A Galway church leader is raising awareness of the hunger crisis raging in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya by hanging a bag of frankincense on her Christmas tree this festive season.
Rev Helen Freeburn, Presbyterian minister at United Church Galway, hopes her gesture of solidarity will also encourage people to give a gift this Christmas to support the work of Christian Aid Ireland as they respond to the severe drought in the Horn of Africa where more than 23 million people are short of food after five failed rainy seasons.
Frankincense is a fragrant resin obtained from trees native to the Horn of Africa and is famous as one of the gifts given to the baby Jesus by the three wise men.
Aid agencies are warning that the worst drought to hit the Horn of Africa in 40 years has created conditions that are pushing millions close to famine in the hardest-hit regions.
People are being forced to take desperate measures to survive in the face of extreme hunger as the drought causes failed harvests and livestock deaths as well as water shortages. The severe conditions are being made worse by the climate crisis and the war in Ukraine which has caused food prices to rise and badly impacted grain exports to the region.
Working through local partners, Christian Aid is responding in Ethiopia and Kenya, helping over 300,000 people by repairing wells, handing out water purification kits, providing cash support, trucking water to drought-affected communities as well as providing fodder and veterinary medicine to keep valuable livestock alive.
In northern Kenya, Christian Aid is being supported by Irish Aid to help reach even more families impacted by the drought.
Christian Aid Ireland Chief Executive Rosamond Bennett thanked Rev Helen for raising awareness of the crisis. Rosamond travelled to the region in the summer to see for herself the hardship caused by the drought.
She said: “In northern Kenya, we drove over several bridges but none of the rivers had any water. They were just wide, empty tracts of sand and dust. The landscape was littered with carcasses. Weakened by hunger and thirst, the animals had died where they stood - goats and cattle mainly but even the camels, the ships of the desert, had succumbed to this harshest of droughts.”
Rev Helen Freeburn has supported Christian Aid Ireland throughout her ministry. She serves the congregation of United Church Galway on Queen Street in Galway city centre.
To support Christian Aid’s work this Christmas, please visit caid.ie/ChristmasDonate4
