31 August 2017
On 3 September 2017, the Salaamedia and Salaam Foundation team will departing on an epic walk from Roshnee in the south of Gauteng, South Africa, to the Laudium in the north covering a distance of 120km.
The idea is to draw attention to the great efforts by Somali families, men, women and children, who are walking similar distances just to get to some food or medical aid as a result of the drought.
They also wish to raise R1 million to help malnourished and starving children in the Arafat Paediatric Hospital in Baidoa, Somalia.
The route to be followed will include stops in Ennerdale, Lenasia, Robertsham, Mayfair, Auckland Park, Houghton, Marlboro, Midrand and finally ending in Laudium.
Azhar Vadi and Ali Kandulu will be walking on behalf of Salaamedia and will be joined by members of the Somali community in South Africa and other keen walkers.
“I want to help my fellow African brothers who are suffering,” said Ali. He is originally from Malawi and stays in the Thembelihle informal settlement near Lenasia.
Azhar has been training hard to try and build up his fitness levels. “Walking long distances is not as easy as it seems. The pain is real despite having the best of walking shoes and other comforts. I can only imagine what people in Somalia experience on their long walking journeys.”
The walk will end on Saturday, 9 September 2017, in Laudium at a community walk. You can follow the progress of the campaign on Salaamedia’s satellite online radio broadcast or via their twitter, instagram or facebook pages.
People wishing to contribute can make direct donations to:
Salaam Foundation
FNB
Acc No: 62669147665 (cheque)
Branch: 250 737
Ref: Somalia (zakaat/Lillah)
7 August 2017
Salaamedia and our humanitarian wing, Salaam Foundation, have launched a campaign to assist the Arafat Paediatric Hospital in Baidoa, Somalia.
The current drought situation in the country has resulted in 363 000 children under the age of 5 being classified as seriously malnourished, according to OCHA figures.
Malnutrition and its complications have been claiming the live of 2 or 3 kids on a monthly basis because of the lack of resources at the hospital. 
Baidoa is located some 250km west of the capital Mogadishu and although the town is under severe strain with no food and water, refugees continue to stream into the area in search of some help.
Omar Jama, a representative of the Zam Zam Foundation operating on the ground in Somalia, explained the grim situation to Salaamedia. “We have people walking over 100km just to get a small food parcel or some medical care. There are very few medical personnel and even fewer resources. We need the help of the outside world in order for us to overcome this situation.”
Jama was part of humanitarian team hosted by the Al Imdaad Foundation that included Salaamedia’s Azhar Vadi on a visit to Baidoa in July 2017. “You look at young child with spindly legs, a swollen tummy and unusually big head and the rough end of the effects of the famine strike you. Their eyes are almost glazed as they stare at you hoping for a miracle. These are the children we want to assist,” Vadi said upon his return from Somalia.
“We have not heard enough about this great humanitarian crisis that is on our very continent. 6,7 million people are in need of humanitarian aid in Somalia alone and very few people understand the seriousness of that. That’s more than 50% of the Somali population.”
He described how he saw hundreds of children at the Arafat Paedatric Hospital just laying with their mothers on the floor waiting for assistance.
“As we walked into the hospital compound we saw see mothers and children sitting and laying on the floors outside the rooms. Some had simple mosquito nets covering them, others had nothing. The hospital is overcrowded and the children are clearly malnourished. I couldn’t help but think about the amount of food and resources we waste away. It was one of those life altering experiences and this is what drove us to engage in a project to help the patients at this place.”
As Salaamedia, we want to put the cause of the East African Famine on the news agenda and get people to take heed to a broader crisis that affects close to 20 million people.
To get involved in the campaign or to make a contribution email az@salaamedia.com or call 081 706 4622.
Or you could make a direct contribution to:
Salaam Foundation
FNB
Acc No: 62669147665 (cheque)
Branch: 250 737
Ref: Somalia (zakaat/Lillah)
