Thursday, August 18, 2011

5 for 5

Today I'm featuring a guest blogger here at hotflawedmama. Sarah is one of the blogamigas I met in Colorado. I can attest to her sincerity and the legitimacy of everything she says below.


guest blogger: Sarah Lenssen from Ask5for5
photos courtesy of Cate Turton / Dept. for International Development


First, thanks to Tesi for allowing me to post on her blog today! Today, more than 25 bloggers, including this one, are standing with me to Ask 5 for 5 for Africa. Here's why....

I began pursuing a BIG dream two weeks ago. After deciding I could no longer avoid the news about the famine in the horn of Africa, I had that gut feeling that I couldn't sit this one out. I HAD to do something because I could. Something bigger than I could do alone. That's when #Ask5for5 was born.

A malnourished child in an MSF treatment tent in Dolo Ado

Two of my children, Ashen and Bereket, were adopted and are from the region affected by the drought in Ethiopia. They would be two of the statistics if they still lived there. I see my son’s and daughter’s faces in the photos of those suffering in the refugee camps. It could have been him. It could have been her. The thought haunts me.


And moms just like us are watching their children go hungry day after day. I can't imagine what it's like, but I have to –I have to be there to help them, because it could have been my children. These families have lost their livestock, their crops, food prices are inflated at the market if there any food there, and don’t have any more lifelines to tap into. Many are traveling hundreds of miles through parched land in hope of finding help. Many are dying along the way. It is estimated that 29,000 children have died in the last 90 days in the famine in Somalia alone.

Malnourished children, weakened by hunger

But I KNOW we can do something about it. Instead of feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed, we can rally ourselves and our friends to respond! I set up a fundraiser through See Your Impact. 100% of your gift will go to the relief and development organization World Vision, where it will be combined with government grants to multiply up to 5 times in impact!

You’ll receive updates on just how your funding is being used to help save lives affected by famine in East Africa. I'm amazed at how much we've raised already -- over $7,000 in just four days! We blew through our first 3 goals in just 3 days and are well on our way to $10,000 and beyond!

I need you to help me save lives. It's so so simple; here's what you need to do:
  1. Donate $5 or more on this page (http://seeyourimpact.org/members/ask5for5)
  2. Send an email to your friends and ask them to join us.
  3. Share Ask5for5 on Facebook and Twitter, and join our page to stay updated too!
I'm also looking for 100 bloggers to stand with Ask5for5 to spread the word during Social Media week, September 19th - 23rd. If you're interested, email me, ask5for5@gmail.com.

Extra food for every child under five


Thanks! Please donate and email your friends right now--don't wait for a calmer moment, because if you're like me, other demands inevitably crop up and you won't get to it. A child's life hangs in the balance, but you can help save her!

5 comments:

Cindy said...

This is great!

Rachel said...

I agree with Cindy, great idea!

Mark and Sarah said...

Thanks, Tesi for posting this! I am so encouraged by the response...over 6K since everyone blogged on Thursday! Cindy and Becky, thanks for the encouragement!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks Tesi for posting this and spreading the word. I've been looking for some way to help.

Claudia said...

Tesi, please forgive me for commenting so OT on such an important post (and thanks for the reminder - we're giving to a UK charity because that way the charity gets tax advantages,whcih is all very well but I still have to get up off my butt and DO IT - as soon as I've left this comment, I promise!)

Okay - you've linked from the conspicuousness linky but I can't see your conspicuousness post! Maybe the problem is that you've linked to the front page of your blog? Can you email me with a full link (to the post, not the whole blog) and I'll edit the hyperlink for you? write2claudia (at) gmail (dot) com!