Malawi Says Number of Hungry is Rising

News items about Africa always catch my eye, partially because a very good friend of mine from school (Yeah! Junior High Indiana State Track Champs Woo!) works for Save the Children in Africa, struggling against tremendous difficulty in an effort to improve the lives of children who are growing up in sometimes terrible circumstances.

My friend is the kind of person who, as a teenager, snuck money into her parents' bureau drawers after she worked the late shift at the local Burgerama. The kind who, in the right position of influence, could do amazing work on behalf of the voiceless.

For now she battles bureaucracy and indifference, leaving a kind imprint on people's lives when she can. (Yes, friend - who reads my blog - I have outed you. Don't let your mom read this, or she'll try to sneak money into your next care package.)

Malawi is in urgent need of food aid to feed 5 million people and escalating prices have put the staple maize beyond the reach of many in the poor southern African country, the agriculture minister said on Tuesday.

Agriculture Minister Uladi Mussa told Reuters in an interview that retail prices of maize had doubled to 30 U.S. cents per kg from 15 cents in the past month.

The rise was a steep climb in a country where more than three quarters of the population live well below the World Bank's poverty threshold of $1 a day.

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Official Bella Public Service Announcement: I make (functionally speaking) zero money, and I give to STC every month. If I can give money to charity, anyone can. Please consider it.

If you earn enough money to own a car and enjoy a regular Starbucks sippispresso, you can make an ongoing, kind gesture of support to a sweet, innocent little kid in a crummy part of the world.

Maybe it will help ease that "holy crap, the world is turning into a roiling hell, disasters and death are everywhere, morons run everything, and I'm powerless and can't do anything, I need a drink" feeling we all experience from time to time. Seriously. Clicky clicky, now.


Save the Children.