Slovak NGOs Initiate Campaign to Help Kenya Tormented by Drought

Bratislava, February 23 (TASR) – Four Slovak NGOs – ADRA (Adventist Aid and Development Agency), eRko (Movement of Christian Children’s Communities) – Good News, the Integra Foundation and a Salesian civic association called Savio have announced a joint call named ‘Together for Kenya’ to help the country currently tormented by a drought, Good News director Marian Caucik told TASR on Thursday.

The call was issued a few days after Slovak President Andrej Kiska’s visit to Kenya and shortly after the Government in Nairobi declared a state of emergency due to the drought, describing the situation as a humanitarian crisis.

“The Kenyan Government in February declared a humanitarian crisis due to a drought affecting 23 out of 47 regions. The number of people without sufficient access to food has more than doubled from 1.3 million in August 2016 to 2.7 million in February,” said Caucik, adding that more than 350,000 children and pregnant and breastfeeding women are suffering from malnutrition.

People in Kenya have to go long distances to get drinking water. “For example in Turkana in north-western Kenya, where before it was enough to go eight kilometres to get water, but now these people have to go more than 20 kilometres,” said Caucik, adding that this is also causing serious troubles for farmers breeding cattle.

“Many people have to resort to radical solutions … they either skip their meals or share them with their animals,” said Caucik.