|PIC1|Launching the Compassion Day 2009 on May 14, Compassion, which networks with over 25 developing countries around the world, jointly worked with radio stations across Australia, to seek for sponsors for children of "two of the world's most desperate countries."
"On Compassion Day 09, we want to bring hope for the hungry and will focus on Bangladesh and Ethiopia, two of the countries hardest hit by the current global food crisis that is forcing millions more people into extreme poverty," the ministry said.
The ministry estimates that "4.5 million people in Ethiopia need emergency food assistance, reviving memories of the country's tragic famine in the 1980s that grabbed international attention and sparked the Live Aid concerts."
At least 95 per cent of Compassion assisted children are said to be affected by the crisis, the ministry says, due to the cost of rice that has "risen by 90 per cent in a country where the average family consumes 3kg of rice a day."
"The need is great and so must be our response. A total of 5384 children around the world have been sponsored on Compassion Day over the last 10 years, including 1509 children last year. We need your help to do it again," the ministry pleaded.
On the web: http://www.compassionday.com.au