ACT partners Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Church World Service, and the United Methodist Committee on Relief provided funds and personnel to both Ethiopia and Kenya. Groups such as Lutheran World Relief and Catholic Relief have been operating programs that help refugees who were displaced by the ongoing wars and civil conflicts in the area. Now relief efforts are being turned over to the hands of local families. She was also impressed with people's resilience and their toughness. Yet there is a real optimism and a sense of hope.
Nobody wants to be visiting food distribution centers the rest of their lives.
She believed it would happen. If relief groups are declaring a cautious victory over famine, they are also stressing that, without sustained efforts, it could happen again. AmeriCares sent 72,000 pounds of medical supplies, as well as a medical personnel team, in September. Children are among the most vulnerable, said Sonny Enriquez of Michigan-based International Aid, who also recently returned from the affected region. If children under five years old are malnourished, they are permanently affected.