Special Appeal for children displaced by drought

People in Kenya are getting ready to harvest maize this month and many have harvested various kinds of beans which will be dried to provide protein over the coming months. Some parts of the country received more than ample rains this rainy season and it is hoped that those areas where rainfall was copious will reap the benefit. Parts of the arid north, however, have not received consistent rainfall. Patterns in recent years are extreme drought relieved only by floods and short-term heavy rains. Climate change makes it virtually impossible for those in the north to have regular planting seasons and, only those lucky enough to live close to rivers can be certain of adequate water to enable crops to grow to fruition. Irrigation projects and fruit tree planting projects are slowly gaining ground in hopes of finding new methods to expand the food basket of Kenya and to reduce reliance on livestock. In the meantime, families migrate south in hopes of finding food stability and, for Child Rescue Kenya, we face a constant influx of families and resultant street children. This pattern will continue indefinitely until more resources reach rural areas enabling modern approaches to the growing of food crops and to enable education in more effective farming methods. We continue with a two pronged approach of helping migrating families to become self sufficient while trying to prevent them accessing life on the streets in the first place. We hope that in time, and with more funding, we will be able to do far more prevention work. Children have just returned to school for the last term of the academic year. They will take final exams in both primary and secondary schools in November and then take their long holiday until January. This is traditionally the dry season and, for the past couple of years, that dry season has dragged on for longer than expected. We can only hope that this year brings a short dry season to enable a respite from the terrible effects of prolonged drought.