THE Dorset Echo is making one last push to raise £10,000 for the East Africa Famine appeal.

So far kind-hearted readers have already donated an outstanding £9,782 which has been sent to the charity for frontline work.

Now the Echo is asking readers to donate a total of £220 – which will bring the amount raised to the target.

While refugee camps in east Africa swell every day, the famine continues to take the life of an innocent child every six minutes.

Stories flooding in from the war-torn country are of desperate mothers walking for up to 30 days to get their starving children to a refugee camp, all the time avoiding physical attack and the fear of rape.

They are already undernourished when they flee their homes, but when they and their children arrive at the camp they are in an even worse state, suffering from exhaustion, dehydration and malnutrition.

But you can help by helping the Echo reach its £10,000 target for urgent donations. All the money donated goes straight to the Disasters Emergency Committee for emergency help. Echo editor Toby Granville said: “We are staggered at the amount of goodwill and generosity of our readers.

“But now we have that final push before reaching the target of £10,000 for this life saving emergency appeal.”

More than 13.3million people are in urgent need of assistance through the horn of Africa according to the United Nations. Without help in the next four months the picture will become much worse.

The situation in Somalia is particularly precarious. It has suffered from conflict for decades and Islamist insurgents al-Shabaab have refused access to most western aid agencies, including the UN's World Food Programme.

Rains have failed for successive seasons, and families across Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya are struggling to find anything to eat or drink. Hundreds of thousands of livestock have already died and food prices have rocketed.

The UN has officially declared a famine in several parts of the country.

How you can make a difference

this is how your money is spent by the Disaster Emergency Committee for the East Africa Crisis Appeal: A total of 95p in every pound will help the 14 partner agencies providing support, including Action Aid, British Red Cross, Care International UK, Christian Aid, Islamic relief, Oxfam, Save the Children, World Vision and Plan UK.

Your donations can help provide vital food, water, care and medical treatment.

If you would like to help please send donations or cheques, made payable to the DEC East Africa Crisis Appeal, to Dorset Echo, Fleet House, Hampshire Road, Weymouth, Dorset, DT4 9XD.