Famine in Kenya

Dear friends,

Devastating news have reached us from Kenya.
Due to the lack of rain over the last two years, famine has reached many countries in Africa, Kenya being one of the countries with the highest impact.

Below is an article from the Guardian (28th June 2011) outlining the severe situation:

"The worst drought in 60 years in the Horn of Africa has sparked a severe food crisis and high malnutrition rates, with parts of Kenya and Somalia experiencing pre-famine conditions, the United Nations has said.

More than 10 million people are now affected in drought-stricken areas of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda and the situation is deteriorating, it said.

"Two consecutive poor rainy seasons have resulted in one of the driest years since 1950/51 in many pastoral zones," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs told a media briefing. "There is no likelihood of improvement until 2012".

Food prices have risen substantially in the region, pushing many moderately poor households over the edge.
A UN map of food security in the eastern Horn of Africa shows large swathes of central Kenya and Somalia in the emergency category, one phase before what the UN classifies as catastrophe/famine – the fifth and worst category.

Child malnutrition rates in the worst affected areas are more than double the emergency threshold of 15 per cent and are expected to rise further. High mortality rates among children are also reported.
Drought and fighting are driving ever greater numbers of Somalis from their homeland, with more than 20,000 arriving in Kenya in just the past two weeks, the UN refuge agency UNHCR said on Friday. It voiced alarm at the dramatic rise, noting the average monthly outflow had been about 10,000 so far this year."

As we have been told by our CBSM members in Kimilili, our school is also affected as the daily lunches for the kids can't be afforded anymore. The cost for our 250 kids are 26 Euros per day (30 CHF) and are split as follows:

MAIZE: 1950 KSH 
BEANS: 1100 KSH 
FAT: 80 KSH
FIRE WOOD: 100 KSH
SALT: 50 KSH
TOMATOES AND ONIONS: 50 KSH

TOTAL: 3'330 KSH equaling 600 CHF per month

As a long term solution, we would like to buy enough additional land for local volunteers to grow crops and sustain themselves, but as long as the funding is not there yet, we need a mid-term solution.

We are looking for volunteers to cover parts of the monthly costs so that our kids can be fed over lunch. For many of those kids, this will be the only meal they receive for the day.

If you would like to support, please contact us or transfer your donations to the CBSM account. Please remember, 100% of your donations will go directly to the kids, all administrations costs or other costs are covered by us.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact us.
Thanks for your kind support,
Alex & Agnes