‘A humanitarian crisis’: Local group raising money to ward off famine in drought-stricken Somalia.
In April, the Somali Community Development of North Dakota in Fargo formed an 11-member drought committee and raised $21,000 for famine and drought relief in Somalia.
When the Islamic holy month of Ramadan was approaching, the drought in Somalia remained deadly, and members of the local Somali community knew it was time to step up again.
Adbullahi, a drought committee member, said when Ramadan began on May 26, the committee added three more members and set into motion a second wave of fundraising.
Adbullahi said the Somali community wanted to raise money to help the people in Somalia who couldn’t afford food for iftar.
Each week, Hashim and Hassan send the money to the Somali National Drought Committee in Mogadishu, Somalia.
Hassan, translated by local drought committee member Abdiwalli Sharif, explained that there is a high need for donations during this drought.
Fowzia Adde, a drought committee member, shared the story of her uncle, who already struggled through a drought that claimed the lives of three of his four children in 2011.
Adde said the drought committee’s goal is to raise more money than in April.
After raising money throughout Ramadan, the drought committee plans to continue fighting for a solution to the droughts in Somalia.