For four years, residents of Solio villages in Laikipia County have not realized a harvest due to lack of rainfall and water shortage, and with the ongoing drought they are surviving on one meal a day.
While food and water is hard to come by, the drought is also ravaging their animals and has also led to increased theft of hay stacks from those who can afford it.
The elderly and school going children are the most affected as they cannot feed themselves. In the schools, children are either sharing meals with those who cannot afford to bring some to the learning institution or stealing from each other.
“We are in despair especially for the elderly who cannot do menial jobs like us and the children who rely on us to eat,” said Ms Miriam Wambui, a resident.
Residents of the Solio settlement scheme were relocated from different parts of Nyeri county and land donated to them during former President Mwai Kibaki tenure. There are about seven villages subdivided for the farmers who grow different crops for sale such as beans and potatoes.
Ms Josephine Wanjiku 79, narrates her ordeal with hunger in Solio village 5 in Laikipia County. She is relying on well wishers to donate food to feed her grandchildren.
Photo credit: Irene Mugo I Nation Media Group
But with no rains and water, agriculture activities have reduced and so are the menial jobs.
“We have resolved to ensure there is food at night albeit little, we share and sleep,” she added.
Ms Josephine Wanjiku, 79 has been relying on well-wishers to feed her four grandchildren – a situation that has been exacerbated by the high cost of living.
“I cannot support myself with menial jobs, but through the help of people of good will and generous neighbors I am making sure we eat a meal at night and drink milk-less tea,” she said.
After a long day of toil some 20 kilometres away, the residents are managing to sustain their livelihoods after earning a way of between Sh250 and Sh300.
“The journey starts at 5am. Sometimes we are not able to come back and so our children are in the care of neighbors’ whom we have to compensate for what they spent on our children. The next day we alternate as we await the rains,” said Ms Wambui.
She further stated that at times when there are no menial works in the neighboring Nyeri County, they are forced to depend on the neighbors for little maize flour to cook porridge for their children.
Women at Solio Village 5 in Laikipia County. The ravaging drought has left the villagers in despair.
Photo credit: Irene Mugo I Nation Media Group
“It has gotten to a point we are hiding from our children when they come home from school because we are embarrassed when they ask for food and we have nothing to give them,” said Ms Leah Wachera, a resident.
“Currently, they are sparsely donating to the elderly a kilogramme of flour which is not enough to sustain them more than a day,” noted Ms Wachera.
The residents accused the government of neglecting them and appealed for irrigation water and operational dams.
According to Mr James Mugo, an activist with Futa Magedo social welfare said the government should remove all taxes for traders who are importing maize from neighboring countries to ease the prices of maize flour.
“Besides that the government should drill solar-powered boreholes in this area to ensure that people are food secure with adequate irrigation water,” he said.
