My heart is breaking.

So, if you know me, then you know that I do not like to be sad. I don't watch "sad" movies (or even movies with animals because that almost always makes me feel sad, bad, or sorry for something/someone), I change the channel during a sad news story, I don't watch Extreme Home Make Over because it makes me cry, I don't ponder things that will tug at my heart strings. I try to avoid these emotions. And, since having this sweet little baby of mine, I cry quite easily... at the sight of another baby even :) so I've really had to step up my game to avoid the overflow of emotions.


Well, this morning the walls came tumbling down. I turned on the Today Show and the first story I saw was about the famine crisis in Somalia. Ann Curry was going around talking with parents and grandparents about their children who have starved to death. There were images of small emaciated children with their ribs showing through their skin, covered in flies and laying on a mat on the ground. They shared a story of a family who lost their eldest child to the famine (no doubt because he was surrendering his food to his younger siblings), and their youngest child, a 2 year old, was in the hospital because he only weighed 6lbs. (Here is a link to the story: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/44143019#44143019)

And then it happened, I burst into tears. I tried to imagine my sweet angel May crying up at me because she is starving and not being able to meet her needs.  I couldn't fight the images in my head of my sweet baby dying because there is no food and there is nothing I can do to help her. 

I feel so helpless and so out of control in a situation like this, so I am turning to my social media addiction to try and "do something," anything really.  Please know that it is not my intention to try and guilt anyone into doing anything. I TRULY believe that ignoring this crisis is simply not an option. We all have something to spare. One dollar might not be much to you - but to the starving people in Somalia it means as many as 40 meals. Maybe you have "nothing to spare" in terms of the American life but please consider what your small change can do for these people who are living off of a half cup of food at best.


Below are some links that you can follow to make a donation or to read some of the stories coming back from the humanitarian workers. PLEASE PLEASE don't ignore this because it's hard to face the facts - please grab your wallet and help today.


World Vision: http://www2.worldvision.org/news/drought-hunger-malnutrition-kenya
World Relief: https://worldrelief.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=3066
Text any of these organizations to donate $10 (source: CNN.com)
text "SURVIVE" to 20222 - Save the children
text "NOHUNGER" to 20222 - Action Against Hunger
text "FOOD" to 864233 - Unicef
Test AFRICA" to 80888 - International Medical Corps
Text "AID" to 27722 - United Nations World Food Programme
text "4AFRICA" to 20222 - World Vision

This article from CNN.com has a good wrap up of the various reliable ways to donate if you would like more information: http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/07/20/iyw.howtohelp.somalia.famine/index.html