Hope Voiced for Rise in Donations
As thousands of U.S. troops headed toward Somalia on Sunday, Southern California relief workers voiced the hope that intensified scrutiny of the Somali crisis will boost donations for the drought-ravaged nation.
“When we first began to shift our attention to what was happening in Somalia, we had a spurt of donations, but that had dropped off,” said Barbara Wilks, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles chapter of the American Red Cross. “We’re hoping the interest spurred by the military intervention will help to pick it up again.”
Wilks said the American Red Cross had thus far donated about $1.7 million to Somali relief efforts.
According to the Los Angeles-based aid organization World Vision, each day about 2,000 Somali children die from starvation.
World Vision President Robert Seiple said in an interview Sunday that he is confident that Americans will respond to the horrifying statistics. “The beauty of the American people is if they feel they can have a meaningful impact, they have always given--in recession, during holidays, even when money is tight,” he said.
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