Food distribution to the starving people of the Shashemene District and Arsi Negele was begun on September 4 2008. Cooperation between government offices, the distribution committee and beneficiaries made the job a smooth and successful process. Thanks to your contributions we were able to provide the planned amount of food to 4825 adults (965 households) and 3360 children. However much, much more needs to be done. A recent joint assessment by the government and its humanitarian partners found that 4.9 million Ethiopians would require humanitarian assistance in the next six months. With your help we can help bring this figure down.