When 18 million people are starving

I was contacted today by Rasa Dawson, Senior Organizer for Community Engagement at OxFam America. Rasa told me a very interesting story. Like many good stories, it involves a conflict with something evil (in this case starvation), some heroes (you could be filed here), and the ending…well, we have yet to see if this story will have a happy ending.

What we’re fighting

The battle in this story is against starvation in the Sahel region of Africa. You can read all about the problems plaguing this region here at the Oxfam page. The bottom line is that if action is not taken soon, up to 18 million people will be facing the painful pangs of starvation.

The heroes

Unfortunately, this growing tragedy is not getting much media attention, so OxFam has tried to do outreach via celebrity contacts and social media. So far, Kristin Davis, one of the stars of Sex in the City, and Djimon Hounsou (perhaps best known for his work in Amistad) have succeeded in raising an amazing $12,000 for the Sahel region. Rasa told me that the community that has developed on each of the actors’ donation pages has been extraordinary to watch. The power of social media has truly been engaged. But they could use more of your help.

How you can become a hero

It’s very simple. You can visit Kristin Davis’ page or Djimon Hounsou’s page. Click a dollar donation amount. It should take you, oh, about a minute, maybe.

If money is a bit tight for you but you still want to help, write up a blog post like this one and ask your network to spread the word. Or share this post to help me spread the word.

Lots of ways to help. Lots of good we can do together.

So let’s do it!

Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/barduran/272471743/ via Creative Commons