooper (8) than I can ever give back in a life time. 

I worry less these days about them not listening and realize I need to worry more that they’re always listening. And that parenting with purpose is something you practice, not something you perfect.

It’s about making a conscious effort to create a more profound relationship with the people that you love.

Everything else, I think, will fall into place. 

Guest Blogger Jeff Sage

Jeff Sage is a Senior Strategist and Co-Founder at sagecomm, a London-based strategic marketing firm specializing in brand, product and cause positioning for brands across North America.

The Month of Ramadan

The month of Ramadan is one of the most blessed and sacred times for the global Muslim community. It is currently upon us and will last until June 26th. 

This year, Ramadan happens to fall at the start of summer, whereby able-bodied Muslims are obliged to fast, abstaining from all food and drink during the daylight hours.

According to the Qur’an, the singular purpose behind the fasting is to attain a reverent and deep awareness of God.

The aim of the fast lies beyond the physical aspects of sensing hunger and thirst, intensified due to the heat and the lengthening of the summer days. There are many elements related to the fast that are conducive to bringing about higher states of spiritual consciousness of one’s state of being.

For example, when one senses the pangs of hunger and thirst, this should bring about a sense of empathy toward others who are less fortunate and do not readily have access to a steady supply of sustenance. Not only should this provide an impetus to help the needy, but it should also direct us to the Giver of all sustenance, instilling a deeper sense of appreciation and gratitude toward God for all of the countless blessings He has bestowed upon us.

The fasting also can provide a sense of self-discipline and sacrifice.

Furthermore, when a Muslim fasts, they also should abstain from acts that would be considered sinful, such as a lustful gaze, backbiting, speaking lies or causing any form of harm toward others. This leads to a Muslim fasting not only by their stomachs, but by their other limbs and organs, including their eyesight, tongues and hearing, abstaining from all that which displeases God.

Taking it to another level, indeed, the highest grade of fasting is that of the heart whereby a person consciously abstains from overly thinking of anything other than God Almighty, remembering and thanking Him in every aspect of one’s existence.

This also represents the innermost core of the concept of reverent and deep awareness of God, the very purpose of performing the fast.

Abd Alfatah Twakkal is the imam and spiritual leader of the London Muslim Mosque.

Proud to Protect Refugees

The recent election results in the United States have caused panic and fear in many people, causing them to turn to Canada for refuge. It is important to note, however, people all over the world have been seeking for a safe haven prior to the current political status of the United States. After the election, there were over 200,000 visits on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada website inquiring about how to move to Canada; if this number seems high, well the United Nations estimates that there about 24 million refugees in the world today, and half of these refugees are under 18. That makes around 12 million children who have been made refugees looking for safety. I think the numbers speak for themselves, and they are staggering… overwhelming.

Many people don’t know what to do with these figures; some in denial, some blame refugees themselves for their plight, some try to find ways to open their homes and their borders. You may have seen television reports of a huge detention facility near Toronto. Some Canadian born children have been detained, or have been forced out of their own country because their parents are failed refugee claimants. Family separation should not happen, but it does. Families are torn apart.  Because of the length of time it takes to navigate the stages in the refugee process, parents are sometimes separated from their children for years before the family can be reunited. Even when parents are reunited with their children, sometimes it has been so long that the children don’t know the parents. Heartbreak like this should not happen, people being deported to danger should not happen, people should not be feared because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of any group, but they all happen.

As Canadians, we must recognize not only our neighbors from the South unable to acquire immigration status, but also acknowledge those from a different place, a different continent, the rest of the world. 1 John 3:18 says “…let us not love with words or speech, but with actions and in truth,” therefore, it is up to each of us to be Christ bearers, to stand up and say hello, welcome in.  Join us.  We respect you.  We acknowledge your pain and suffering.  We are inspired by your courage. We learn from you. We are stronger with you.   

My name is Claire R., Ministry Specialist for Inland Protection of Refugees for the Diocese of London, and I am Proud to Protect Refugees.