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Jesus didn’t say just love Christians: Costello

4:00pm Thursday, 25th August 2011

Joshua Maule

Arriving at the Dadaab refugee camp near the Kenyan-Somali border, Tim Costello's heart broke. Some 400 thousand people fleeing famine in the Horn of Africa - a population the size of Canberra - sheltered in tents and makeshift huts beneath the hottest sun in the world. "You fly in and you see a city that's in the desert," World Vision's CEO said. "It's like a lunar landscape around and you think: 'Why are people living here?'"

On the ground, things are grim. Several years of no rain and food price increases of 250 percent, have left Somalis, Kenyans and Ethiopians struggling to stay alive. "It was terrible. It's indescribable," Costello told Eternity. But amidst the dryness, he noticed a resilient spirit. "We met a number of people who said: 'We don't want handouts. We can raise our kids. We just need to keep them alive until the rains come."

If the rain comes, that is. A November downpour is what the region needs to scramble out of drought. And as well as safer government, it's something Costello is praying for the mostly Muslim refugees. "Really this response is on 'good samaritan' terms," he said. "They said to us: 'Why does World Vision care - you're Christians'. We said: 'Because Jesus didn't say just love Christians. He said love everyone'."

Even so, the traditional Christianised west has been slow to donate to the crisis. Costello puts it down to a media "obsessed" with stories such as the UK riots and the Europe's financial woes. That drought is a slow moving beast, doesn't help. "Unlike the Asian Tsunami where people are galvanised and say, 'That's terrible' ... we haven't responded with urgency," he says. World Vision has set a fundraising target of $6 million for the famine. So far they've raised just $1.5 million.

A spokeswoman for the Australia arm of UNHCR said most international aid agencies had reported a slow response to the crisis. Australia for UNHCR has raised almost $2 million through an East Africa appeal, $1.8 million of which came through a fundraising partnership with the ABC. Just over half of the UNHCR's global appeal of $145 million has been raised.

Costello said while Australians had "compassion fatigue", lots more could be done to help. "We can save these people's lives," he said. "The truth is, these people are incredibly tough and resourceful. And if the rains come in November, they will bounce back."