301 McLean Avenue
Yonkers, NY 10705





301 McLean Avenue
Yonkers, NY 10705
APPEAL   For the Relief of the Drought in the Horn of Africa

The worst drought of the past 60 years is raging in the Horn of Africa involving 3 countries, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. 11 million people (women, men and children) are forced to face this crisis. The low rainfall of the last two rainy seasons has brought to its knees entire communities living on agriculture and sheep/cattle farming.  Their crops are expected to be very little and large numbers of their livestock are dying. The effect of drought is worsened by the internal conflict in Somalia that affects the surrounding countries.

The situation in Ethiopia
Although the country had a growth rate of 10% over the past 5 years, Ethiopia has the lowest coverage of sanitation services and drinking water compared to other African countries. The low level of infrastructures exposes large sectors of the population to the devastating effects of frequent droughts; the present drought is leaving 4.5 million people without food and water in Ethiopia. The situation is aggravated by a general increase of prices of essential goods. The Government alone cannot deal with the emergency and the appeal to the United Nations for the entire Horn of Africa has only been 30% funded.

CVM’s commitment to Ethiopia 
CVM (Community of Volunteers for the World) works in Ethiopia in the field of water supply for drinking and domestic purposes (including horticulture) for over 30 years, providing clean water to approx 50,000 people each year.
  • The UN recommends that each person use 20-50 litres of water every day for drinking, cooking and cleaning.
  • Sexual violence - Women do the bulk of housework in much of the Horn of Africa, including fetching water and firewood. Girls and women risk being sexually assaulted on the long walks to fetch water.
  • CVM is currently working in several areas of the Southern Region, some of them most exposed and affected by water scarcity.
  • Over the past few months the utilization of the water facilities, already constructed by CVM, has dramatically increased due to the drought. These sites have become the sole source of water for whole communities as other sources dry up. (cont'd)

Donate NOW to help the people of Ethiopia!