This Easter answer child’s wish for peace

For Easter in 1915 the United States sent a ship of food for starving children in Belgium. This was during the First World War when Belgium had been invaded by Germany. And war always leads to hunger.

The “Easter Argosy-A Ship of Life and Love” brought food and hope to Belgium's children. American kids also sent letters to Belgium’s kids showing their love and hopes for peace.

This Easter we should help the forgotten child war victims in Yemen. A civil war has devastated Yemen, which was the poorest country in the Middle East even before the conflict started. The civil war, now entering its 9th year, has plunged Yemen into a severe hunger crisis.

Children in Yemen are at risk of missiles, land mines and deadly malnutrition.

Save the Children recently spoke with 10-year old Maha in Yemen. Maha was injured by a land mine while collecting firewood. Another victim of Yemen’s civil war, Maha lost her right hand and her left eye. Her sister was also injured. Maha is now trying to recover while living in a war zone. No child should suffer this trauma.

Maha gets support from Save the Children for the physical and mental recovery. She has a message for us.

Maha says "If I could write a letter to the most powerful person in the world, I would tell him stop the war. I hope others don’t suffer injuries as I did. "

You can help Maha by writing to President Joe Biden and encouraging him to bring the warring sides together to end Yemen's civil war and build a lasting peace treaty.

Maha and other children who are suffering in Yemen deserve our best effort for peace. We have to convince the warring sides in Yemen, the Saudi Arabia led coalition and the Houthi rebels, that war is not the answer. As President Dwight Eisenhower once said "War is humanity's most tragic and stupid folly."

Eisenhower saw conflict lead to famine in the Netherlands during World War II and organized a massive Allied relief mission.

Yemen has been on the brink of famine as a result of its civil war. Children have died of starvation. The war must end to get millions of people the basic right to food.

There are 17 million Yemenis living in hunger according to the U.N. World Food Program (WFP). But what is especially tragic is that the WFP, the lead hunger relief agency in Yemen, is lacking funding.

A recent WFP Yemen report states “WFP is facing funding shortfalls for multiple activities. Most WFP activities are implemented at reduced levels, affecting millions of people.”

Every Yemeni family impacted by this war should get full rations. It’s especially vital that infant nutrition programs by WFP, UNICEF, Save the Children and others get fully funded. We don’t want any infant suffering deadly malnutrition.

Children like Maha should be able to get school meals year-round. This will help boost education while fighting hunger. WFP, Mary’s Meals and other agencies that provide school meals in Yemen need to be fully funded.

The U.S. should not send any more military aid to the Saudi coalition. Our role must be peacemaker and humanitarian in Yemen.

Let’s all write letters on behalf of Maha and the children of Yemen, to give them a chance for peace. Let’s encourage President Biden to help bring peace to Yemen and increase humanitarian aid to prevent famine.

At Easter during World War I, we gave food and hope to Belgium’s children. This Easter let’s help Maha and Yemen’s kids get the food and peace they need so desperately.

William Lambers is the author of “The Road to Peace” and partnered with the U.N. World Food Program on the book “Ending World Hunger.”