Posts Tagged ‘Drought’

Children at the Children’s Village grow strong on a diet of maize, beans, rice and amaranth, a grain rich in nutrients.  But, drought is a constant threat to the food supply of Kenyans.  When the food supply at the Children’s Village was threatened recently by drought, donors of Friends of Kenyan Orphans came through with the help needed to survive the crisis.

Last year’s drought and famine sparked a new idea in Fr. Riwa.  In realizing that he needed to be more self-sufficient and raise more food at the Children’s Village, Father built two tilapia fishponds and stocked them with 15,000 fingerlings. In addition, he hopes to add two more ponds in the future. With four fishponds he will be able to add protein rich fish into the diets of the children at least once a week.

Tilapia is wonderful at eating the scraps from the table so feeding them is not a problem. The biggest problem seems to be with the younger children, especially the little boys who love to hang around the edge of the ponds and try to catch the fingerlings by hand.

For many years, for several months each year, Marilyn and John Parker have been traveling to Kenya from Conneticut to assist non-profits who care for the orphans in Kenya. They were our neighbors in Meru and we have depended on them for accurate  information about conditions in Kenya.  You can view their website at www.theparkerplace.org. Earlier this year Marilyn wrote giving us the first sign of the drought and impending famine:  “In June, a month when we got there, the crops in the shambas were about a foot high – and then in August, there was nothing. Everything had just dried up – because there was no rain at all in that two or three month period. People had no maize and no beans to harvest – and so nothing to eat – and nothing to sell to get some money to buy food – and nothing to plant now for the next season, when, we pray, the rains do come.”

Then last week came the good news via Normand and Sheila Pelladeau, Canadian lay missionaries with whom we worked. Normand was our construction adviser for building St. Clare and the Siena House.  They are presently working in the neighboring diocese of Isiolo building hospitals for Mater Care. Sheila wrote the most encouraging words about rain:

”Rain seems imminent. On Sunday we had rain. It lasted about 15 minutes. Wonderful!  However, prices are rising all the time here, how this will get reflected via thepeople, we wonder!”

The good news is THE RAIN! All are hoping this is a sign the long rains of November will be coming on schedule and all will be able to plant in December and harvest in April. That is the hope! That is the prayer!

Ever since Jim and Anita Sullivan of Dubuque, Iowa, heard of the work of Father Riwa and the Friends of Kenyan Orphans, they have been avid supporters. That was two years ago. However, now their 7 year old son, Joseph, is involved. Here is the story.

Anita was packing school lunches one day when Joseph remarked “I am tired of Peanut Butter.” Since the Sullivan’s had just received word of the Kenyan drought’s effects on the food supply for the girls at St Clare, Anita felt it necessary to share the situation with Joseph. About 20 minutes later he appeared with his piggy bank and its contents, $61.00. Handing the money to his mom, Joseph said “Those children need food more than I need to save up for a car or college or an iPod. Oh, and Peanut Butter is OK too.”

Over the past month we have informed you of the famine in Kenya and the critical situaiton at the Children’s Village.  Several weeks ago we sent out an email asking for your help in feeding the children during this crisis. We are most grateful for your generous response.  With the money donated  Fr. Riwa is able to feed the children for the next six months.

While every penny donated made this possible we want to especially thank the following people for their very generous and significant donations: Diane and Dan Henry, the Catholic people of Bavaria (Germany), the Church of the Resurrection in (Dubuque, Iowa), Paul Lavins, Susan Montgomery, Jack Horrigan, William and Marjorie Dettlof, Sandra Hagenbarth, Tom and Carol Cracchiolo, Sharon Kress and Mary and Bob Leisure.

A month ago this had all the markings of a tragedy, but through your generosity you have transformed this situation into a miracle. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.  We are so very grateful to you. This was an international effort as wonderful people from all over the world responded with love and compassion. I am very confident the Lord will bless you for your kindness.

God love you.

Bud and Sue Ozar

Sarah Wamburi is the administrator at St. Clare. It is  her job to take care of all the administrative details.  She recently sent this email.

“I know Father Riwa, is worried what the children will eat tomorrow and the day after, where they will live, what they will wear and mostly what will become of them in the future. The world doesn’t differentiate.  When food prices go up, they go up for us too.  When medical care and clothing go up, same for us also. We are not given an exemption and everyday it gets tougher and more and more children, needy and elderly people are crying for help. I know how difficult it is for Father Riwa to turn his back on them, how much it weighs him down when he can’t offer the much needed assistance. I know all of this comes back to you, and everyday more is required from you. But I believe God placed us in different capacities with a purpose and has given us responsibilities that he knows we can handle, of course through his grace. This is his work, which he is doing through all who are involved so he will provide whatever is needed including good health, strength, favour, ideas etc.”

