31st July, 2011
Facing severe drought in Kenyan coastal towns
Dry river beds and failing crops are clear indications that coastal areas in Kenya have been hit hard by the prevailing drought. People living here are working hard to make a living from whatever they can find in this arid landscape.
Musili Mumo is 75 years old and a father to nine children. Musili and his family usually depend on farming as a source of income, but their crops have failed them this year because of the drought.
“There have not been any rains this year and all the crops we planted dried up'', he says. ''This has made us look for alternative sources of income like charcoal burning. This is illegal, but we have no choice”.
“We at times go without food for the whole day. I have two goats which we sometimes milk and sell to get money to buy food. We fetch our water from a ‘silanga’ (earth dam) which is about 4 kilometres away. The water is not clean, and the cattle and donkeys drink from the same dam. This is the water we drink, cook and wash with, we have no other source of water”, he continues.
Without access to clean water, Musili and his family are at risk of potentially fatal waterbourne diseases. Already malnourished and weak from lack of food, the situation facing his family is critical.
AMREF is working to support people like Musili. We are providing extra water and sanitation facilities to communities affected by the drought, to prevent the outbreak of diseases such as cholera and diarrhoea.
With the ongoing droughts in Kenya these communities need AMREF’s support – please DONATE and ensure families like Musili’s have access to clean water and improved sanitation