Dear USIU-Africa Community,
As you may be aware more than 2.7 million Kenyans are facing starvation and are in dire need of urgent and immediate relief. The situation is critical, leading the government to declare drought a national disaster.
More than 357, 285 children are acutely malnourished with at least three counties of Turkana, Marsabit and Mandera reporting a Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) Rate of above 30%. GAM rate is one of the basic indicators for assessing the severity of a humanitarian crisis. The situation has escalated from disaster to alarm which the Kenya Red Cross Society describes as, “an extreme drought situation where all water sources have dried out and 90% of the total population not only rely on relief food but also need water supply for survival”.
As a caring University community we need to mobilize our resources and sacrifice a little comfort to raise the much-needed support for our brothers and sisters in this need. Most significantly, let’s be compassionate and support our very own colleagues here at USIU-Africa whose families and relatives are in dire need of help.
In response to this need, we have launched a university-wide campaign dubbed #IamCompassionate to run from Thursday, 16^th March to 1^st April, 2017. Through this campaign I invite you to demonstrate your compassion by donating cash or or in-kind (dry cereals) as described below. You may donate individually or as an organized group, team, club, class, council, association, amongst others.
Avenues of compassion
a. Visit the Red Cross Club tents at the entrance and behind the cafeteria to drop off your in-kind donation during the Culture Week and throughout the campaign period. Ask the Red Cross Club to wash your car for a small fee.
b. Sign up for the Solidarity Run on 1st April, 2017 organized by the Strategic Management Class (BUS6150A) and Professor Peter Lewa. Dubbed #RuntoSaveLife, this thrilling run pits faculty and staff to compete students in a 100-metre dash. For every student who beats staff in the run, Prof. Lewa will donate Kshs.1,000.
c. Skip or share a meal in the #skip a meal/donate your plate on Thursday, 23^rd March, 2017. Through this initiative you can donate cash that would have been used to purchase a meal.
d. Sign up a Cash donation slip and deposit at Cafeteria/Finance office ACC. 10-1316-4308; Narration-Compassionate or M-Pesa Paybill 516900 Account Name; RuntoSaveLife. All payments received shall be acknowledge.
e. In case you want to organize an event or activity to fundraise in response to the hunger crisis please contact the Advancement team on fundraising@usiu.ac.ke or egongus@usiu.ac.ke / 0730 116 205/326 for the necessary support.
I look forward to your compassion and our collective USIU-Africa community donation to our hunger-stricken brothers, sisters and their families.