| Hi jay, It’s feeling very festive around ARC’s headquarters office lately. Rows and rows of paper chains are hanging from the ceilings in our office. It’s all part of our I AM A STAR campaign to support Somalia. You can read about the chain and the latest news about our programs below. Check out a photo of the chain: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=332726596819557&set=a.135563133202572.29312.134596023299283&type=1&theater . Sincerely, -Daniel Daniel Wordsworth, President *********************************************** *Dire Situation in Somalia* Somalia is suffering one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world – and one of the most complex. More than 2.5 million people are currently in urgent need. About 28 percent of people need food aid to survive. One in five children is malnourished. And nearly 100,000 people have died in the last 12 months because of the food crisis. We are one of the only humanitarian aid organizations working in Mogadishu providing critical aid like health care, medicine, clean water and latrines. Our team recently distributed food to 3,598 internally displaced families in Mogadishu. Each family received rice, pulses (the edible seeds of legumes) and vegetable oil. This is the first in a series of food distributions that are planned. In partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross, we will distribute a total of 1,995 metric tons of food aid to more than 100,000 people in Mogadishu. In addition, we’re currently employing 300 workers – mostly women – to clean up trash and debris in an area of Mogadishu. They receive $4 a day that they use to feed their families and provide for their basic needs. We’re also working to build four wells and 500 latrines at camps for displaced people to ensure they have access to the sanitation they need. *Responding in Maban, South Sudan* Since fall 2011, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by fighting in Blue Nile State, which lies along the border between Sudan and South Sudan. To date, more than 107,000 refugees have sought safety across the border in Maban County, South Sudan. The United Nations’ refugee agency anticipates the number of refugees will likely increase and that many people will remain in the area for several years due to the ongoing conflict, the lack of food sources back home and the high level of trauma the refugees experienced on their journey. The death rate is well above emergency levels, and the malnutrition of children is around 40 percent. In June 2012, our country director and key staff travelled to Maban to assess the emergency situation. Since then, there have been two more assessment missions. And staff from our Malakal office has been helping to establish an ARC office in Maban. We have already started to provide clean water and offer psychosocial support to survivors. We will keep you updated. *Facebook Campaign: 50,000 Cheers = $50,000 for Somalia* We did it! With help from our Facebook friends and Hormuud, a Somalia-based telecommunications company, we raised $50,000 for relief efforts in Somalia. Under a new global Facebook campaign, Hormuud generously agreed to donate $1 each time someone cheered for the Somali Olympic team on the I AM A STAR Facebook page. Fans were able to cheer by liking, commenting, posting or sharing information through the page. The campaign was launched to help Somalia while supporting the country’s two Somali Olympians, Zamzam Farah and Mohamed Mohamed. Their road to the Olympics was harrowing; they braved death threats, ran on dirt tracks and received little investment in pursuit of their Olympic dreams. As Zamzam and Mohamed watched the cheers come in from around the world, they were moved by the incredible support of strangers. “Now, I feel that I’m not alone,” explained Zamzam. “I never imagined that people in places like Malaysia or Taiwan are thinking about Somali people. I used to hear that the world had forgotten us.” In keeping with the Olympic rings theme, we’re building a paper chain in support of the team. For every cheer on Facebook, we’re adding one link. The chain is currently 1.5 miles long. *Giving* At the request of readers, I always include these links so they’re easy to find when you need them. Thanks so much. Donate Online: http://www.ARCrelief.org/donate Become a Monthly Donor: http://www.ARCrelief.org/givemonthly Give Us a Call: (800) 875-7060 Send in a gift: American Refugee Committee
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