Drought in Kenya Welthungerhilfe releases 100,000 euros

Bonn, 27.01.2009. Welthungerhilfe has released 100,000 euros of emergency aid for victims of the drought in Kenya. The money will primarily be used to provide more than 20,000 people with clean drinking water. In the Kajiado District in the south-east of the country, 12 large tanks are being set up in central locations. Over the coming months these tanks will be constantly refilled with clean water from trucks. Each person will thereby have access to 3 to 5 litres of water for drinking or cooking purposes.

"We don't want to wait until people leave their villages in search of food and water. We want to help them now," explains Iris Krebber, Welthungerhilfe's Regional Director in Kenya. In rural areas, people often have to travel as far as 20 km in order to find a functioning water source. Many men have already left their families in order to find work and food in the cities.

Kenya has once again been struck by a drought which is affecting mainly the north and south-east of the country. In the coming months about 10 million people will be dependent upon aid. Since the last drought in 2006, two rainy seasons failed to transpire completely, and the lack of rain over the last few months has exacerbated the situation dramatically. In addition, the ramifications of political unrest which took place around a year ago and during which more than 600,000 people were displaced means that many fields are no longer being tilled. The Kenyan government has announced a state of emergency.

Iris Krebber is available for interviews in Nairobi.

Welthungerhilfe has been supporting Kenyan partner organisations in implementing projects for over 30 years. Welthungerhilfe set up office in Kenya itself in 1993. There are currently nine international members of staff (eight of whom are German) and around 100 Kenyan staff engaged in 10 projects. Current projects are being funded to a total of approximately 10 million euros.