Together for Kenya - Donate online now
We have come together to help people affected by extreme drought. We are launching an extraordinary Together for Kenya fundraiser. If you can, Donate by 9 March for water and food supplies for malnourished children in areas of Kenya severely affected by drought. Click and help too, thank you: >>Donate online now<<
BRATISLAVA/NAIROBI: Four Slovak NGOs, ADRA, eRko - Dobrá novina, Integra Foundation and Savio, have decided to work together to help the people of Kenya affected by the severe drought. Therefore, they launched an appeal for help called TOGETHER FOR KENYA (www.spoluprekenu.sk).
You can donate to Kenya by making a donation through the donation pages of the individual organisations, between 23 February and 9 March 2017. >>Donate online now<<
The appeal comes just a few days after President Andrej Kiska visited Kenya as the first Slovak president in the history of our country and after the Kenyan government declared a state of humanitarian crisis due to the extraordinary drought.
Current situation in Kenya
In February 2017, the Kenyan government declared a humanitarian crisis in 23 out of 47 affected areas due to the ongoing drought. The number of people without sufficient access to food doubled from 1.3 million in August 2016 to 2.7 million in February 2017. Nearly 357,300 children, pregnant and lactating women are suffering from malnutrition (OCHA, February 17, 2017, http://reliefweb.int/disaster/dr-2014-000131-ken).
Skipping the brief period of rains that did not arrive in late 2016 is now forcing people to travel much longer distances for water. In some areas, they have to walk up to three times longer because of the water. For example, in Turkana, in the north-western region of the country, they used to have to walk about eight kilometres, but now they have to walk more than 20 kilometres.
The country's drought is also leading to the loss of livestock, which particularly affects the communities that depend on it. Areas such as the aforementioned Turkana, but also other areas such as Marsabit, Samburu and Mandera, report high numbers of animal deaths. According to UNICEF, nearly 175 thousand children have stopped attending school and pre-school as a result of the drought.
Many families have to resort to radical solutions. To cope with the situation, they have to skip meals or share them with their animals. Many are looking for other employment opportunities outside farming, selling their assets, including animals, just to be able to provide food.
What will the help look like? Together for Kenya:
The funds raised will be used for the following:
- Ensuring access to water for communities and animals through repair of wells and water sources.
- Supplying water storage tanks to health centres located in areas severely affected by drought and without a water source.
- Providing meals for malnourished pre-school children in educational and health facilities.
Who will implement the humanitarian aid? Together for Kenya:
Humanitarian assistance to the drought victims will be implemented by Caritas Lodwar, or other verified partner organizations in the Northern Kenya region, from the funds raised.
Caritas Lodwar has long worked closely with Dobra novina, responsible for Development and humanitarian activities of the Catholic Diocese of Lodwar in Turkana, Kenya. The Diocese, which covers the entire administrative area of Turkana covering 77 thousand square kilometres, has over 53 years of experience in mitigating the impact of drought on the people of the region. Caritas Lodwar has two expert water teams tasked with maintaining and repairing water pumps, as well as installing new water sources, with an emphasis on wind- and solar-powered pumps. They also mobilize and train communities to learn small pump repairs, hygiene and to participate financially in the maintenance of their water source.
The diocese has been cooperating for several years with the Good News development programme of the Slovak NGO eRko.
Area of humanitarian intervention
Turkana is a desert and semi-desert territory with an estimated population of 1 256 162 people. It is one of the poorest areas of Kenya. More than 90 percent of Turkana's population lives below the poverty line. The harsh environmental conditions, remoteness, poor infrastructure and poor access to basic services exacerbate poverty. Turkana is an area prone to droughts, which are increasingly prolonged. The rains are increasingly infrequent, erratic and up to half of the annual rainfall (100-350 mm) falls in 2-3 days. As 2016 brought almost no rainfall, early in 2017 the national and local government declared that the current situation in the area was alarming.
The current average distance that people who grow fruit and vegetables and keep animals have to travel to reach a water source is 15 kilometres. Pastoralists sometimes have to walk as far as 28 kilometres, and the distances are increasing. Water scarcity is also increasing conflicts between local communities over water resources, resulting in children dropping out of school. That's why we've teamed up to launch the Together for Kenya emergency fundraiser.
Click and help too: >>Donate online now<<
Thank you.
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