change language
you are in: home - news newslettercontact uslink

Support the Community

  
September 19 2011 | KENYA

Drinking water and food in the districts hit more severely by the drought: a new convoy of humanitarian aid to the North of Kenya

 
printable version

The dramatic situation caused by the drought in the North of Kenya persists. Thanks to the generous response to our appeal for aid, the intervention of the Community of Sant’Egidio has now been enlarged and embraces also other affected areas. 

New convoys with humanitarian aid, with approximately 11 tons of food and drinking water have been sent to three areas which are particularly hit by the drought.

We are in the north of Kenya, not far away from the border with Ethiopia. The first areas we reached were Baragoi and South Horr, at ca. 700 km north from Nairobi, in the district of North Samburu.

Here the population lives in small villages, often difficult to reach, spread out in the typical African savanna. The drying of the water sources in the whole region deprived the population completely of food and also the little of farming, mainly of goats and camels, is threatened by the lack of water. Entire families composed by up to ten persons live in huts, mostly constructed with makeshift material. The poverty is worsened by a difficult ethnic balance, with continuous clashes between samburu and turkana, both claiming the scarce resources available.

Upon the arrival of the truck with the humanitarian aid, the children immediately surrounded us. In their hands they held all kinds of recipients: bowls, basins, cans, even old plastic cups, and they asked us to give them to drink.

The mission then continued up to the North, towards the western coast of the Turkana Lake, to the village of Loyiangalani.

In the middle of the isolated stone desert, with some rare trees, live approximately 8.000 persons, divided in small settlements with primitive huts. In the past four years it has rained only twice, and only for a very limited time. The salt water of the lake can’t be used, and thus the local people are forced to live as semi-nomads, trying to exploit the poor water resources of the area. Fishing is becoming more difficult since new species of fish have been added to the lake, upsetting the traditional composition of the fish farming, which up to now had guaranteed basic nutrition to the local people. The soil composition doesn’t allow any agricultural activity.

Currently the distribution of goods continues in this area, thanks also to the collaboration between the Community of Sant’Egidio and the network of missions of the Consolata Fathers present in this region.


 ALSO READ
• NEWS
September 20 2017
MYANMAR (BURMA)

Let us help Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

IT | EN | ES | DE | FR | PT | CA
June 20 2017
ROME, ITALY

Central African Republic: an agreement for immediate cease-fire and a road map to peace was signed at Sant'Egidio

IT | EN | ES | DE | FR | PT | CA | NL | RU | HU
June 3 2017
ROME, ITALY

South Sudan humanitarian crisis in the meeting between Sant'Egidio and an international delegation of special envoys

IT | EN
April 25 2017
BERLIN, GERMANY

Youth, Africa and interreligious dialogue at the centre of the meeting between Andrea Riccardi and Angela Merkel

IT | EN | ES | DE | FR | PT
March 20 2017
ROME, ITALY

Congress of the representatives of the Communities of Sant'Egidio of Africa and Latin America took place in Rome

IT | EN | ES | DE | FR | PT | CA | NL
February 3 2017
GOMA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

Letter from Goma, Congo: We are the spokesperson of poor and neglected elderly of the outskirts

IT | EN | ES | DE | FR
all the news
• PRESS
February 24 2018
Avvenire

A spasso per Milano aiutando l'Africa

January 24 2018
Avvenire

Sviluppo. Alfano: «La Cooperazione è tornata al centro dell'agenda politica»

January 19 2018
Famiglia Cristiana

Europa e Africa, un destino comune

January 8 2018
OnuItalia

Alfano chiude missione in Africa al centro ‘Dream’ di Conakry (sant’Egidio)

December 30 2017
Notizie Italia News

La politica estera italiana nell'ultima legislatura. Un breve bilancio

December 29 2017
Avvenire

Kenya, Natale in cella. Adesso arriva l'acqua

the entire press review
• NO DEATH PENALTY
November 11 2014
KENYA

No justice without life also in Nairobi!

October 12 2014
All Africa

Africa: How the Death Penalty Is Slowly Weakening Its Grip On Africa

September 20 2014
AFP

In Ciad rischio criminalizzazione gay, ma abolizione pena morte

go to no death penalty
• DOCUMENTS

''Entente de Sant'Egidio'': Political Agreement for Peace in the Central African Republic

Libya: The humanitarian agreement for the region of Fezzan, signed at Sant'Egidio on June 16th 2016 (Arabic text)

Declaration of the African Union on the Republican Pact"

all documents

PHOTO

1576 visits

1507 visits

1518 visits

1542 visits

1534 visits
all the related media