Church groups responding to Pope's call for aid to East Africa

The death toll from a suicide bombing in Somalia's capital earlier this week has risen to more than 100 – the worst single incident of violence carried out by the Islamic al-Shabab group in Somalia since their insurgency began following their ouster five years ago. Pope Benedict XVI appealed for greater international commitment to resolving the humanitarian emergency in East Africa yesterday, ahead of a high-level meeting of ecclesial charitable organs to discuss the Church’s ongoing response to the crisis.
The communications officer for Caritas Internationalis, Laura Sheahen, spoke with Christopher Wells about the efforts Caritas and other Church organisations are making to alleviate the crisis. “Different Caritas members and partners on the ground are distributing emergency food in places where there is simply no way to grow food. We’re helping herdsmen whose animals are on the cusp of dying to sell off those animals for meat, then restocking their herds with healthier animals. We’re giving farmers drought resistant seeds and we’re working very hard on irrigation projects.”
She spoke about what can be done to assist people in the region. “Obviously, people’s prayers are very important, financial support for the humanitarian aid programs going on there. Whatever people can do to further the cause of peace, especially in Somalia, will help people, because they won’t necessarily have to leave Somalia because of conflict in addition to the famine.”
Listen to our extended interview with Laura Sheahen: