Give to Africa

Parishes offer chance for African hunger relief

There will be an unscheduled second collection Sept. 11 in all parishes in the Archdiocese of Vancouver. The collection is to benefit those affected by the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa.

It’s considered the greatest hunger crisis in almost two decades for the Horn. An estimated 30,000 children are said to have died with many more expected.

The crisis is even more troubling than its ’80s counterpart because the price of food has increased dramatically in the past 30 years.

Deborah Doane of the World Development Movement, which is a “fairer world trade” lobby – according to the Economist, said in an article with the magazine that aid money only buys half as much as it did almost three decades ago.

The money given from this weekend’s collections will be forwarded to Caritas, the international network of Catholic relief agencies. The Canadian Government has also promised to match all donations made before Sept. 16.