News: The parched land of Madagascar

Florine Zafy, who runs the health centre in Sampona, a tiny town in the Anosy region of southern Madagascar, has become as desperate as the parched landscape. On april 28, 2009 she petitioned the government for a well because signs of rain were scarce. Because of the lack of rain, people are starving from small harvests,and children are the first to go. When a child is severely malnourished they cannot think, breath, work, or eat because they do not have enough energy and their immune systems are weakened. When mothers strated bringing their children to the small town hospital in large groups, Zafy said, and "at this point the problem is becoming critical" She has been screening children for the past 2 months and has identified 90 cases of people who are suffuring form lack of food and water. A mother was interviewed at the hospital while waiting to see what she could possible do to make her children better.
"I am afraid for my children now because I can't feed them," Siza Matavy, who had brought her children for screening and was first in the hospital line told IRIN. One child was already on a treatment called Plumpy'nut, a high-protein, high-energy, peanut-based paste provided to health and nutrition centres by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), and she hoped the other two might benefit too.
One mother wished that she could bring her starving daughter to the hospital but it was seven Kilometers away from her house. She could not walk on foot because she was wounded in her heel. If she took a ride their in a carrige it would cost the same amount as 1$ american dollar. But she simply did not have enough money to bring her daughter to the hospital.
The mayoy was extremely worried about this problem not only because of the children but also because of the countries exports and wealth. "Without rain we cannot grow food and we cannot sell food" he said.
"Lack of rain is at the heart of the problem ... the drought used to occur every 10 years, then every five; now we have drought every year," he said.

My view:
I am astonished that almost no one in our country has heard about this terrible drought. Many of us are still wishing that we could get a new phone or ipod and wishing we could have something besides roast chicken for breakfast, and hating going to private school in the morning. Well, the children in Madagascar are lucky if they wake up in the morning to speak frankly. After i reseached for a while i founf these astonishing facts. The children in Madagascar have not had clean decent water in almost three years! the water they get to drink is purified by boiling it if they end up getting any. I know most of us aren't moms so we can't be similar to their feelings in that instance. But imagine watching your family starve to death and not be able to do anything to help! This news report made me really grateful for everything that i have in life. I am so grateful to be able to take showers drink water and go to school each day. I wish that i could do something to help these people!