SOMALIA FAMINE

July 20 is the one-year anniversary of the declaration of famine in Somalia -- a moment that, for many, marked the start of the 2011 food crisis in the Horn of Africa. What's the situation 12 months on?

Refugees told JRS the militants force rural Somalis to make a harsh choice: give up a son to join the fighters, or pay the militants off with camels or cash. 

2011 will long be remembered as the flip side of 2008, as it hosted a GOP pre-season primary every bit as tough as the famous Clinton/Obama duel, but much sillier.

All in all, it's been a mixed bag of a year, but on the civil liberties front, things were particularly grim.

As the plane started to lose altitude and the images on the ground began to form into shape, I was stirred with nostalgic feeling triggered by the familiar soil and landscape.

Reasonable as it may be to pause for a moment to celebrate progress, it is critically important to keep in mind that that perfect storm has far from abated and now threatens to sweep up two more countries in its tumultuous wake.

If you've ever looked at grocery store labels (grapes from Chile, apple juice from China, rice from Thailand) you know the global food supply system is complex. With climate change, there will be winners and losers.

The food crisis in the Horn of Africa is nothing short of a humanitarian catastrophe, but it is getting less attention than the latest Hollywood break-ups and make-ups.

There is never a dearth of funds for magnificent mosques, but when it comes to alleviating the mass starvation of a people, Muslims are coming up short.

How does Iman define success? HuffPost Women and Laura Brown, Features/Special Projects Director of Harper's Bazaar, sat

The looming deaths of hundreds of thousands of Somalis from famine and disease should be on everyone's mind. What kind of a world allows this level of mass suffering?

Several months ago I came across an article about a refugee camp that profoundly struck me. Dadaab, the largest refugee camp in the world, was declared full occupancy in 2008, but has received between 600 and 1,500 Somali refugees daily since.

Learning of the famine in Somalia left me searching for a better understanding as to how the famine developed and how mass starvation could still exist in modern society.

Please help us make a difference and show kindness to our East African friends during their current and frantic time of need, by joining us for "Brunch for the Horn of Africa" on September 18th.