Do They Know It's Christmas?

Northern Kenya has been living with a three-month drought that has already taken the lives of people and livestock. Northern Kenya is an arid and hard place to live in, bordering with Ethiopia and Somalia -- it's also the poorest part of a nation that has one of the strongest economy in East Africa. With the arrival of the Christmas season, the attention of the nation has been turned to north, and criticism has been thrown at a government that has shown little compassion for the poor and dying -- until now that is. In a speech on Christmas eve, the Kenyan president has promised $40M in aid to the north, and has made an appeal to the international community to provide what aid they can.

Meanwhile, the world is set to wish Zambia a bad new year, as the UN has received no donations to fund food-aid for Zambian refugees in 2006. The refugees, fleeing from war torn neighbours of Zambia, have no where to go, and there is no long term hope for them unless the civil wars that rage in Angola and the Congo are brought to an end. Since there is no concerted effort by the international community to end the fighting, hope really is lost. Without food-aid for the refugees, hell will get a lot worse in Zambia. The UN is warning of starvation leading to deaths, as well as an upsurge of disease such as HIV/AIDS, as women and girls sell their bodies for food.

Well, tonight thank God it's them instead of you.