Student World Assembly
Niger Action Alert | July 30th, 2005

Action Alert!

Do your part to alleviate
starvation in Niger.
Learn about it.
Lend a Hand.

Due to persisting drought and locust devastation, approximately 3.6 million Nigers are facing starvation in this underdeveloped West African nation. The United Nations reports that 800,000 children under the age of 5 are suffering from hunger and dehydration, 150,000 of which are severely affected. In Maradi, Niger, a swelling refugee camp located in the south, thousands are entirely reliant upon external food aid. Help has been trickling in, especially as this issue has been brought to the fore in Western media outlets, but there is still much more that can be done. Thus far, not a single fundraising goal has been met, but many residents remain hopeful. One of them, a school teacher from a village just outside Maradi, said, “The world is generous…Do you think they will let us suffer when they are living comfortably?"

At this stage we encourage our members to donate to the relief organizations that are on the ground helping with the relief effort. You can either donate to local charity organizations that are working on this matter or checkout the following organizations which have setup online donation funds:

	www.worldvision.org
	www.redcross.org.uk
-	www.savethechildren.org.uk
SWA chapters are encouraged to set-up tables on their campus and community to raise funds for the relief effort and also hold events in order to raise awareness of this pressing issue. It is in the dark hours of starvation that we must rush to the help of our fellow human beings. Together we can surely make a difference! By clicking on the links below you will be able to find background information on the ongoing crisis: BBC AFRICA WORLD FOOD PROGRAM MEDICINE SANS FRONTIER OXFAM ISLAMIC RELIEF UNICEF OCHA

Our Mission
The Student World Assembly is a
non-governmental, nonpartisan organization created to represent students globally. It provides a deliberative assembly where students around the world can exchange views, vote on global issues through online discussion forums and in annual international conventions, and translate these views into meaningful actions.

Our Democratic Philosophy
The Student World Assembly believes that true global democracy affirms fundamental human rights, which include the dignity and worth of all human beings, the equal rights of men and women, social, economic and cultural justice for every person, and the freedom to promote these causes. SWA’s representative democracy offers a powerful instrument for addressing the vital social and political conditions that threaten our global future. The informed wishes of the people, conveyed through the collective of a democratic assembly, need to be heard in the decision-making processes. By giving students from the most remote to the more accessible institutions an equal voice, we are enabling all students to educate, participate and take action, and to begin thinking of themselves as global citizens.