The Italian flag of solidarity on the Kenyan coast often flies under the auspices of the NGO Karibuni Onlus. The association, which for nearly two decades has been working to lay the foundations for sustainable and conscious growth of the inland population, especially in the districts of Malindi and Magarini, is as involved as anyone who works in social work in this country and has a modicum of conscience, in doing what it can to counter the food emergency that the prolonged drought is producing, putting the lives of children, the elderly and pregnant or lactating women in particular at risk. According to data recently transmitted by the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), at least 10 counties are on severe drought alert and another 10 may be soon if there is no rainfall in the coming weeks. In these regions, 1 in 3 children are at serious risk of being as likely to starve to death as to die of disease.  The report also notes that the number of people who are suffering is increasing day by day: 942,000 children under five need treatment for acute malnutrition, up from 884,454 in August. In addition, 134,000 pregnant and lactating women need treatment for acute malnutrition, up from 115,725 in August.
Last Friday, Karibuni at its farm in Langobaya, organized an unprecedented food distribution for a non-profit organization in and around Malindi: one thousand families received foodstuffs, and this event was in addition to what the association chaired by Gianfranco Ranieri of Como, Italy, is doing in schools in the area with daily donations of meals in canteens. Thanks to sponsors familiar with Karibuni's work and many private individuals, the nonprofit seeks to unite three important goals: to support with basic nourishment (and even something more, since the Langobaya farm can provide eggs and once a week chicken, a rare commodity for the poor local people) pupils, to free their families from the burden of having to support their children studying on food, and to entice young people to study and attend school. In the hinterland of Kilifi, there is a near 50 percent defection of 6- to 14-year-olds who, instead of going to school, go into the forests to forage for food. Some are poisoning themselves by eating inedible berries and roots. This is the situation, and government aid, scattered across the 20 counties in need of intervention, however laudable (better than nothing, they say) is not enough.
In the coming weeks we at Malindikenya.net will also, through an initiative aimed at our readers, try to make a contribution to support food distribution in Karibuni.