Trócaire at the 2010 Afri Famine Walk

Trócaire's Justin Kilcullen was one of the three leaders of the 2010 Afri Famine Walk. This annual event marks the anniversary of a tragic walk in 1849, when hundreds of starving Irish peasants trudged through the snow on a futile ten-mile death march for food.

Felicity Lawrence, writer and journalist for the Guardian newspaper, another of the leaders, wrote a moving article about the causes of famine for The Guardian, which includes a short video of the event.

The third walk leader was Jo Newton from Irish Seed Savers Association.

Trócaire's Joanne McGarry was one of the hundreds of walkers on 22nd May. "I took part in the Afri Famine Walk for the first time this year," Joanne said afterwards.  "I was delighted I did it, even though I mistakenly thought it was a 10k not a 17k walk, I wonder would I have reconsidered the 21k cycle from Westport to Louisburgh earlier in the day had I known...probably!"

One of Trócaire's key campaigns at the moment is to speak out against the global scandal of hunger, calling on An Taoiseach to uphold three commitments - no more cuts to the aid budget, new finance to help people to adapt to climate change, and trade policies that will help small farmers.

"There was a real sense of anticipation before the walkers set off and we listened to Justin Kilcullen talk about Trócaire's current campaign on Hunger," said Joanne. "He told us that today 1 billion people in the world are hungry, the highest number ever in history.  1 in 6 people in our world do not have enough to eat." 

Joanne continued: "It was a stark message, especially when the purpose of the walk was to remember those who died of starvation during Ireland's famine more than 150 years ago.  We certainly don't seem to have learned from the mistakes of the past.  We also listened to Felicity Lawrence from the Guardian Newspaper who told us how the unfair practices of industrial food companies are stacking the scales against small food producers in the south and how political will is needed to amend these injustices."

Joanne finished on a personal note.  "We were told to remember the people who had walked the same road we walked and tragically perished all those years ago.  I did think of them, many times.  In the moments I was feeling tired I thought of them and wondered how the hell could this scandal that is hunger still be happening to so many people all over the world today, 1 billion of them."

Please sign Trócaire's online action to speak out against hunger in the world today.  Every voice makes a difference.