FWD

I often say how blessed we are to live in this area for Brayden.  We have access to countless doctors and specialists that are the best at what they do.  The amount of hospitals, speciality centers, research centers, university hospitals...in this area is mind boggling.  We do not have to drive hours to get care.  We have many options right here (although it may still take hours with traffic).

We do not have to worry about food, shelter, clothing, safety, medical treatment, etc.

I know that if Brayden was born in many other parts of this world, he would not have lived long.  I cannot imagine as a mother not being able to provide for my child...not being able to even provide the basics of food, clothing and shelter.  We do live in an amazing area and country.

Right now there is a campaign to help Africa.  Those who are struggling to stay alive.  Mothers who cannot care for their children.  It is mind-boggling to think about all these people suffering and dying.



A note from my brother who has been leading this from the inside at US AID.

Dear friends and family -
People ask me all the time what I do at work and its always difficult to explain.
But over the last two months, I've been working many late nights and weekends leading a public awareness campaign for people in East Africa (Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia - also called the Horn of Africa). The campaign is called FWD - and we are asking people to help spread awareness about a crisis that is currently taking place.

Right now in the Horn of Africa people are suffering from the worst drought in 60 years, the worst famine in 20, and non-stop violence. The result of this is that 13.3 million people have had to flee their homes, 750,000 are likely to die in the next 3 months, and more than 30,000 children have already died. Just as a point of reference - this disaster is 5 times the size of the Haiti earthquake.

I've heard countless stories of families leaving their homes to find food - only to die along the way. My co-workers have spoken with mothers who left their houses with two or three children - only to arrive at refugee camps with one child. The mothers were to weak to carry all of their children so they had to choose which child would live, and which would die along side of the road. No mother should ever have to choose which of her children can live, simply because she doesn't have food.

I'm guessing like most Americans, you've never heard about it. In fact 60% of Americans have no idea this crisis is even going on.

Today is the most important day of the FWD campaign. Today is FWD Day. On this day, we are asking 13.3 million Americans to take an action for the 13.3 million people impacted by this crisis. We've got a lot of exciting things lined up the day - the part that I'm the most excited about is our Celebrity videos being featured on youtube.com home page. You can also check them out at youtube.com/fwd.

I'm sending this e-mail to you, to tell you that you can help. You can help save a life today. There are several things that you can do.

1. Forward this  to everyone you know. The more people know, the most people will feel completed to act.
2. Text "Give" to 777444 to donate $10 to relief efforts. Your $10 will literally save a life. It can provide food for a child for 10 days or it can provide a months supply of water.
3. Visit our website, www.usaid.gov/FWD to learn more about the crisis. You can also donate online from the site.
4. Finally, but more importantly pray. Pray for the people impacted by the crisis - pray that God will move in the Horn of Africa.

This is by far the most important project I've ever worked on in my career and I appreciate your support as we work to save lives.