Over 20,000 families from northern Kenya have over the last two days benefited from relief food from the Emergency Famine Relief Distribution Initiative, a donor group.
The food is being distributed by the Kenya Red Cross Society in a bid to alleviate the dire situation in northern Kenya where drought has wreaked havoc on humans, livestock and wildlife.
On Monday and Tuesday, the group of Rotarians and other donors gave maize flour, beans, cooking oil and salt to families in Marsabit, Wajir and Isiolo, bringing hope to residents beleaguered by hunger and staring death in the face.
Over the weekend, Dr Rasik Kantaria, the chairman of Prime Bank Ltd, accompanied by Rotary District 9212 Governor Azeb Asrat from Ethiopia, among other dignitaries, flagged off the 20 trucks carrying 250 metric tonnes of the relief food at Parklands Sports Club in Nairobi.
Members of the Emergency Famine Relief Distribution Initiative during the flagging off the 20 trucks carrying 250 metric tonnes of the relief food at Parklands Sports Club in Nairobi. The food will benefit starving families in northern Kenya.
Photo credit: COURTESY
Although most parts of the country are suffering from drought, northern Kenya is one of the most affected areas, with more than 2 million people suffering from famine, according to Dr Kantaria.
The drought has killed most of the livestock such as camels, cattle and goats, which are the lifeline for most residents of northern Kenya. This has left them desperate and helpless and relief has been slow in coming, Dr Kantaria said.
Moving across the arid region gives a sorry picture. Emaciated children and elderly people sit at the roadside and villages, staring vacantly at nothing and with desperation written on their faces. Also, skeletons and carcasses of animals litter the landscape which has not experienced rainfall for a long time.
“These are Kenyans like us. History will judge us who are able if we don’t come to their aid in times of need like this,” said Rasik Kantaria, the chairman and famine ambassador of the relief distribution initiative.
According to Mr Robert Kinyua, the logistics coordinator of the relief initiative, most daily events in the northern counties have ground to a stop due to famine.
Hunger stricken children are not going to school and their future looks grim with national examinations looming. Women have to walk long distances to fetch water — which is scarce — now without the usual help of donkeys, most of which are now dead. On the other hand, men sit idly now that they do not have animals to look after.
The famine relief distribution initiative is a collaboration of various groups including Parklands Sports Club, Parklands Sunrise Walkers, the Kenya Red Cross, Rotary District 9212 and Rotary Club of Nairobi, Parklands.
The national and county governments have been distributing food and other basic necessities to residents of northern Kenya, but the relief is has not been consistent and the residents do not know when they will get the next supply.
Dr Rasik Kantaria, the chairman and famine ambassador of the relief distribution initiative, speaking during the flagging off 30 trucks with 300 metric tonnes of relief food for needy families in northern Kenya.
Photo credit: COURTESY
400 tonnes in first phase
Organisations such as the Red Cross have been entrusted with taking food to the far-flung and areas, and since they cannot reach all homesteads and villages, some of the hungry residents have travel several miles to get the rations.
According to Dr Kantaria, the relief initiative aims to distribute 400 tonnes of food in the first phase.
“We have mobilised service clubs, religious institutions, corporates and individuals to help mitigate the drought situation for our brothers and sisters suffering in the northern and eastern parts of our beloved country,” said Dr Kantaria.
Mr Michael Muchemi, the chairman of Parklands Sports Club and who donated 100,000 shillings to the initiative, called on other corporates to chip in to the initiative to save the lives of suffering Kenyans.
Ms Asrat called on all stakeholders to come up with a lasting solution to avert this cycle of hunger that comes every 10 years and gave the example of the initiative her home country, Ethiopia, has taken to plant 5 billion tree seedlings in five years to mitigate climate change.
