July 2011
Christian Aid’s Welsh media and communication coordinator, Branwen Niclas, recently returned from drought-hit northern Kenya describes the situation there.
The tiny community of Diid Abdi village in northern Kenya hasn't even had three days of rain since April last year. They haven’t had a full month of rain since 1998.
Some women in the community, like Elema, pictured, now walk 40 kilometres each day to fetch water.
In the past, she would just have walked two or four kilometres in the dry season.
Her donkey is dead, so she is forced to carry the heavy, 20-litre load on her back.
Elema leaves home at 4 am and gets back at 1 pm.
This means her six children have to wait until about 2 pm to be washed and fed.
Sometimes her children miss school because they are too hungry or too tired to make it. The last time Elema had enough water to wash their school clothes was two weeks ago.
Elema’s priority is the family’s remaining calf. For pastoralists like Elema, their livestock is essential to their way of life. Without them, they would go without milk, butter and meat.
Thankfully, Christian Aid partner CCSMKE brings a weekly water tank to the area, which makes a huge difference to these women and the whole village. On the days Elema gets water from the tanker, her children can go to school.
Across east Africa millions of people are suffering from the impact of the worst drought in the region for 60 years. Your donations to our East Africa appeal will help families like Elema get water and survive.