A special Food Campaign has been started to assist the children. ANYONE WISHING TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE SPECIAL FOOD FUND CAN SEND A CHECK TO ‘FRIENDS OF KENYAN ORPHANS’ (920 BERKSHIRE ROAD, GROSSE POINTE, MI 48230) or send a donation on PayPal through this website.

The St. Clare Girls’ Centre is located on the eastern slope of Mt. Kenya, 200 kilometers north of Nairobi and a mile above sea level. Because there are no supermarkets or “Home Depot” type stores all food and building materials are carried by truck from the port city of Mombasa to Nairobi which is a 10 hour trip over difficult roads. In Nairobi the materials are reloaded onto smaller trucks which make the arduous six hour climb up the mountain to the St. Clare.

Due to the difficulty of the roads and the exorbitant price of fuel the cost of the materials and food increases with each mile of transportation.  It is not unusual for an item to double or triple in price from the time it leaves the boat in Mombasa to the time it is delivered at St. Clare.

Kenya has been held in the deadly grip of a seven year drought and the little food available is very costly. The Kenyan government and international aid is attempting to assist but the 400,000 Somali people fleeing the violence and conflict in their country and taking refuge in the border refugee camps in Kenya are absorbing this aid.

Purity Karega, a  Form II student at St. Clare , provides her insights why everyone is living with hunger in Kenya.

WHY THE FAMINE IS CONTINUING IN KENYA

BY PURITY

During the summer seasons, there normally is a shortage of food, as many parts of the world do not receive sufficient rainfall. This is what is affecting Kenya today. Large numbers of people in Kenya, especially North Eastern Kenya are dying of hunger.

The North Eastern people depend on their livestock for food. When there is shortage of rain, the grass dries and the cattle starve from lack of water and pasture. The people move from place to place together with their animals looking for water and pasture. Some of them die on the way with their animals when no water is found.

The cattle are very important to their community as they provide meat, milk, blood and skin, which they use as mattresses, in their manyattas (homes). They do not grow crops in their area because of the climate and therefore must buy vegetables from farmers of other parts of Kenya.

The imported food from other countries like the U.S.A. to Kenya never benefits all the citizens. Why? It is because our leaders are greedy. They distribute the food among themselves and sell it for personal profit instead of serving the nation.

Instead of planning for water projects to the dry areas like the North Eastern part of Kenya, they sit back and forget about them. This is the cause of Kenya becoming poorer and poorer day by day.

For me here at St Clare, I am focused and putting more effort into my studies to become one of the leading women of Kenya in the generation to come, a leader who will fight this corruption.

Sr. Kathryn is one of the four Adrian Dominican Sisters who went to Kenya to assist Fr. Riwa at the St. Clare Centre a year ago.

She is with the girls everyday and can see the effects on the children.  In an email this week she wrote: “Thank you so much for your effort to raise money for food. We are doing our part here by planting as much as possible in the space that our yard
allows.

The girls are showing signs of malnutrition. Because I am the school barber, I have noticed the hair of these girls has become brittle and actually changes color from the normal blackto a rust color and their hair is actually thinning and falling out. Belliesare distended. We have all noticed this is becoming more prevalent, especially with the younger girls in classes 3 and 4. The girls tire more easily and fall asleep in classes when this rarely happened before. Doctors are sending back reports from hospital when girls are taken there that they are anemic. I know Fr. Riwa is doing all he can. But we are very worried.”

A special Food Campaign has been started to assist the children. ANYONE WISHING TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE SPECIAL FOOD FUND CAN SEND A CHECK TO ‘FRIENDS OF KENYAN ORPHANS’ (920 BERKSHIRE ROAD, GROSSE POINTE, MI 48230) or send a donation on PayPal through this website.

The multi year drought in East Africa has resulted in famine in Kenya and hunger is knocking at the door of St. Clare and the Children’s Village.  Fr.Riwa could see this coming and took drastic action months ago by cutting meal portions in half in an attempt to make the little they had last longer and planting every possible inch of land.  When the crops failed to yield the expected amount of food, this week Fr. Riwa reported he has run out of options. “You cannot believe it that these days I have been disturbed because of the food crisis. I have borrowed funds from my friends to buy food as I cannot send the children away. I have a very big responsibility but I know that God will not abandon me. Yesterday I looked at the children and asked myself why I ever started this project. There is not enough food and the children have no clothes. I pray that the Lord touches the people of good will to come to our aid.”

A special Food Campaign has been started to assist the children. ANYONE WISHING TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE SPECIAL FOOD FUND CAN SEND A CHECK TO ‘FRIENDS OF KENYAN ORPHANS’ (920 BERKSHIRE ROAD, GROSSE POINTE, MI 48230) or send a donation on PayPal through this website.