Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Nairobi (Fides Service)- “The local Catholic Church is probable the institution most involved in helping people who suffer the consequences of the prolonged drought which has affected many parts of the country” said Italian Fr Eugenio Ferrari, Consolata Missionary and national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Kenya. “Every parish, including my own, has been collecting aid to send to famine affected areas “ the missionary said.
It is estimated that 2.5 million Kenyans, almost 10 percent of the entire population, risk hunger because of drought. The most affected area is the north east which borders with Somalia, Ethiopia and Sudan, countries which also have serious food problems. “The areas most affected are in fact the most arid” Fr Ferrari said. “For some of the older people remember earlier times of famine the situation is not new. But many ask why nothing has been done. In those regions there has been no rain for 2 or even 3 years. There was time enough to prevent this emergency”.
“Unfortunately in recent months the consequences of drought have been felt even in areas around the capital Nairobi and Malindi a popular tourist area where cases of people dying of hunger have been reported” the missionary said.
“The government has declared a state of emergency and is purchasing cereals to send to the people in difficulty. But there remains the problem of water scarcity which has decimated the animals. Herdsmen are being ruined, I know of one who has lost 200-300 animals” said Fr Ferrari. “In addition there are indirect consequences of drought, disease which strike the most vulnerable, women and children, young people who have stopped going to secondary school because the parents have no money for school fees. In Kenya only primary schools are free”.
“Paradoxically in the more fertile regions harvests have been abundant, even superior to last year’s. Now these supplies need to be transferred to zones in difficulty” the missionary said.
However farmers in west Kenya where harvests were normal tend to disregard the government order to sell grain to the state because the government does not pay immediately in cash it issues a bill of exchange in which the people put little faith. Whereas business men and international agencies pay cash for harvests.
“These difficulties highlight the necessity for a long term plan for better distribution of the country’s water resources” the missionary said “When the emergency is over a long term solution must be found for the critical scarcity of water in these regions. Even in the most arid areas there is water underground. But wells must be dug so it can be extracted and distributed. Farmers must be given help to replenish their flocks. This is the only way to repopulate these areas from which people fled en masse because of drought and are now in danger of losing their culture and identity if they continue to live in makeshift camps or shelters” the missionary concluded. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 12/1/2006 righe 45 parole 549)
