Responding to Ethiopia’s ongoing famine and the government’s urgent appeal for emergency aid to help 6.2 million people facing starvation, Compassion International is sending $1.4 million to the beleaguered nation.

Since March, Compassion has sent funds to the people of Ethiopia to address the acute issues of food source insecurity; the distribution of more funding is planned before year’s end. While the money will be used for direct food relief and medical supplies, a portion of the funds will also be used to help develop small businesses in the Ethiopian communities hardest hit by the food crisis.

“In these communities that are continuously dealing with food source issues, we are helping individuals to withstand and perhaps even avoid food crises in the long term – not just by helping them in the short term but also by supporting small business enterprises,” said Mark Hanlon, senior vice president of Compassion International, USA.

Compassion began its work in Ethiopia in 1993 and today serves 77,544 children at 321 child development centers. Compassion’s work in Ethiopia is part of its global effort to tackle the unforeseen barriers to a child’s healthy development. In some areas of Ethiopia where Compassion works, the food that registered children receive at the child development centers is all that sustains them.

“More than 25,000 children under the age of 5 in the developing world die every day of preventable causes such as dehydration and malnutrition,” said Hanlon. “Compassion’s mission is to release these children from poverty through a holistic approach that teaches them and their families to thrive, not just survive. This is what we’ve been doing in Ethiopia for the past 16 years.”

Compassion International is the world’s largest Christian child development organization that permanently releases children from poverty. Founded in 1952, Compassion successfully tackles global poverty one child at a time, serving more than 1 million children in 25 of the world’s poorest countries. Recognizing that poverty is more than a lack of money, Compassion works holistically through local churches to address the individual physical, economic, educational and spiritual needs of children, enabling them to thrive, not just survive. Charity Navigator, America’s largest charity evaluator, has awarded Compassion its highest rating – four stars – for eight consecutive years.