Distribution of the over 2,000 bags of relief food to more than 5,000 families, 39 primary schools and 15 secondary schools in Nyeri town started on Wednesday morning.
The humanitarian support which includes 1,120 bags of beans and 1,120 bags of rice was donated by the Ministry of Public Service, Gender and Affirmative Action and will be distributed through local chiefs manning the five wards in Nyeri town constituency.
According to the area Member of Parliament Duncan Maina, the food will be distributed in two phases as the government continues to put in place measures to mitigate the effects of the ongoing drought.
Those to be given high priority include People Living with Disabilities, the elderly, those affected by HIV and households that are affected by the drought due to loss of livelihood.
“The chiefs have been able to identify those most affected by the drought. We have equally received a substantial amount of aid so it will be able to sustain these families for a considerable number of days,” said the MP’s aide Moses Munene who oversaw the distribution at the Nyeri Deputy County Commissioner’s office.
Additionally, each of the school heads from the 39 primary schools will get a 50-kilogram sack of beans and an equal amount of rice. Their high school counterparts will each receive 150 kilograms of rice and 100 kilograms of beans. Munene said that the relief food was meant to ensure that the candidates who will be writing this year’s national examinations do not miss their exams due to lack of food.
The county government of Nyeri estimates that over 130,000 people including school going children and people living in informal settlements are in need of humanitarian assistance. The data from the county also shows that Kieni constituency is the most affected part of the county. On the overall, the county is in need of food aid worth over Sh 300 million.
To cushion the hunger stricken families, the County Famine Relief Coordination Committee is currently in the process of vetting tenders for the purchase of relief food worth Sh 12 million.
By Wangari Mwangi
