by Maximilla Wafula
Ambassador of Hope , Okoa Maisha Initiative, Brother Reuben Kigame today launch an emergency response to the dire hunger crisis in Kenya , whereby he
called attention to the severe hunger situation and the serious humanitarian crisis that our dear country is grappling with.
The Arid and Semi-arid counties of Kenya (ASALs) are experiencing a fifth consecutive season of severely depressed rainfall. This has led to acute water shortages, livestock deaths, crop failures and serious mental health challenges. According to the Humanitarian Network and national disaster reports, over 4.5 million Kenyans in ASAL counties are experiencing acute food insecurity.
Over 2.5 million animal deaths have been reported. An estimated 54,500 children are at the risk of dropping out of school at a sensitive time of national examinations. Over 942,000 children under the age of five years are severely affected as malnutrition levels in some of these counties such as Marsabit, Turkana and Kajiado hit three times the global average. Weather experts are already predicting a gloomy outlook of a sixth failed season for March to May 2023.
It is against this background that we, Kenyans of diverse faiths, political persuasions, private and non-state actors hereby launch the ‘Okoa Maisha’ Initiative. Through this initiative, we are mobilising humanitarian support from Kenyans of goodwill – the private sector, individuals, Kenyans in the Diaspora and humanitarian actors – to cushion our severely affected brothers and sisters who are at a dire risk of starvation. The initiative is targeting to reach over 1,000,000 severely affected Kenyans from ASAL counties in the short term and millions more in the long-term.
We therefore request you to support us with dry food stuff, nutritional supplements to malnourished children, money, water, logistics support such as transport among other emergency needs. A dedicated pay bill number – 188668; Account Number: Okoa Maisha, has been set up for the same. Please help us to spread this message as widely as possible.
We appreciate the support that we have received so far from the Pastoralist Parliamentary Group (PPG), non-profit actors such as Drylands Learning and Capacity Building Group, Juhudi Mashinani and Christ is the Answer (CITAM), ministries. We also appreciate the in selflessness of Brother Reuben Kigame who has agreed to be our Ambassador of Hope in this initiative.
As an initiative, we appreciate the ongoing humanitarian efforts by the Government of Kenya, county governments, non-state actors, faith-based organisations, private sector players and other Kenyans of goodwill. We call on the Government of Kenya to accelerate emergency interventions to the level of a National Disaster that this crisis is.
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