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Act now to avert catastrophe
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International Relief & Development

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Tuesday, August 23, 2011 9:45 AM
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A message from International Relief & Development
Who We Are | What We Do | How You Can Help

Boy receiving much needed water.

Photo © David Lienemann/Official White House Photo

Together with LDS and humanitarians like you,

IRD will provide clean drinking water and save lives

in the Horn of Africa.






Dear Arnold,

IRD has issued an urgent call to donors to provide life-saving help to thousands of individuals in the Horn of Africa. Lives are at risk due to severe drought and famine. The United Nations has called this East Africa's worst drought in 60 years.

According to official reports, large numbers of Somali refugees are fleeing conflict and drought in their homeland and walking to the border crossing point at Dolo Ado into Ethiopia. A majority of the refugees are young children and women. Officials have stated that many thousands of children may die if they do not receive emergency help within the next few weeks.

From Ethiopia IRD Senior Program Officer Richard Wagner reports, "the scene is chaotic and aid is short. IRD is investing resources in areas along the Somali border providing clean water to as many families as possible. Our immediate focus is on saving lives but we are also developing long-term programming to help families recover their ability to care for themselves."

To address this need, the Latter-day Saint Charities (LDS) has provided IRD with a generous $170,000 emergency response in-kind grant. This 2-month grant is the first of two phases which will enable IRD to sustain its response to the drought which is expected to continue until the anticipated rainy season starts in November. The grant enables IRD to scale up its capacity to provide water trucking, jerry cans and other critical relief to save lives and reduce suffering among drought-affected populations in Ethiopia.

The LDS grant will make donations from private individuals, businesses, and foundations an even better investment. Whatever the amount donated, the impact will be further leveraged to help the most vulnerable. IRD is working along the Somali/Ethiopian border to provide clean, portable drinking water to 24,000 persons in 16 villages, in 2 districts of Ethiopia.

Please donate now to save lives and reduce suffering. The need is so great. There is still time, please join us to avert what could become the greatest catastrophe in more than a generation.

If you are interested in learning how you can become involved in raising awareness or funds in your community, please contact us at Advancement@ird-dc.org.
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