Posted by christine, October 30, 2009
We wanted to share these great photos taken by our awesome Mocha Club trips leader, Geoffrey Bertram. Geoffrey led MC members and friends on trips to view our projects in Ethiopia and Kenya this past summer and will also be leading our Ethiopia trip this December/January.
Click the pic below or view them all here. Thanks for sharing, G!

Geoffrey with a little boy, Samson, in Ethiopia
Posted by christine,

Oxfam says communities need long-term help to withstand the crisis
The Ethiopian government has asked the international community for emergency food aid for 6.2 million people.
The request came at a meeting of donors to discuss the impact of a prolonged drought affecting parts of East Africa.
The UN’s World Food Programme says $285m (£173m) will be needed in the next six months. Some aid officials say the numbers of hungry could rise.
Aid agency Oxfam has called for a new approach to tackling the risk of disaster in the country.
In a report marking 25 years since the famine that killed around one million Ethiopians, Oxfam said that imported food aid saves lives in the short term but did little to help communities withstand the next shock…continue reading…
Posted by christine,

Marcia Mankense's son, Adel, was dehydrated from diarrhea, an easily treatable disease. (Mariella Furrer for The New York Times )
By CELIA W. DUGGER
Published: October 29, 2009
JOHANNESBURG — Diarrhea kills 1.5 million young children a year in developing countries — more than AIDS, malaria and measles combined — but only 4 in 10 of those who need the oral rehydration solution that can prevent death for pennies get it.
“All the attention has gone to more glamorous diseases, but this basic thing has been left behind,” said Mickey Chopra, chief of health at Unicef, which is trying to put diarrhea back on the global health agenda. “It’s a forgotten disease.”
His observation lies at the heart of a wider debate over whether the United States and other rich nations spend too much on AIDS, which requires lifelong medications, compared with diarrhea and the other leading killer of children, pneumonia, both of which can be treated inexpensively…continue reading…
Posted by christine, October 28, 2009

Africa is most commonly known around the world for its tragic headlines. But the global community seems to know little about Africa’s heart: its people.
Join Seattle Pacific University recent graduates Daniel “Skiff” Skiffington and Charlie “Char” Beck as they visit all of Mocha Club’s current projects in 7 countries and take Mocha Club supporters and friends on a three-month virtual adventure to experience real life in Africa.
Via weekly video blogs, Twitter updates, and more, the duo will go beyond misconception and stereotype to document real stories of courage and hope. See evidence of Mocha Club’s impact in Africa, and see how Skiff and Char’s lives are changed as well.
The tour begins November 1st, and we hope you will join us on this journey. Stay tuned for more…
Posted by missy, October 27, 2009

Jeromy + Jennifer Deibler
Help us vote for Mocha Club artists FFH and Laney Wooten, lead singer of Pearl Merchant, THIS WEEK only! The more people who hear about these great artists, the more people who will hear about Mocha Club! Let’s help them win these contests…
FFH (Jeromy + Jennifer Deibler)
This week, one of the largest countdown radio shows has FFH’s new radio single “What it Feels Like” up for votes. If enough people love it, they will add it to their station. You can listen to their song and vote here.
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Pearl Merchant
Pearl Merchant
Laney Wooten, lead singer of Pearl Merchant, entered a song contest with Chris Tomlin. This week only, you can vote for her song “Taste and See” here. Click the red bar (below Chris’s photo) that says “Songwriting event – vote now” and fill out the form to help Laney win!
Thanks for all your help! We’ll keep you posted on the results.