At least Ninety percent of residents of the vast and arid North Horr Constituency in Marsabit county are still struggling to bounce back on their feet after the devastating adverse impact of the ravaging drought that visited the region between the years 2019 and 2022.
While speaking during a relief food distribution exercise by a South Korean based, Good Neighbors non-profit organization, they recounted the harrowing ordeals several households have been forced to grapple with as a result of the climate change shocks. Abudho Tuye from Korka village, recounted how depressing it has become for several parents to watch their children go on empty stomachs for 2 to 3 days whenever there are no food rations provided by the well-wishers.
He is among the several herders who lost at least 300,000 heads of livestock which is the key economic mainstay in Marsabit County due to the severe droughts. His daily life after the drought has always been reduced to a beggarly kind of lifestyle whereby he has to depend on relief aid from the relief agencies to survive together with his one child and wife. Their problems have been further compounded by the termination of the hunger safety net programs by the government that was heavily relied on by the vulnerable families in the region.
His sentiments were echoed by North Horr MP Wario Adhe Guyo who expressed concerns over the struggles that had formed part and parcel of the daily lives of the residents in the region. He was saddened that several parents were struggling to sustain their children in schools due to lack of fees and even proper nutrition. This was made worse by the fact that no meaningful aid or emancipation measures have been put in place by the government to help the pastoralist households to get out of their woes after the severe drought. He emphasized that focus had shifted from helping the affected families despite them being not yet out of the woods.
Namun Hea, the Country Director to Kenya, for South Korean based Good Neighbours organization challenged all the partners to focus on long term drought resilient programs that would finally see the affected families recover from the losses incurred. He suggested that there was a need for introduction of resilient crop production and animal husbandry. He spoke during an exercise that saw over 4,000 residents benefit from relief food from their agency.
His counterpart from Taiwan Wesley Lai also appealed to all partners across the globe to join hands in helping the drought affected persons in Africa to bounce back on their feet.
