P21 can go a very long way

MANILA, Philippines—With P21, one can buy a prepaid mobile phone load, a can of soda or ride a bus.

With the same amount of money, one can feed someone in the famine-stricken Horn of Africa, where meals are a rarity for millions of starving families, says a Filipino foundation.

Saying that “compassion has no boundaries,” Parañaque-based Lifeline Foundation has partnered with the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP) to support the food aid effort in East Africa, where an estimated 13 million people lack food because of drought and conflict.

“We felt that at this day and age with an excess of food, why is it that a great number of people are on the brink of starvation? We felt that it’s time the Filipinos did something about it,” said Betty Romero, Lifeline’s deputy director.

Lifeline is jumpstarting the effort with a run called Rain4Africa, which encourages both runners and non-runners to participate in three-kilometer, five-km and 10-km runs in Alabang, Muntinlupa City, today (Sunday).