Kenya’s catastrophic drought continues
Kenya is currently being hit by a catastrophic drought, unprecedented in 40 years. The situation is most difficult in the north of the country and in the central part of Kajiado County, which is where the Osimlai Gifted Hands school we co-run is located. The drought is affecting the entire Horn of Africa region - Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. Save teh Children reports:"The Horn of Africa is experiencing one of the worst droughts in recent history. Almost 16 million people in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya are in urgent need of food. If we do not act, more than 350,000 children could die in Somalia in the next few months. About 40 per cent of the total population in the Horn of Africa is malnourished. This type of malnutrition makes children much more susceptible to disease because their immune systems are weakened. Photo taken in Kajiado County, 30.10.2022 -.https://www.instagram.com/chamiltonjames/ Photo taken in Kajiado County, - https://www.instagram.com/chamiltonjames/ Zdjęcie wykonane w hrabstwie Kajiado, - https://www.instagram.com/chamiltonjames/ Since September, the situation in the Kajiado region has been critical. The village of Ildamat, which is where our school operates, is one of the places where the drought is leading to unimaginable dramas. Families have nothing to live on because, with the loss of their cattle, they have lost their only source of income and therefore their ability to make a living. Masai possessions are cattle Our school community is 99% Masai, whose primary possessions and also their only source of livelihood are cows, goats and sheep. Successive droughts have severely depleted the herds, but the current drought, the worst in 40 years, is taking everything away, resulting in the loss of over 300,000 of these animals, threatening more than a million cattle with starvation. At the moment, at the market in Bisil - which is 25 km from our school - cows are being sold for 500 kes a head, whereas the standard market price until recently was 20 000 kes. Who can afford to go shopping? Cases of severe malnutrition were also reported across the country. As many as 942,000 children aged 6-59 months and 134,000 pregnant or lactating women were affected. We are one step away from tragedy among our families. It is also dramatic that the two wells closest to our community stop working every now and then because they are overused. The only solution would be to buy water, but it takes money to do that. The situation is critical in every aspect. Who can go to school? The disastrous situation of Kenyan families means that more and more students are dropping out of school because their parents cannot afford to pay school fees. At our school, thanks to the support of many people, children are still able to continue their education. However, while up until now, in addition to donors, the children's education has also been supported by some Masai families, the number of families who are able to finance their child's school fees is now drastically decreasing. At a time of such unimaginable increases in the price of foodstuffs, the Masai are unable to feed...