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From the archive · Appeal letter
A Famine Appeal From Central Africa
A fundraising letter describing a feeding camp during a famine in central Africa, as the charity published it.
From the archive. Around 1998 to 2001 this web address carried the website of a small UK relief charity. This page keeps one of its items as a historical record. Relief Weekly, which publishes the site today, is an independent magazine with no connection to that charity; its name, the names of its staff and supporters, addresses, telephone numbers, registration details and donation forms have been removed, and lost pictures have been replaced with credited photographs of the places concerned. Nothing here is a current appeal.
Pictured today: Photo: Heribert Bechen / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Africa is so complex: famine, war and even Ebola. Here is a letter describing one of many famine scenes in Africa.
Dear Friend:
Take Fatima, a 26-year old mother, who brought her last surviving child to relief workers.
"You must save her," she begged as she surrendered her baby's body. But the frail infant was already dead.
Driven to desperation any parent would understand, she had carried her dead child for a week, praying for a miracle that could never come in time.
Later that day, her child was buried in a leftover biscuit box.
Another child at the same feeding camp was so weak, someone had to chew crusts of bread and then put the softened "mush" into the little boy's mouth.
The vultures were watching and waiting.
They patiently circle over villages, refugee camps, lonely country roads, even feeding stations in big cities. The vultures are watching and waiting to feed on the newest victims of the famine in central Africa.
Most crops are already shriveling up in the ruthless African heat. Wells--for years rich with plentiful, clean water--are now drying up.
Mothers are frantic...
They use their bare hands to dig through parched river beds, hoping to scrape up a cup of muddy (and probably polluted) water to give to their swollen- tongued babies.
Mothers can't even nurse their babies because they can't produce enough breast milk.
Children are suffering terribly...
With bellies bloated from malnutrition, their intestines impacted with worms... making each step painful for them.
Cholera is rampant. Diarrhoea cramps their frail bodies. Their young arms are so thin you can wrap two fingers around them. And their legs are just as thin and weak.
What really tears my heart out is the sight of parents carrying their dead children.... And the morning body counts at feeding stations, to see how many children lost their struggle during another cruel African night.
And the vultures are feeding on this human tragedy.
I know we have problems at home. But these people have nothing. And time is rapidly running out for them. So I appeal to your compassion of sharing to help the helpless.
This means that any gift you give now will have a TRIPLE the value to help save the children. Give lb50 and it will add up to lb150. And so on.
I'm hoping you can send at least lb15--maybe lb25, lb50 or lb100 and get at least TRIPLE the life-saving value. But even if you can only spare lb10 or less, you'll still be helping.
The time to act is now.
The charity constantly has shipments scheduled to leave for various locations on the African continent. We have continuous needs for food, medicine and other supplies.
We are now in final preparations. Even the huge shipping containers have been ordered. But we can't begin loading them without the funds to cover the costs.
Please be as generous as you possibly can. And I'm sure that God and his helpless children will bless you many times over for your compassionate generosity.
Gratefully,
Especially on behalf of the suffering children,
The charity's founder
PS Our emergency relief supplies are delivered by trusted volunteers and local sister charities. This keeps our life-saving work very cost-effective--with over 95 pence of every resource dollar going to help the needy. So your gift goes further.
