About GOAL
Richard is raising funds to support GOAL's work to alleviate the suffering of people affected by famine and drought in the Horn of Africa. If you would like to donate, please click on the button opposite. This will take you to GOAL's donate page, where you will have the option to contribute whatever you like towards 'Richard Donovan's World Marathon Challenge (Horn of Africa)' and help GOAL's aid activities in the region.
The crisis in the Horn of Africa continues to affect more than 12 million people, with hundreds of refugees pouring into Ethiopia and Kenya from famine-hit regions in Somalia every day.
GOAL is one of a small number of international aid agencies responding to the Somali refugee situation in Ethiopia. As well as dealing with the crisis there, GOAL's emergency response teams are also providing aid to refugees streaming across Somalia's borders into camps in Kenya.
GOAL is also responding to the needs of some of the many Ethiopian and Kenyan people affected by drought in their own countries.
ETHIOPIA
GOAL has recently commenced operations in the latest refugee camp - the fifth - to open in Dolo Ado in the Somali region of Ethiopia, and is providing nutritional support through supplementary and blanket feeding programmes for some 50,000 Somali refugees. The humanitarian charity will be supporting the treatment of severe malnutrition in this camp by establishing outpatient centres, and by actively seeking out cases of malnutrition in the wider community.
GOAL has been responding to the nutrition crisis in the Somali region from January, 2011, with a total of 13,500 children treated for malnutrition there since then. GOAL has provided clean water to 140,000 people and over 90 metric tons of food aid to malnourished Somali women and children in the area. It has supplied core relief items, such as hygiene kits, kitchen sets and plastic sheeting, to over 30,500 people.
GOAL has also been addressing the needs of drought-affected populations within Ethiopia since January, 2011. As a consequence, more than 33,500 children suffering from malnutrition have been treated by GOAL and more than 47 million litres of water distributed to 500,000 people.
The Charity is also providing agricultural food security training and resources for more than 36,000 drought-affected people and providing therapeutic feeding to 3,000 malnourished children, as well as relief items to 2,500 beneficiaries.
GOAL has undergone a major expansion of our Ethiopia programme and is now in over 20 locations across six regions. GOAL is currently raising funds to allow effective implementation of the following:
- The direct delivery of nutrition, water, shelter and other support to 120,000 Somali refugees.
- The continued expansion of community-based nutrition programmes to over 100,000 drought-affected Ethiopian people.
- The implementation of water and sanitation programmes for affected Ethiopian populations of all six regions of GOAL's area of responsibility.
GOAL has also been monitoring the influx of Sudanese refugees to the Benashangul/Assosa area of Western Ethiopia. It is currently operating a nutrition programme in the region and is ready to respond if there is a surge in refugee numbers to this area.
KENYA
GOAL has distributed large amounts of aid at the Dadaab refugee camps, on Kenya's border with Somalia, sending 20 truck-loads of life-saving non-food items such as hygiene kits and tents to more than 10,000 refugees.
It is currently building hundreds of latrines in the camp, and intends to provide 10,000 emergency shelters, having already provided this support for more than 1,000 families.
GOAL also responded to the needs of thousands of drought-affected Kenyan people by trucking in water and engaging in cholera-prevention activities in Marsabit in the north of the country.
The Charity is ensuring that there are adequate water and sanitation facilities in place at key health and education institutions in Marsabit to support the treatment of malnutrition, and to reduce the risk of hygiene-related infections amongst children.