Kenyans unite to support children and families affected by drought in Northern Kenya

Mirima and her daughter Nashipai represent the faces of many families in Northern Kenya who have been adversely affected by the ongoing drought. At a tender age, Nashipai is in danger of suffering long-term effects of malnutrition. Luckily, her mother is on a World Vision cash transfer programme that is providing money to households to cushion them from the adverse effects of the ravaging drought.

Failed rains for three successive seasons have resulted in prolonged drought in Marsabit, Isiolo, and Turkana among other counties in Northern Kenya. Far too many children are on the verge of death from hunger.  Livestock carcasses litter villages and families are broken as men struggle to deal with the mental trauma of losing livelihoods and an inability to provide for their families. Sufficient rainfall has not fallen in these areas for two years. All the grazing land is gone, causing the deaths of thousands of livestock. What remains are attempts to keep both children and livestock alive.

World Vision Kenya, through its Disaster Management Office, started a drought response in the affected counties where most people are at risk of starvation. A total of 7,017 households (42,102 people in total) have so far been reached through this drought response with cash transfers that will enable them to acquire basic food requirements.

We are delighted to note that more than 70 of these families were supported by donations from Kenyans who responded to our call on social media.  From this call, we received a total of KSh. 182,318 and are sincerely grateful to everyone who donated. These donations were structured around food baskets that would offer relief to families for a period of time as we wait for the drought to ease.

The drought situation remains dire and is predicted to get worse with many more parts of the country still at risk of starvation. Together, we can stand in the gap to support the families in these counties.

Make a donation today using the Mpesa details below and share this story with a friend.  #KenyansAgainstHunger

MPESA PAYBILL: 468963
ACCOUNT: FOODBASKET