Plan steps up support for community adaptation to drought in Kenya
In the midst of a biting drought, communities are increasingly opting for unique survival mechanisms that often result in a mad rush for scarce resources.
In parts of Eastern province in Kenya, the situation gets so grave that an entire family is left with no option but to join in the search for food, mainly through gathering of wild fruits. This, by a large extent, impacts negatively on school attendance.
Many children living in regions prone to drought in Kenya are forced to abandon normal school work or to spend extra hours after school fetching for food.
Common scenes
It is common to see children enduring the scorching sun, rummaging through the shrubs and trees to fend for their families.
12 year-old Philip Kilonzo and his younger sister, Kavinya are alive to these adaptations. It’s barely mid afternoon and the suns rays are overhead but the harsh weather will not deter them from getting atop a Mukauwo tree to pick ‘Ngaouwo’ - a wild fruit that has become a delicacy to local communities in times of drought.
As they struggle to scale up the tree, they know quite well that it’s a lucky day since the other fruit gatherers have not been able to spot this tree. “This is just going to be enough for us. We’ve managed to collect enough for all the family,” says Philip.
Scenes of children and parents carrying home woven baskets in an earnest search for food are common in Kitui in the aftermath of prolonged dry weather.
According to Philip, the Ngaouwo fruits are either mixed with maize or are stewed to be eaten with Ugali, the country’s common staple food made from maize flour.
While Philip takes pride in what he has been able to achieve for his entire family, Kavinya who is equally beaming with joy at the success they have made, is too shy to face strangers and slips behind a baobab tree to hide from intruders.
Drought response
Like them, many children living in regions prone to drought in Kenya are forced to abandon normal school work or to spend extra hours after school fetching for food.
“Food and water security is a major problem. Something has to be done to keep the children at school,” Tabitha Kyule, the head teacher of Kiange Primary School said.
As part of its emergency drought response, Plan Kenya is assisting over 120,000 young children in Kitui and other regions of the country with clean water, extra food, health promotion and child protection.
Read about Plan's East Africa drought response
