Where is the food? Patience runs out for Tana River flood victims as aid delays

As thousands of people in Tana River County continue to suffer the effects of the ongoing floods, residents of Ziwani village in Tana North sub-county feel that the government has chosen to abandon them despite their plight.

Two weeks ago, 14 trucks of humanitarian aid were commissioned by the national government in an event presided over by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

To date, however, residents say they have yet to receive the aid and wonder where it has gone.

Flood survivors who have set up temporary camps have questioned whether they were paraded for photographs to give the impression that they had received the aid, only for the trucks to drive away with it.

"For a moment we danced and thought relief had come. We were told that the food would be shared later on but since then, we have been taken in rounds," said Fatuma Ali.

Her efforts to locate the food have been fruitless.

Mariam Saladh, who is raising six of her grandchildren, said they had been turned away from every office they went to about the aid.

Abdalla Dulo, the head of the Ziwani camp, said he had given up on receiving the relief food because everyone seemed to be avoiding their concerns.

"I have gone to every office, they keep sending me here and there. I had to come and tell my people that it’s a fruitless chase. We accept our fate, but we still want answers," he said.

According to Dulo, various camps were represented at the food distribution flag-off, where they were paraded for photographs. He said officials had promised to distribute the aid later, but it was taking unnecessarily long and the villagers were in dire need.

Tana River County Commissioner Mohamed Noor, however, said the distribution was underway, adding that the camp was included in the distribution plan.

"We have reached a few camps and we are still continuing. Nobody will be left out. Ziwani camp is also in that plan and will have their items delivered soon," he said.

In an earlier interview, he said the government's distribution of humanitarian aid had been well coordinated, although he acknowledged that there had been challenges in reaching some areas cut off by the floods.

More than 35,000 households have been affected by the floods.

When contacted for comment, the Office of the Deputy President referred us to the Principal Secretary for Crop Development, Kello Harsama, who said that the government's policy on food aid distribution is that it should be based on need.

Harsama said that so far the national government had not received any complaints about food meant for flood victims being diverted, but added that the county commissioner was in the best position to know the status of distribution.

“The county commissioner is the one on the ground. Our policy is that it is meant for the vulnerable. We are not aware of those complaints. As far as we are concerned, those complaints are non-existent,” he said in a telephone interview.

For Mercy Katana, hope is fading as she and her children struggle to survive in the camp.

When the Nation visited the camp, we found her washing certified seeds meant for planting to prepare for her children for dinner.

"This is all I have left, my children slept hungry. They can’t sleep hungry another day when I have these seeds; we are hungry," she said.

"It is not my desire to eat the seeds. I was given these to plant before the floods, then the rains came and the river spilled over destroying all crops and my home. I had to camp out here, no nets, no food, no beddings," she adds.

Katana, who is pregnant with her fifth child and due to give birth in a month, is worried about the health of her unborn baby as she braves mosquito bites and the cold of the night sleeping on a mat in a tattered makeshift tent.

She shares the mat with her four children, while her husband stays outside the tent at night to keep watch and scare off any hyenas that come to hunt.

"It breaks my heart to see my family like this. I wish there was something I could do to give them a better day in this camp, but I can't," said her husband, Gharama Katana.

Their farm was their source of income. And with all their produce submerged, they have no other source of income.

"I walk to Minjila town every day to find a job at least to earn me some wages, but people keep telling me they don’t have any work. I return home in the evening devastated," he said.

In the village of Chara, residents are in crisis as roads have been cut off. The only way out is by canoe across the Tana River.

Shops are empty and people are surviving on mangoes and herbs.

"If we don't have food here in the next few days, children and expectant women will suffer. If there is anyone out there listening to us, please come to our aid," said Mathee Shora, an elder.

Tana River Governor Dhadho Godhana has since cancelled festive holiday leave for county staff, saying all their efforts will be needed to deal with the crisis.

"We cannot go merry-making when our brothers and sisters are suffering in camps," he said.

He urged the county assembly to return from recess and approve the supplementary budget to facilitate the intervention plans.

The governor has also appealed to well-wishers to donate aid, saying his administration has already spent more than half of the Disaster Risk Management Fund, but the gap in people’s needs is yet to be met.

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