famine and malnutrition in Somalia - third draft

It was an extremely cold winter in Somalia and everyone was suffering from it. I didn’t want to get out of bed because I knew that if once I did, the harsh coldness would hit me straight in the face, and it did. Even if I didn’t want to get up, I knew that I had to. My best friend was waiting for me inI didn’t want to get out of bed because I knew that if once I did, the harsh coldness would hit me straight in the face, and it did. But eventually, I did. Everywhere I went, old, rusty buildings were covered with cold and rotten dead bodies. 

It's been months since Somalia had experience a bright sun and felt warmth around my body. Even if we had summer, everything was dry.  I dragged my fragile body across the hard pavement until I saw my best friend since birth, Anna waiting for me at the entrance of the forest. 

She hugged me and shouted ''Ally! I'm so glad that you're okay! ''

Although we were only 12 years old, we knew we had to be brace because no rain have been coming to Somalia and because of that, none of the crop were growing. It was affecting the livestocks too and most importantly, the humans. Everywhere we went, there will always be dead bodies laying around. Luckily for us, a mission from London, John came to Somalia and tried to help us by giving us food and drinks. He's a really nice guy and he actually lives with me since all of my family died a year ago.

Each day, Anna and I would go deep into the forests to look for edible food but for the past week or so, we haven't been able to find any since the famine is getting much more severe. Other people were also looking into the forests to look for food for their family so they wouldn't suffer from starvation and malnutrition. 

Deep down, I personally knew that Anna wasn't going to last any longer. I could tell by the way she walks. She has been getting really weak and sick. We couldn't find any food and although John give out food, Anna and I wouldn't accept it since we knew that other people out there needed it much more than we did. 

One day, as we were walking inside the forest, Anna said to me, 

"Ally, I-I-I don't think that I can live for any longer" she said stuttering because of the cold.

"No," I insisted, "You can get through this and you will. You're stronger than this Anna, and I know it. You know it too, deep down inside your heart."

Day by day, Anna got weaker and weaker. We still couldn't find any food and because of that, she died not long after she told me that. 

I was devastated for days but John managed to look after and comfort me no matter what kind of situation that I was in. He told me about Jesus Christ and after about 3 weeks, I became a follower of Christ.

I would still go to the forest and remember the good times Anna and I had but one day, as I was walking to the forest, a family of 5 were walking back and somewhere in my head, I knew that they weren't from Somalia.

"Where are you guys from? I don't think I've ever seen you in Somalia before." I asked.

The father of the family answered, "We're from Ethiopia because the Americans think that we're not a worthy country. They want to bomb the entire country because we've been having famine and malnourishment problems for the past 5 years."

I thought about it and felt bad for them but suddenly, out of nowhere, something clicked in my mind. Somalia has famine and malnourishment problems too. 

As if he was reading my mind, he continued saying, "Somalia will get bombed too. We heard it from the locals. It would be best if you get out of here."

I couldn't thank him enough for the information that he gave. I ran back to my house and told John about the news. He was shocked too, like I was. He made a phone call to his missionary campaign and told them about the bombing and almost immediately, they wrote a letter and sent it to America stating that they can make Somalia a better place. America gave them three months to make Somalia a better place or else, they would bomb the country.

Because of that situation, John and I flew back to America and helped the campaign. We posted millions of posters up in London and since that, we've gotten over 10 million dollars. Using that money, we spent it on food and drinks then we would ship it to Somalia. We sent engineers there too so that they could build proper houses for the people there. 

Everything seemed to go in a right direction. After about two months or so, Somalia had their crops and livestock back and their population were increasing too. John adopted Ally and raised him like it was his daughter.