Called the “beggar’s rhyme,” this seasonal ditty isn’t attributed to anyone particularly, just “anonymous,” which is rightly so since beggars themselves are supposed to be anonymous.

This is the brief song I have repeated since childhood, not knowing or caring about the origin:

“Christmas is a-coming, and the geese are getting fat, please to put a penny in the old man’s hat; if you haven’t got a penny, then a ha’penny will do, if you haven’t got a ha’penny, God bless you!”

So, that is exactly what went through my mind after receiving a solicitation from the U.S. Fund for UNICEF concerning the crisis in Darfur, Sudan. According to the letter of appeal, approximately 1.6 million children – including more than 500,000 boys and girls under the age of 5 – face a massive humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of western Sudan.

“Time is running out for these young boys and girls,” wrote Chair Emeritus Hugh Downs. “Countless children are dying every month from diseases that are usually preventable and easily treatable.”

UNICEF continues to implement emergency relief efforts in the region, but security remains an issue, which hinders the efforts, creating food shortages and increasing the risk of disease. What a bleak picture.

But, the letter also said I could help, that the power of my donation would be stretched as far as possible. Perhaps a contribution would keep a child from going hungry or help provide clean water and sanitation for a child in refugee camps where families live, eat and sleep alongside their sheep and goats, and there are not enough latrines for the tens of thousands of displaced people in the camps.

Another packet came in the mail from the Christian Children’s Fund about the sponsorship of a child in need, an opportunity – the letter said – to “work a miracle” by providing money for food, clothing, education and medical care.

“Give a child a place in your heart and a chance in the world,” stated the pamphlet from CCF. “While the immediate benefit of your generosity is providing a healthier, more secure childhood for a child in need, long-term your sponsorship helps an entire community break free from the destructive grip of poverty.”

According to UNICEF figures, $450 can supply warm blankets for 127 children; $100 can vaccinate 100 children against polio for life.

And $25 can provide emergency health supplies for more than 100 children for three months, or, about a half-penny a day.

But if you haven’t got a ha’penny, God bless you.