cbc.ca (excerpts):  Tens of thousands of people have likely died as a result of the ongoing famine in Somalia, and more than 11 million in the wider Horn of Africa region are in need of food assistance as a result of what the United Nations is calling the worst hunger emergency in a generation.  Many of those seeking assistance have ended up in Dabaab, a sprawling network of refugee camps in northeast Kenya, near the border with Somalia.  The compound is made up of three separate camps -Hagadera, Dagahely, and Ifo and was set up in 1991 to house Somalians fleeing the civil war that erupted after the overthrow of President Siad Barre.  Today, more than 380,000 people live in the camps, originally built to hold 90,000.  About 1,300 new refugees arrive each day.  Most of them are fleeing either the drought, which has afflicted the whole of the Horn of Africa, but hit Southern Somalia the hardest, or the ongoing conflict between the Islamist rebels who control much of the south and Somalia's Western-backed transitional government.  As malnutrition rates climb and resources become scarce, humanitarian organizations struggle to accommodate new arrivals.  Debbi Goodwin is an author, former CBC journalist and award-winning documentary producer who has documented life in Dabaab.  She said, "The older people basically know their life is finished, that their functional life is over.  They have nothing to pass on to their children, they have no land, no property.  All that was left behind when they left Somalia.  Their only hopes are to try and get out, or try to get their kids out.  I've been to Somalia and I'm just horrified at how long the world has taken to respond to that situation."

Commentary:  "Nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, pestilences and earthquakes in various places" Matthew 24:7.  Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, Inasmuch as you do it not for the least of these, you did it not for me" Matthew 25:45.  If you are a Christian and you have even a little to give, please don't say no.  Jesus said that if you deny one of these food or water, you have denied Him food or water.  If your heart goes out to these people, especially the children, if you only have just a little to give, every little bit helps.  You can visit the World Vision website to help with a donation online, or for more information.  Also, you can visit the Famine page of this website for more information, photos and videos.