Drought in Kenya

Drought

It was shocking for me to see this woman carrying her baby scavenging a dead carcass for food in the Samburu national reserve in Kenya on June 11, 2009.The woman could not communicate in English or the local swahili language. All she could do is to point on her empty stomach and her baby girl. Starvation is a real issue in the area. Many lives are at risks especially children aged one to ten.
The dry spell in the Northern part of Kenya has made life difficult and unbearable. Hundreds of heads of cattle have died so far. The local residents are appealing to the Kenyan government and other humanitarian organizations for relief food urgently.

Insecurity in the area has compounded the problem further. Barely two weeks ago, eight policemen were killed by bandits. They were in the area doing an operation to recover cows that have been stolen during cattle rustling. The area is inhabited by Samburus, Borana and Somali communities who are mainly pastoralists.