UNICEF Use
The Force Of Ewan McGregor To Bolster East Africa Drought Appeal
London(TNN)-The company“s chief executive, Abdirashid Duale, says
Dahabshiil, which handles remittances, has seen a 10% rise in money
sent to east Africa since a crisis was declared last month, although
he declines to give detailed figures.
Mark Tran, guardian.co.uk, Friday 12 August 2011 UNICEF, the UN
agency for children, has enlisted Ewan McGregor - the actor best
known for his roles in Trainspotting and the Star Wars prequels - in
a campaign to raise money for the drought and famine that has
affected 12 million people in east Africa.
McGregor, an ambassador for UNICEF UK, will appear on cinema screens
urging audiences to contribute £5 via text message donations before
turning their phones off. Cinema chains Odeon, Vue and Picturehouse
are partnering UNICEF in the appeal. The clip will also be broadcast
online and on television.
chief executive, Abdirashid Duale, says Dahabshiil,
The clip shows McGregor saying: "Before the film starts, I“d really
like your help. Before you switch it off, it would be great if you
could take out your phone. Right now, 250 children are dying in
Somalia every day. That“s one little girl or boy dead every six
minutes. This is a famine. And children are dying. They desperately
need life-saving food and water. And they need it now. It“s simple:
they“re hungry, we can help. It“s time to share."
McGregor is joining efforts to raise money for east Africa, which
has been hit by the worst drought in 60 years. The situation in
Somalia is particularly precarious. It has suffered from conflict
for decades and Islamist insurgents al-Shabaab have refused access
to most western aid agencies, including the UN“s World Food
Programme.
Several musicians from across Africa have appeared on a YouTube
video calling on governments and Africans to "act for Africa" in
response to the crisis that has affected Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti
and Kenya as well as parts of South Sudan, Eritrea and Uganda. Some
of Kenya“s leading singers and TV stars, including Nameless, The
Villagers, Sara Mitaru and Juliani appear on the video.
Even a spoof Liz Jones in Somalia Twitter page, poking fun at the
Daily Mail columnist, has managed to raise £27,000.
Some businesses, including British Airways, National Bank of Kuwait
and Eli Lilly, have donated money. Dahabshiil, headquartered in
Whitechapel, east London, has given $100,000 (£61,477) to victims of
the drought and has urged other international businesses to follow
suit.
The company“s chief executive, Abdirashid Duale, says Dahabshiil,
which handles remittances, has seen a 10% rise in money sent to east
Africa since a crisis was declared last month, although he declines
to give detailed figures. For the Somali diaspora alone, Dahabshiil
remits a large proportion of an estimated $1.6bn sent every year.
Duale says the Somali community in the UK has been mobilising to
raise money."They come to our office wanting to donate in any way
they can, they are organising in cafes, mosques and in the
community," said Duale. "The events in London have affected
everybody and maybe overshadowed the crisis in east Africa but every
Friday people come together for prayers and I“m sure today they will
gather in mosques and donate what they can."
Duale says there has been a good response from aid agencies,
religious leaders, the general public and all Somalis, but it is the
business community that can make a real difference now.
"We, as kith and kin Somalis, with the same culture and the same
religion, urge the international business community to dig deep and
provide the final push the people of east Africa need, especially
during this holy month of Ramadan," he said.
So far the British public has given nearly £50m towards the
Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal, which groups several
British charities.
"At a time when the UK“s reputation is in the global spotlight for
the wrong reasons, the British people can be rightly proud that they
are world leaders in responding to acute need," said Brendan Gormley,
the DEC“s chief executive. "“But the scale of want is enormous more
than 12 million people across the region need support. Public acts
of generosity must be matched by government action, and that
unfortunately has been in short supply. The UN appeals are still
woefully underfunded."
A UN consolidated appeal, trying to raise $2.4bn for east Africa,
has so far received $1.2bn, a 52% shortfall. UN appeals are rarely -
if ever - fully funded, however. Of current appeals, only
Afghanistan, which is 63% funded, is anywhere near target.
Source: Guardian
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