I love what happened over the weekend. Not only because of the positive impact it will have on those affected by the crisis in the Sahel, but also because it enables everyone who took action to see what a profound difference campaigning can make. As well as providing us with a great example with which to rebut those oft-made claims that there's no point in signing a petition or writing a letter.

Last week thousands of people across the UK made the decision to devote a few minutes of their day to help stop the crisis in the Sahel from turning into a catastrophe. Some of you shared the online action on your Facebook and Twitter profiles, some of you wrote personalised letters to Andrew Mitchell MP, some of you took the online action and some of you put the letter out on your shop tills. Some of you did all of the above. And my was it worth it.

Each and every one of these actions made the call for more money from the UK Government even louder and even stronger. So strong in fact that over the weekend the UK Government made a fantastic announcement that they were going to give an additional £10 million for countries in West Africa facing the threat of drought.

But we can't rest on our laurels just yet. Whilst this is absolutely fabulous news and each of you who took action should be immensely pleased, we need to keep the pressure on. With still another £10 million needed and with the knowledge that a little action goes a long way, please continue doing what you can to spread the word and get others involved. And if you haven't yet had a chance to take action, download the Sahel Campaign Guide to find out what you can do.

With 18.4 million people at risk of hunger and 6 million already severely short of food, now is the time to pull out all the stops. We know that it can be done - but only with your support, energy and commitment.