We are doing all right in East Devon! Some individuals have problems, but the world catastrophe is not touching us - not yet, anyway.

There is enough food, volunteers are filling gaps where needed, most people have a roof over their heads, though some are sofa surfing with friends. The Colony has not flooded since 1960, though rough seas and high tides do explore the town centre occasionally. The Plymouth bomb was made safe. The rest of the world is in chaos. Gaza, Ukraine and the Post Office scandal come quickly to mind, but it doesn't stop there. We need to think of other people all over our world.

Internet reports of problems faced by aid agencies make depressing reading, but hopes are raised by the commitment of many supporters in the field. The aftermath of floods, drought, civil wars and earthquakes have left millions of ordinary people trying to find a way forward in ruins which will take decades to repair, all complicated by Climate Change.

East Africa suffers badly from global warming. The regular cycles of drought and rains are now unreliable. Drought can be all year round or longer, leaving many families starving without aid. Sudan hosts refugees from neighbouring countries, with 100,000 displaced from Khartoum and in urgent need of food and medical supplies.

In West Africa, civil war in Liberia killed 200,000 people before it ended in 2003, displacing a million people, with 80% of the population still in poverty. Niger, on the edge of the Sahara, has frequent drought and food shortages.

In Asia, Bangladesh is another of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. Floods, droughts and cyclones in 2020 and again in 2023 affected more than 70% of the population. Additionally, 700,000 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar continue to live in makeshift shelters in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar district, depending on aid.

Nepal is one of the world's poorest countries and never had the resources to deal with the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that devastated the country in 2015. Almost 8,000 were killed, and half a million homes destroyed. People are still struggling.

In the Amazon forests, indigenous people are made homeless by deforestation and badly need food and shelter, allowing space for crops to satisfy the surging western demand for palm oil.

Turkey and Syria have yet to rebuild from their devastating earthquakes last year.

Central and South America's civil wars and deprivation are subjects in themselves, causing the huge migration to reach the USA, where rich people do better.

Lots more information can be found on aid websites. 

Even in the USA, there were conditions among poorer patients in a Michigan hospital not seen in The London Hospital where a friend had previously trained and worked. Also worrying are American mass shootings, with 746 killed and 2,442 injured in 2023!

With all these other troubles we should be happy to live in East Devon. We could even make ouselves feel good by donating generously to one of the many charities providing help for those in desperate need! A poor village could be fed for months for the price of a luxury cruise, or make a more modest donation from a small party down the pub! Drinks all round, sandwiches instead of steaks, and a toast to overseas aid workers doing what needs to be done.