Over 500 households from Idamat Ward, Kajiado Central now have a reason to smile after receiving food donations from Sustainable Agriculture Community Development Programme (SACDEP), a Non-Governmental Organisation.
The vulnerable households received maize, beans and cooking oil to cushion them from hunger occasioned by the prolonged drought.
According to Paul Karanja SACDEP Programmes Coordinator, the hunger situation in the county was still dire despite the on-going rains as many families had lost their livestock and were yet to restock.
Speaking after over-seeing the distribution of relief food to locals, Karanja revealed that the food donations would cushion the families for around two weeks.
“We have donated 86 bags of beans, 99 bags of maize and cooking oil. The food rations will sustain them for a period of two weeks,” he said.
Raphael Sholoiloi, a resident of Ildamat, said the food donations were timely as many families were still reeling from the losses caused by the drought and hard economic times.
Sholoiloi added that women, children and the elderly were the most affected by the drought and were at risk of acute malnutrition due to lack of a balanced diet.
“Not all areas of the county have received rainfall. Many families are still struggling to eat and it will take time before they can manage to put food on the table easily. The donations received today will go a long way in feeding families,” he said.
Another resident Joyce Bartoti called on more well-wishers to chip in and assist vulnerable families who were worst affected by the drought.
Bartoti noted that most locals are pastoralists and they had lost all their livestock to the drought and it would take a while for them to fully restock and get back on their feet.
“We are calling on more well-wishers to chip in and assist households that are still facing starvation. Although we now have pasture for livestock, restocking will take a while and the crops we have grown will also take a long time to be harvested,” she added.
She further called on the county and national government to sink boreholes in the area and introduce long lasting sustainable solutions to deal with the drought menace.
By Rop Janet
