Kenya (MNN) — Almost 20 million people need emergency
aid in Africa's Horn due to drought. Northeast Kenya has been hardest hit.
The Kenya coordinator for Kids Alive,
Linda Mugo, explains, "Our recent rainy season
was short. We haven't had good rains, which means that even the natural
facilities of water, like rivers, do not give enough water. People are going
without enough food for their animals, and they're unable to grow crops."
Food prices have more than doubled in the
past year, making survival more challenging. Kenya's Ministry of Water has embarked on drilling boreholes
across the country.
Mugo says the nearest source of water for their Boys' Center is polluted, compounding problems for the 60 boys living there. "Some people will go to the river to
wash their clothes, and they will take the animals to drink water
there. This is also the same river that we
are pumping from. The ideal for us would
be to drill our own borehole, and this would give us safe drinking water. It would help us reduce sicknesses."
In Kiganjo, the Boys' Center provides residential care for
boys between the ages of 9 and 18, giving them opportunities to become
productive members of society. The children attend local schools and are
involved in sports, music, Christian youth camps, and other activities.
Most boys from the home graduate from high school and have
the chance to attend college, giving them opportunities for a better future
that would not have been possible without Kids Alive. The Center also provides
a community program that provides education support for about sixty children
from needy families in the nearby community.
It is apparent that the work of the Boys' Center is critical
to the area. To sustain the growth, they
have to have access to clean water, and the solution to that problem is to
drill a borehole. However, funding is
holding them back.
The price tag on a new borehole is $30,000, but
it provides so much more. "We talk about
the story in John of the lady at the well, and we share the story of salvation
by tying in the practical use of clean water with the water that comes from
faith in Jesus Christ."
It's part of their mission to care for the whole child by
providing for the full range of spiritual, educational, social, physical, and
emotional needs, believing that children should have the opportunity to grow and
develop to their full potential. If you
want to help, click here.
