No respite for Kenya

Famine in Kenya from Newfrontiers on Vimeo.

MORE GOOD NEWS DESPITE ALL THE BAD NEWS

There was quite a lot of bad news pouring in on me during the last few days. Good news seemed to be rare. However we continue to be encouraged by the generosity of friends who are supporting our effort to serve the people in Northern Kenya who are going through a famine.
The depressing news I received from Sri Lanka was also offset by good news that followed. During the (our) summer time they had a number of camps and special events for children, including the launching of a new book for children. At the events it seems that there were between 100 and 300 participants.
Good news for a far off land is like cold water to a thirsty soul.

BAD NEWS BUT ALSO SOME GOOD STUFF

I felt a little depressed yesterday as one email after the other rolled in. I got an update on the situation in Kenya. The famine is bad and our friends are looking after up to 3000 people. The best case is that they need to feed the people until spring of 2010, when the next harvest is due. If the expected rains in October fail, then this period will stretch on indefinitely. The burden is enormous as food prices have sky rocketed.
More bad news was received from Pakistan. I wont go into details as it starts to depress me when I just think about it.
I also received an email from Sri Lanka giving me the latest on the situation there. It is also a hard place to serve God in. Intimidation and threats have been expressed to our friends. We sent six good working photo-copiers and they arrived in the country in April. To this day they are still being held by the customs and excise. The children's home which we build in 2005 has still not got permission to start working.

The news is grim and depressing.
But this morning as I looked over our bank accounts I noticed that people have been generous and have given a good sum to help with the famine in Kenya. We are very pleased and relieved about that. Perhaps only a drop on a hot stone but very encouraging.

Drought-stricken Kenyans struggle for one meal a day

In Kenya's Rift Valley, crops have failed due to the prevailing drought. People are lucky if they can manage to eat even one meal a day. They are faced with a choice of moving to urban slums or trying somehow to make a living where they are.

In recent years there were two previous droughts but this is more serious. Livestock has already died.
During the best times 2.6 million people in Kenya receive food from the World Food Programme. There has been a sharp rise during this present drought that has turned into a famine. By November it will reach a staggering 3.8 millions.
Typical work for people who stay on in the rural area is work in the quarries. They fill 20litre buckets with broken stones and these are sold for 5 Kenyan shillings. A 2kg bag of maize cost 105 Shillings.
Wells and bore holes have dried up. People are walking as far as 30km searching for the precious liquid.

Bad News from Kenya

Meru, Kenya: Bad news has reached us from our friends Edward and Fridah Buria in Meru, Kenya. They report widespread starvation in the Samburu area of Northern Kenya. The famine has been caused by the ongoing drought. This drought is party man-made as Kenyans have been cutting down large areas of forest for revenue for the timber. The climate in a place like Samburu is very harsh and without man's interference in the environment, life is still hard.
Buria claims though that this famine is more severe than the one they had in 2006. People look to him and his co-workers for help. The weak, aged and the very young are the most vulnerable and they suffer more than the others.
Groups of people have been coming to the church meeting places waiting for help of some kind. For a number any help is already too late. They have buried their dead on ground besides the churches.
Buria had appealed to friends all over the world to come forward and help. Since the famine of 2006 the price for food had increase enormously. Edward Buria is normally positive even in the most difficult situations, but this time, he confessed: "I have never seen such hopelessness."